Indigenous Health Scholarship Program

As a proud Minag-Wadjari Noongar woman, I strive to strengthen the representation of Indigenous women in the health field, as building a stronger workforce of Aboriginal clinicians, is essential to providing culturally secure care in Indigenous patients.

Throughout my time in medical school, I have naturally been drawn to the teaching of cultural awareness and cultural safety, particularly through the frameworks of clinical yarning and country healing.

I am an Aboriginal woman from the Yorta-Yorta nation, and a mature age student with a young family. I have wanted to become a medical doctor and work within the Indigenous community for a long time, but simply was not ready as ‘life and family’ prevented me from doing it sooner.   Prior to starting medicine, I was working as an Alcohol and Other Drugs worker (AOD).

My name is Nathan Cash, I am a final year MD student at the University of Western Australia.   I was born and raised in country NSW before moving to Queensland with my family during my primary school years.   I did not always know I wanted to study medicine, but I always knew I wanted to one day return and work in rural Australia.   My heritage is that of Ngarigo Nation which spans throughout the alpine region of NSW/Victoria.   As a child I took many trips to Kunama Namadji (Snowy Mountains), at which time I developed a deep love for this region of Australia.

As humans we long for love, nurture, compassion, connectedness and empathy. These desires cannot always be met by our close family, friends and community thus I will find it my purpose to heal those with the knowledge I have gained through the University of Western Australia, whilst also giving my patients the holistic care they deserve. My education will positively impact both my community and the wider world, as I give back my knowledge and serve others in need.

As a child I was immersed in health education, either through family and community and in school. I was exposed to Aboriginal health travelling into remote Pilbara Western Desert communities with my mother, a nurse and educator, assisting her acting as a patient model in Senior First Aid and health courses. This planted a seed for me to work in health with Aboriginal communities.

I have aspirations to improve Aboriginal health as an active contributor, specifically to work together with Aboriginal communities and to facilitate ways of working with existing and creating new partnerships. I aim to be instrumental in developing community specific models that incorporate the joint healing process of the particular community, through inclusivity of the community and key stakeholders. I plan to incorporate the Social Determinate of Aboriginal Health and work within the framework of the Bio psycho-social medical model.

Contributing to improving Indigenous health when I become a medical practitioner is a crucial part of what becoming a doctor means to me. To be able to the Australian Indigenous people is something that I strive to do as I believe there is a great divide in our society between the health issues of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

I have set my goal to work in remote and rural Aboriginal communities in WA to help improve and implement health strategies. This includes primary health care and prevention of chronic health disease, by using education to empower and facilitate good health attitudes. One of the communities that I am keen to work in is Lombardina near Broome, which I have family connections. My motivation to complete the bachelor degree in nursing so that I can assist Aboriginal women to stay on country during the birth process and be there to support the women during this. Therefore helping them with their spiritual and cultural journey and keeping iwht their health belief model and their connection to country. As the first person in my family and extended family to go to university and the first Bindjareb women to enrol in the nursing degree I hope to inspire and motivate many other young Nyungar women to follow my lead so that they can excel and be stronger person within their communities and families.

Through my work in 2019 as a research officer with UWA working on two Aboriginal health projects related to ageing and the brain, I met many Elders from the Perth Indigenous community who have expressed the need for more Indigenous doctors with more cultural understanding/sensitivity. Many doctors from non-Indigenous backgrounds sometimes lack the knowledge of how an Indigenous family and lifestyle is structured, and do not quite understand the values and needs of an Aboriginal person or community. I would like to contribute to the community by providing safe and supportive care that is culturally appropriate and understanding, whilst also educating other health professionals on how they can be most appropriate as well.

Indigenous health has always been something I have been incredibly passionate about. Growing up in Broome, a rural community in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, I have long been witness to the ongoing disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health and well being outcomes.