Past Indigenous Health Scholarships Program

I have been working withing Aboriginal health for the past 6 years as the Indigenous Liaison Officer for Wuchopperen Health Service in Cairns region.   Through both my personal and working experiences I have seen first hand the health inequalities and the challenges that Aboriginal and Tortes Strait Islanders face today.   Health expectations for Indigenous people are still significantly lower than that of non-Indigenous.

Within the Cairns community there is a high population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders that reside here.   A lot still needs to be addressed if Indigenous health is to improve.

I enrolled as a matured aged student to undertake my studies in Masters of Public Health.   I have always been keen to take on tertiary studies, however, I could not afford the time or financial constraints when I was younger whilst raising my family.   As a mature aged student I have found that this learning experience has been very empowering, rewarding and a fruitful opportunity.   I have personally benefited from studying, gained many positive experiences and contributing to many classroom discussions during my time on this course.    Engaging with fellow Indigenous students has been very insightful, the opportunities to learn from others and being a part of their learning journey has been a very humbling experience.

I am a proud Indigenous woman, and during the last few years I have pursued deeper spiritual and cultural connections to my Indigenous heritage. My journey began in 2015 at the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, where I was tasked with undergoing research development and proposal planning, assessing the health and well-being of incarcerated Indigenous mothers and their children in the Queensland Prison System. This experience highlighted the disturbing gap in healthcare access, and the poor treatment of Indigenous women and children within the penitentiary system.

When I started Medicine, I looked for ways to appreciate my sense of self further, and so I became a member of the Australian Indigenous Doctor’s Association (AIDA).

To contribute to improving Indigenous health as a registered nurse and qualified medical health practitioner I plan on doing so in numerous ways.   I will provide cultural safety and respect to not only all my patients but especially those that identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.   I will provide them with dignity and confidentiality as well linking them with an Aboriginal Liaison Officer if they wish so.   This can help with myself providing health education and nursing in a way that is culturally appropriate, safe and dignified.

Where possible I will also take the time to yarn with my Indigenous patients, getting to know them, their culture and ensuring my nursing care and management strategies are individualised and tailored to specific needs.

After completing my Certificate IV in Health (Nursing in 2003, I became very passionate about patient care and enjoyed the rewards of helping others.   Since that time my motivation for continuing professional development grew.   Nursing offers a broad range of areas to develop skills and over the last few years, my interest in the area of Women, Children and Families, in particular Pregnant Women has grown.

As a registered nurse, I envisage the opportunity to work within my community to promote the importance of achieving and maintaining good health across the lifespan.   I have a particular interest in community health and the delivery of health education within our indigenous communities. To achieve this, I have plans to further my education into postgraduate studies in midwifery and health promotion.

Creating, promoting and implementing health programs that cater specifically to the community, to be run by community members. Indigenous health can be improved by healthcare professionals being actively involved in the community and working together to improve risk factors associated with poor health.

I am a Yuin man from the Bodalla mob on the south coast of NSW.   My great grandfather was John Pittman the King of Bodalla.   My father and grandmother moved from the mission in Batemans Bay after the second World War to find work in Nowra and this is where I was born and grew up.

The reason why I decided to study medicine was that I have seen and experienced much inequality in the health of my people and wish to make a difference.   Like myself my brother had a career change late in life to become a GP and is now working in Nowra Aboriginal Medical Service which is what I intend to do on completion of my studies, to give back to my community.

I am currently on the executive board of the Rural Allied Health and Medical Society (RAHMS) at my university as their Indigenous Community Engagement Activities Director organising any and all events surrounding Indigenous celebrations and raising awareness around Indigenous health.   As well as being the Representative for Social Work for the same society.

My aim for the role this year is to get more people interested and involved in rural health with a strong focus on Indigenous health.   This is to get hopefully more medical and allied health students excited to get involved in the betterment of health for Aboriginal peoples.   I am also in charge of planning a trip out to rural Australia of which I am hopping to visit Aboriginal Medical Services and schools to promote overall health and well-being and to show kids there are so many opportunities for them to get out and make a difference for our people; that they are not stuck where they are and are destined to be a certain way.

I grew up in a country town just outside of Ballarat (VIC), physically distanced from my community in the Warungu tribe in Ceduna (SA), but accepted by my local Wathaurong tribe. Through my mother, uncle and grandmother, all nurses, I learnt the art of caring, and the importance of caring for someone’s body. Through my grandfather, I learnt the importance of caring for someone’s spirit.

My grandfather set up a health centre that incorporates cultural sensitivity in the care of patients. I then watched as he himself was treated in this facility, and the difference he displayed when transferred into the hospital he was fearful of as a child of the stolen generation.

To answer the question to what my contribution would be as a qualified nurse in improving Indigenous Health would come down to my years spent working on the lines as a health worker. The current position in which I have spent 5 years in has been a true eye opener for me. I have come to learn so much about our culture and the many chronic diseases our people face day in and day out. It has been a rewarding career for me to be a health worker as I can be an educator, act as an advocate, a guide and a voice for many individuals and families who feel unheard.

It has always been my strength and fight to help others and to stand up for what is right. When I see the amount of young and elderly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people fighting against sickness and disease.