Benoit Dicaire

Assistant-Head-Nurse
Ungava Tulattavik Health Center, Kuujjuaq

Benoit Dicaire

“I first studied marketing and then nursing science. I worked in the Lachine Hospital, then at Sainte-Justine in 2003, and then did an internship in Senegal. I loved working with people from another culture right away. After, I felt I wanted to return home, to give back to my community, while still holding onto the spirit of adventure. It was in Ungava Bay that I was able to make it happen… And I have been here for nearly 15 years!

When I look back at how I got here, I laugh. Time flies. It may seem strange, since nursing care clearly addresses the base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but it was the idea of improving how we respond to needs that got me interested in marketing, and it’s also what interests me in union life.”

In short

“My connection with the community is and always will be based on trust, which doesn't always come from what we think or who we are. Trust can simply be there because we are there and because... we stay.”

I experienced a culture shock more in my professional life. Here, you realize that there are a lot of things we take for granted, which are in fact very relative, including labour relations. In the end, we need to understand that we all have our own professional objectives.

I have four traditional tuques. The Inuit wear them all the time. I would say they’re three-season tuques because they are very warm. When you wear one of these tuques, it’s a sign of integration. And when you return to a village with a tuque that was made there, it’s really special.

Finding yourself back in the middle of nowhere. When you have a bad day, you go into nature, and then you can stand a couplemore after. It’s an inaccessible place. And if you’re wondering how to get there, well, one answer is to go and work there.