Indigenous Health Scholarship Program

Throughout the time I took to decide that I wanted to be a midwife my culture and background has always contributed to my decision making. Within the area I live in I know there is not may Indigenous midwives available for mums or babies that identify has Indigenous so I knew that doing this would not only benefit myself but my community. I want to be able to provide a safe space for Indigenous mums to voice their concerns or anything they wish to without being judged.

I want to be able to help other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the community to close the gap in our education and healthcare systems and to be an example and demonstrate that higher education is achievable for all and financial assistance is available to support the journey. Education and teaching are something I am passionate about because we can not make a change without first educating others as to why we need the change.

My name is Demi Cheetham and I am a third year student at the University of Newcastle. I am currently pursuing a five year Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine degree. I am a proud Indigenous woman of the Tjapukai and Djiru tribes of Far North Queensland.

My father placed an incredible emphasis on the importance of knowledge and education, and where it could take me in life. As a qualified health professional, I would aim to promote the same message to all Indigenous communities.

Aboriginal community controlled organisations and community members alike have long been campaigning for the importance and necessity for autonomy and culturally appropriate care in the healthcare sector. With growing epidemics across all aspects of health, we as Indigenous Australians not only suffer increased rates of mortality and morbidity than other non-Indigenous peers, but we are also affected by the often inappropriate and inadequate care that we do receive. Through the combination of my previous public health training (Master of Public Health) and experience working in the Indigenous Health sector I hope to combine my medical degree to add to the breadth of my skills, allowing me to treat and medically care for my people as well as play a role in educating and preventing inappropriate and inequitable health outcomes within our mainstream health communities. Through these efforts, I hope to ensure that Indigenous patients experience evidence based medical care that is also culturally appropriate, empowering and compassionate.

My name is Renee Schiffler and I am a fifth year medical student studying at UNSW. Being of Marri Ngarr decent and growing up in Alice Springs I have personally experienced the disparity in the health of my peoples from an early age. While some aspects of health are changing for the better, there is still a lot of work to be done. Currently, my people are almost 3 times likely to suffer mental illness, hearing problems that lead to life long hearing deficit, and die before the age of five. Issues such as these cause life long suffering for individuals and families that inevitably leads to further disparity. Prevention is key, and it is my motivation to continue my training and cater my work to improving the health of my community. With the skills that I am developing I wish to contribute to the holistic health and spiritual well-being that will strengthen the future of the world’s longest surviving culture.

Growing up and living in rural and remote regions, I have seen first-hand the impact health outcomes have on our community and why it’s vital to have local Aboriginal health professionals in these critical roles. My main motivation to become a health professional is to go back to the rural and remote communities I grew up in to provide the appropriate care authentically to Aboriginal peoples. I will play a crucial role in community health settings as I have a personal connection with the community. I have already built trust and rapport with the community and elders. I am looking forward to becoming a qualified psychologist so I can take services back to rural and remote communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria where there is a high population of Aboriginal people.

“Warami” I am Brianna St John, a proud Darug woman from the Burramatta clan. 2020 has been a year we have never seen before bringing hardship – even devastation – to so many with still no end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic. Being involved in medicine as a medical student I have realised how an important service we provide to our wider community. Nursing has been my passion; I finished my degree in two years, where an inspired lecturer saw more in me than I aspired for.I am a resilient and determined woman to be an example to my clan and wider community to succeed as an Indigenous Doctor.

I am a proud Kuku Yalanji (North Queensland) man, who was raised in the Torres Strait with a deep appreciation for community and the understanding of leaving home to build skill set, to then return home with equipped with knowledge and skill. I am eternally grateful for the community of Thursday Island who took me under their wing and taught me things greater than what I could ever learn within a classroom, I was surrounded in language, fishing and dance, football, and the cultural intricacies of the islander way. I was raised with constant reminder on the importance of leadership, and the power of individuals and the community. I have seen first hand individuals change the trajectory of socio-economic factors in both their immediate family and the community as a whole, I too now work towards this goal and outcome.

Sure, everyone explains how they are going to assist Aboriginal people and communities to provide better health and wellbeing outcomes. Don’t get me wrong it’s something I definitely aim to achieve however; one important thing I think we need to work on first is how we interact and engage with Aboriginal people and communities.

Since pursuing Medicine, I have established a few objectives for myself which I will stay true to my career as a qualified medical practitioner. The first is that I will ensure to always dedicate part of my working career to bettering the quality of and access to health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This is of course influenced by the inequities my own family has faced and those of my Indigenous friends’ families as well. I continue to stay in touch with the health issues that exist in remote communities through my involvement with societies like the Rural Allied Health and Medical Society and the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and I would like to extend this involvement to speak on issues and inspiring future Indigenous doctors.