Past Research

My name is Mollie Scofield and I am starting my second year in a dual degree in Nursing and Public Health at Queensland University of Technology. I am a proud Mardigan woman, who grew up and is still growing up on Jarowair and Giabal land. I have been extremely fortunate to have the support system that has allowed me to become the first person in my family to attend university.

I am a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait woman of the Bindal and Wagadagum tribes. Becoming a registered midwife on Thursday Island will allow me to evoke change and introduce traditional pregnancy and birthing customs. My passion for midwifery stems from my own unpleasant experiences whilst in the care of the public healthcare system. I am highly motivated to create change to ensure my daughters and future generations do not encounter the current healthcare system in the manner I have.

At a young age I was lucky enough to have the skill and support to participate in sport at an elite level. As a result, I was offered an incredible opportunity to complete a Cert 3 and 4 in Fitness. An opportunity not many get the change to do at the age of 16. Appreciating how advantaged I was, this became my influence/driving force to be able to follow my dreams and continue in the field I had started, loved and thrived on. To achieve this, I had to work hard and earn it, and when you work hard, results and satisfaction are your reward. I want to take my qualifications to the highest level and be the best that I can be. I want to support my people with better outcomes and in return, better lifestyles, enabling them to achieve their goals. To be able to reach for the stars, I want to be the person who can give that hope and chance to others by giving back. As it is well recognised that Aboriginal people face barriers to accessing healthcare.

When I successfully complete my medical studies, I plan to bring benefit to my community in numerous ways. Firstly, I hope to be a role model to other Indigenous students, where despite disadvantage and being told your dreams are unrealistic, hard work and determination will get you there if you truly put your mind to it. Once I am a doctor, regardless of the field I end up choosing, I plan to practise in rural and regional areas of Victoria and I would love to head back to the Gunditjmara country, which is my community. As a teenager who spent a lot of their time unwell and in hospital, I was tired of having to travel to receive the care I needed. People should never be disadvantaged because of where their home is, and I want to offer exceptional healthcare and expertise in these areas.

I have always been extremely passionate about health as it is an essential component to quality of life. But it was not until I experienced a number of personal adverse circumstances that placed me in a very detrimental situation, that I really was able to appreciate how far backward different hardships can place someone. I am privileged and live a blessed life – which is evident in being able to study at a Master’s level, and while I continue to work through adverse circumstances, I am so grateful and want to give back because no one should be left behind. In a country with as much wealth as Australia, it really is not acceptable to have such a significant population difference in health outcomes for those from Indigenous backgrounds.

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.

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.

I am from a small rural town on the North-West coast of Tasmania. Growing up, access to physiotherapy was not always available and such treatment in mot instances meant travelling with at least a two and a half hour return trip. I have grown up aware that many areas of healthcare can be very limited in small rural towns and I would like to focus on drawing attention to and reducing the current shortage creates health care inequality and I am passionate about trying to reduce common difficulties associated with accessing appropriate resources. In doing so, there is hope that less people will avoid seeking health care and treatment. I strive to uphold the continuity of care while maintaining a holistic approach towards health and making a real difference to patient’s lives and the treatment and care they receive.

Becoming a nurse was something I never thought I would do but it has ended up the most amazing experience of my life. I started an Aboriginal Trainee-ship in Nursing in 2013 and have achieved my Diploma in Nursing. In this time I was given the opportunity to become a founding member of the Aboriginal Resources Group and the work we have done has shown a huge different in Indigenous health outcomes and our Indigenous patients reported feeling more comfortable staying in the hospital for all their treatment. This in turn has resulted in a reduction in representations to hospital for the same diagnosis. This has brought me great pride and ended up being the light-bulb moment that has led me to continue my studies and completing my Bachelor of Nursing.

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.