I am a proud Gundungurra woman who has grown up on Palawa country, Tasmania. From a young age, I have had a deep interest in health and medicine, with my own experiences with illness sparking my curiosity, which has only developed deeper over the years. Due to health issues, I have followed an alternate path to be where I am today, however, my experiences have provided me with a wealth of knowledge and perspectives I am extremely grateful for. My personal experiences allow me an ability to genuinely empathize with patients and individuals struggling, while also interacting with all individuals with increased awareness of the diversity of the human experience and the considerations required for the inclusivity and connection that is important to health care.

My connection to Aboriginal community both in NSW and Tasmania fuels my strong drive to work to correct the significant disparities in health care and health outcomes faced by Aboriginal people today. This has been a driving force that makes me deeply determined to use my access to education and ability to pursue a medical career to ensure I can make a positive change and improve the health outcomes of Aboriginal people and disadvantaged individuals and communities.

Through my personal life experiences, as well as work experiences in Aboriginal youth justice, I have developed a deep passion for improving health care in disadvantaged individuals and communities. From these experiences I have become aware of the significant disparities in health care and psychosocial support faced by Aboriginal youth, as well as the significant discrimination and inequity the Aboriginal population continue to face in the health care system. As a qualified medical practitioner, I intend to use my neurobiology research background to pursue further research on the predisposition of Aboriginal people to specific neurological, mental health or substance abuse disorders, and contribute practically to the development of improved healthcare understanding, prevention, treatment and management of Aboriginal and Torres strait islander people.

I intend to gain experience in rural communities, to develop my understanding of important perspectives, I hope to use the knowledge and understanding acquired from these experiences to work with diverse communities, not only providing the best healthcare possible but also using my experience and knowledge to promote the needs of the community and advocate for positive change towards improved health outcomes for Aboriginal people. I hope to continue to be involved in research expanding on my past contributions and I hope with the wealth of experience I intend to obtain that I will be able to contribute to educational positions, sharing perspectives and promoting discussions and learning around both First Nations health and culturally informed health care, to assist in the development of future health care professionals that will continue to facilitate positive change.

Semester 1 of this year has been challenging, yet extremely rewarding, consisting of numerous valuable learning experiences and new opportunities. At the beginning of this year, I transitioned from my medical science degree into a medicine degree, which entailed significant adjustments in learning and study styles, an entirely different schedule consisting of a large amount of clinical placement, and an entirely new cohort. We started the year with a month of intensive bridging to develop important clinical skills before entering our hospital clinical placements. The introduction to clinical skills confirmed that I was on the right path as I thrived in the context of patient interactions, being able to use my empathic nature and interpersonal skills to connect with patients and develop new styles of clinical communication. Since then, I have proceeded to adjust previously developed study techniques, build new learning styles and apply these to the new type of study that is the medicine curriculum. I have had to take numerous moments to reflect upon what is working and what is no longer and make adjustments, which have allowed me to learn more about myself and how I can best thrive through this next period of study.

Through this first period of my degree, I have had the opportunity to meet and be taught by numerous incredible clinical practitioners and have found insight not only in their teaching but also in enquiring into their life journeys, how they have ended up in their position and what positives stand out to them in their careers. I find these conversations greatly assist me in developing clarity on my direction within my career.

I have found a great deal of positive experiences from my patient interactions across the different terms I have undertaken through semester 1. While being exposed to different clinical experiences can be challenging, I have found I can lean on my ability to empathize and connect with patients to allow me to take a positive experience away from what can sometimes initially seem entirely difficult. While being a medical student I am unable to offer medial advise to patients but I have learnt that often being someone to talk to, someone to listen and empathise with, is often a way that I can offer something to patients that are suffering, and in turn, I am able to learn from their experiences, which is something I am also grateful to have the trust of patients for them to share openly with me.

In addition to my medical studies, I have continued to work as an Indigenous researcher at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and deliver educational tours weekly on the historical, social and political context of works in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery, while occasionally making visits to juvenile justice centres to run cultural rehabilitation programs. As my extracurricular work is very important to me, I also undertook a research internship in my Uni break in Perth working on a project investigating cancer treatment side effects in Aboriginal children where I specifically investigated the experiences of those with brain cancer. This experience was incredibly rewarding as I was under the guidance of an inspiring Aboriginal researcher Dr Jessica Buck and was able to connect with numerous Aboriginal academics and medical students. This experience greatly informed my understanding of my own interests and passions and will guide my decisions in further electives to shape the direction of my medical career.