Past Research

“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.

As an Indigenous woman I have seen the many ailments that have left my people and communities broken, I have grown accustomed to unfortunately hearing about high levels of chronic health conditions and preventable diseases, this played a huge role in my desire and ambition to becoming a nurse.

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.

As a qualified Registered Nurse, I plan to contribute to improve Indigenous health outcomes play an important role in teaching patients education and providing health to the community through culturally appropriate care that is high quality, safe, patient centered and accessible in a range of settings.

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.

Since commencing my medical student journey, I have been fortunate to engage in multi-day rural experiences in Bathurst through Western Sydney University’s Rural Program. I have had the opportunity to volunteer at different community events such as community health checks at the Royal Bathurst Show and Bathurst 500. Through these community engagements, I was able to immerse myself in the local community. I also participated in the WSU Rural Health Club’s School Outreach Trip in 2022, whereby we demonstrated medical and allied health skills to high school students in Bathurst to provide an insight into health career options. I really enjoyed this experience as it gave me an insight into the community-oriented mindset of the staff and students at Bathurst Clinical School.

My name is Gahena Ram, I will be a fourth-year medical student in 2024 at Bathurst Rural Clinical School, and I would love the opportunity to receive the Australian Rotary Health Rural Clinical Health Scholarship. I am from Maitland but have been living in Campbelltown for the past three years because of my studies. I chose to come to Bathurst as I do feel like I belong with rural/regional communities much more due to the way I grew up and am looking forward to joining a regional setting once more.

As a future doctor, I believe community involvement and extracurricular interests are a vital part of becoming a holistic and well-rounded medical professional, to be able to fully understand the community that one serves

The Australian Rotary Health Rural Health Scholarship would greatly support myself as I transition my studies into the rural location. I have always been interested in studying in a rural area and broadening my scope for further work life potentially in a rural location. This scholarship would assist my transition to Bathurst and moving away from home for the first time would be a lot smoother until I can start supporting myself financially while being able to turn my focus to getting as much experience in the hospital and organising my study and assessments. I also hope to spend this time settling into the new environment and with this, I hope to put a good amount of time into my rural based MD research program which is looking at the comparison between screening and management of atrial fibrillation between urban and rural areas.

It was only when I moved from my hometown on the Mid North Coast to Canberra for my university studies that I truly realised and appreciated the incredible sense of community that rural places hold that just can’t be replicated in a city environment. Growing up, I was always eager to engage in community events, whether it be to raise funds for local charities or show off the town in local events. That is one of the reasons I am so excited and grateful to be able to move to the Bega Valley next year to live, work and connect with the local community. For me, the Australian Rotary Health Rural Health Scholarship would enable me to do that in several ways.