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.

I would like to focus on ensuring all people can associate their care with a positive experience and eliminate the stigma closely correlated with seeking medical attention for the Indigenous Community. In doing so, this will improve the health outcomes of Aboriginal people by reducing their anxiety towards seeking care. This may include enhancing the amount and quality of clinical services provided for the Indigenous community and facilitating better communication with Aboriginal people and communities. This is essential so that all practitioners can better understand how to care for the Indigenous community and respond to client’s concerns, thus helping clients to better understand their illness and direction of treatment. It is crucial to avoid using medical jargon and terminology by instead using terms that can be easily understood by the general population. Education is an essential aspect to this process, and I hope to provide and offer knowledgeable information to the Indigenous community and those working with the Indigenous community to help improve overall health and well-being.

This semester has been dedicated to my core and elective placements for my final year of study. I began the year back home in Tasmania at Mersey Community Hospital completing a General Rehabilitation placement. I thoroughly enjoyed this placement and the opportunity to study closer to home and family. Being home, in my element I believe assisted me in getting my best placement marks thus far. I then returned to Melbourne with a few short weeks between placements to complete my next 5-week placement at Cabrini Malvern in acute musculoskeletal physiotherapy. I thoroughly enjoyed this placement and have since developed a key interest towards the orthopaedic patient population. I then went onto complete my elective placement at Ocean Kids which was very insightful and provided me with a wealth of knowledge and therapy techniques I had not been exposed to through my studies or prior placement experience. Lastly, I am now onto my final two-week placement for my degree being a paediatric lifespan placement at Frankston Community Health and Mornington Community Health. My prior experience at Ocean Kids has greatly assisted with my confidence and knowledge leading into this final placement.

Amidst my studies this semester I have also moved suburbs from Bentleigh East to Brighton East with my former house mate. We are now closer to the beach which has been perfect for walking the dogs and catching up with friends. I am looking forward to being near the beach over the summer months to come. I have also had the opportunity to finally travel interstate and visit close friends in Queensland for a week in-between my placements. I really enjoyed this time, and it has also further validated to me that I am wanting to make a lifestyle change next year and hoping to relocate to Queensland and hopefully pick up a graduate role in a hospital setting.

I am looking forward to a few quieter months to come with placements soon to be complete. I have ongoing honours work in research and a few assignments and exams to go with graduation to be held in December. One of my final priorities is editing my cover letter examples and resume to apply for physiotherapy graduate jobs in the upcoming months.