Indigenous Health Scholarship Program

“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.

I was born and grew up in South Western Sydney (Dharawal country). I am of Wiradjuri descent on my mother’s side and Finnish on my father’s. My Aboriginal roots go back to Bulgandramine Mission near Peak Hill in central New South Wales. The family has actually been fortunate enough to trace our ancestry back to James Nerang, who was a tracker for NSW Police at the turn of the 19th –20th century. His daughter, Sarah Waterloo, was my great great grandmother. I am grateful to be studying at university so that once I have graduated I can advocate for and the improve representation of Indigenous issues in the Australian health system.

My interest in Speech Pathology is rooted in my family history….

During my 12 month bridging course, I sought out volunteer work at a local public school and day care, when I assisted a speech pathologist. Both facilities were in low socio-economic areas and had a high attending of bother Indigenous and underprivileged young children, some with very cad circumstances. I loved helping them and seeing what a high difference just one person who cares can make to their self confidence, trust and ultimately their entire future.

Growing up in Roxby Downs showed me how small communities need health care. It was my aspiration that lead me to leave my community and move to boarding school for a better education. My aspiration for after university is to become a rural doctor and work in the remote communities around Australia.

Medicine has been a strong interest of mine since before starting university, however, I was not confident that I was smart enough to study medicine. I have had first-hand experience in hospitals due to my own injuries as well as being present when family members were in hospital with chronic illnesses. The sheer amount of knowledge that doctors had was fascinating to me – though the short falls were easy to see especially with patient communication and conveying empathy towards vulnerable and disadvantaged people. I studied an Arts undergraduate degree straight out of high school, majoring in International Studies and Sociology. I successfully completed the alternate pathway into medicine with Flinders, with encouragement from family, concurrently in the last semester of my undergraduate degree.

Choosing to study medicine was not a decision I made at a young age nor was it made during my high school years. In high school, I rarely entertained the idea of pursuing an education at a university level. During this time, I believed becoming a psychiatrist was an unrealistic aspiration. My parents didn’t complete their high school education and a life-threatening stroke forced my mother into early retirement. I found it difficult to imagine tertiary education as part of my narrative, believing I would take after my parents. Despite these obstacles, I have had the opportunity to study medicine, the first in my family? and if I were to be awarded this scholarship this would assist myself and my family in numerous ways.

My dreams since being a young girl has been to care for people. It took years to get there but I am finally studying. My goal is to work at APY lands or in country with those vulnerable people who are scared of the modern hospitals. I would love to help them feel safe and to make sure they are receiving the best care possible.