Past Indigenous Health Scholarships Program

After graduating university as a young Indigenous woman with a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (with Honours) and being on the Dean’s Merit List, I felt I needed to be a leader for Indigenous people and those living in rural areas.  To do so, I spoke at an International Dietetic Conference about my journey getting into university, living rurally and being Indigenous.

Medical imaging combines everything that I am passionate about including photography, art, science, physics and helping others.   The opportunity to use advanced equipment in order to take an image of someone and their pathology and using such information to assist in their treatment is truly rewarding.

I am an Esperance Nyungar woman from rural Western Australia enrolled in second year medicine at the university of Notre Dame in Fremantle.   I have always strived to continue improving Aboriginal health and wellbeing and am now lucky to do so through medicine.

Due to the ongoing impacts of colonisation, Indigenous peoples have an over represented presence within social service fields. However, significant research has indicated that Western social work practice is often unhelpful and can be damaging for Indigenous people, their families and communities. This is being increasingly recognised in the field of social work. Evidence also supports that social work practice by Indigenous people for Indigenous people is healing and beneficial. The lack of choice and control Aboriginal people have over social work is evident in the lack of Aboriginal social workers. Indigenous perspectives and practitioners are required to support the healing of Indigenous communities. Increasing evidence also shows that what works for Aboriginal peoples, also works well for mainstream communities, demonstrating a broader benefit of the increased inclusion of Indigenous peoples in practice.

I am interested in studying medicine because I believe this career to be my true calling in life. With my passion for the health and fitness industry and my undergraduate degree in chiropractic science I believe I have a solid foundation on studying medicine at Notre Dame.

As an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander I have experienced, both within my family, and otherwise, the common issues and disadvantages our people face when it comes to health. Critical moments for me have included supporting family members, especially those with terminal and chronic conditions, in accessing health services, and realizing how helpless and detached they have felt regarding their own circumstances, despite being (tick the box) informed of their situations. And, how reluctant to ask questions and seek clarification they have been, without (and sometimes even with) the support of a significant other who may or may not have a clear of grasp the situation themselves.

I am a proud Yorta Yorta and Torres Strait Islander woman. I am a mother of four boys from ages 11 years to 8 months-old. I have a great passion to help my people and feel my lived experience will serve well as a medical professional. My goal to be a doctor stems from wanting to make a difference for my community’s health, my interest in science, and wanting to participate in the dynamic changes within medicine. My lived experience includes watching my elders pass away at a much younger age than the wider Australian population. My maternal and paternal grandparents were all affected by cancer and died far too young.

Coming from an Aboriginal background, I have seen first-hand the poorer oral health outcomes of family members. Maintaining oral health is often not held to a high priority in many of their lives, and ultimately comes down to a lack of education and role models, as well as mistrust of the healthcare system. This has greatly influenced me in pursue a career in healthcare, and cement my name in the industry as proud Quandamooka woman. After experience university clinical placements, I highly admire the extreme trust and commitment shared between the patient and the dentist. As a result, my biggest goal is to be an approachable and reliable dentist who will have a lasting effect within the community. To me, dentistry is so much more than just a quick ‘drill and fill’ approach; it encompasses many aspects of overall health and well-being. I want to better the general health among people from all backgrounds for a pain and disease-free future, and ultimately help people become independent in managing their health.

“Janu nagula jarndu buru rubibi” (As a salt Water Woman from Broome), my driving influence always has and always will be my people. I am very fortunate to have grown up in community where I was immersed in culture from a very young age. However, this also meant that I was privy to the ongoing suffering and trauma felt by my people. Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to help alleviate this suffering, and to help my culture to become what it once was. In order to follow this dream, I left country and moved to the city so that I could gain qualifications that would make a positive impact on my community.

I chose to study psychology to become a psychologist and contribute to improving Indigenous health as a qualified health worker. I understand the importance of Indigenous people having mental health care workers from their own community, who have knowledge and appreciation of the Indigenous diversity and cultural expectations. There are not enough Indigenous mental health clinicians to meet the needs of the Indigenous communities. Challenges currently exist in many cases where non-Indigenous psychologists are not always prepared where in many instances end up working in culturally unsafe ways, not only to the client but to themselves. 2022 is the final year of my undergraduate Degree in Psychology.