Indigenous Health Scholarship Program

My journey to helping my people with health-related issues started in 2014. I had experienced some personal hardships, and decided I needed to get away. My journey took me to Port Hedland, Western Australia, where I was successful in obtaining a job as an environmental health officer. The role required me to travel throughout 13 remote Aboriginal communities in the Pilbara.

Working towards my goal of becoming an Aboriginal doctor I believe that I can contribute in numerous ways to help our mob when I am qualified. I aim to provide support and advocation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and their families. One of my aspirations is to work for a First Nations healthcare service. I strongly believe that familiarity and understanding through empathy and lived experience will be a valuable contribution to improving health and well-being. In a health service I may be the first contact for patients coming in and I believe I can provide a culturally safe experience for mob.

No one ever calls a paramedic when they are happy. Paramedics are called upon in distressing times, when someone needs vital, time critical, emergency support. Yet when an Indigenous person is facing such times, they are less likely to call for help due to a general distrust form emergency services. This puts our Indigenous population – my mob – at a greater risk of severe injury or death. As a front-line health worker, I want to change this and I want to change the stigma attached to emergency services among the Indigenous community. This is how I hope to improve Indigenous health as a qualified medical practitioner.

Whilst currently studying a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science I have furthered my scope of knowledge around health and social issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people beyond my family, friends and understanding prior to tertiary education. I have done this by selecting specific elective units outside my course map that teach unit material about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their health. the knowledge gained from these units has identified key issues that I, as an aspiring health professional, will endeavour to address.

As an Aboriginal woman in Australia, I am cognisant of issues faced by my people. I have chosen to become a health worker in the allied health field (Psychologist) to try to alleviate some of the stigma surrounding seeking mental health services in Indigenous communities. Having previously volunteered in a rural Aboriginal Community, I have witnessed the stigma surrounding mental health.

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.