Indigenous Health Scholarship Program

My name is Isobella Kruger and I am second year medical student at Monash University. I have chosen to study a Bachelor of Medical Science/Doctor of Medicine because I am extremely passionate about helping people, inciting social change and diminishing injustices in the world today. As a proud Kobumerri and Ngugi woman from the Gold Coast (Yugambeh language) region, I have grown up on country and seen first-hand the damaging health implications on individuals in Indigenous communities of trans-generational trauma and cyclic abuse. Consequently, I have come to discover about myself, that I am a very empathetic person who has always had a desire t improve the situation of mental and physical health discrepancies for Indigenous people in Australia.

As a young child I move frequently throughout Victoria with my mother and younger brother, I never quite finished a full year of study during my primary school years and got my first job as a checkout operator in a chin supermarket, I never really focused on higher education as most of my family seem to ‘get by’ without it. I helped provide for my family and assist my mother raise my younger brother with this learning needs until I moved back to Victoria.

I am a full time Bachelor of Nursing student through the Deakin University, Institute of Koorie Education and I strongly believe that this scholarship will greatly enhance my experience and allow me to achieve my goals in the strongest way possible.

As a qualified Registered Nurse, I plan to contribute to improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes in rural and remote communities by fostering knowledge and understanding on the importance of timely and appropriate health care. Over the past 4 years I have worked in community controlled Indigenous health organisations in NSW and Queensland and personally seen the positive impact culturally appropriate health care has on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their families and their communities. I have worked very closely with clinical staff in these services which has helped me recognise the important role clinical staff play in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to better access healthcare. This work has been my inspiration to undertake study in nursing and further develop my skills and knowledge to support my people in improvising their health outcomes not only as individuals, but for the benefit of their families.

Last year, I attended my Grandmother’s funeral; I never got the opportunity to meet her in person. As a very young girl, she was stolen from her home in NT and raised on a mission. She was institutionalised until she was 21 in what was described as ‘an experiment in assimilation’. Her son, my father, was also forcibly removed, this time at his birth, and sadly, as a result, he has grown up with identity issues, anxiety, depression and addiction; I have barely seen him for most of my life.

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.