My name is Kaiara Braybrook and I am a proud Kuku Yalanji woman. My mob is from Far North Queensland and I have grown up immersed in the Wurundjeri community. I will soon finish my medical degree and am currently aspiring to be a General Practitioner. As a doctor I intend to work with Indigenous communities to advocate for culturally safe care and aid in bridging the gap in healthcare for Indigenous peoples.

As an Aboriginal woman, community and connection to country is constantly at the forefront of my mind and a pillar that shapes the way in which I act. Since starting medicine my main motivation has been to reach a position where I can give back to my community.

My plan has remained the same. That plan is to dedicate myself to this education and once completed, dedicate myself to improving health outcomes for Indigenous communities. As I stated during the interview process for medicine five years ago, my intention has always been to give back to the community in any way that I can. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by family who have always been immersed in community. Whether that be aiding the community with law, introducing youth to sport or providing resources and safety to those who are in need, I have been witness to this and have always had the goal of doing a similar thing through medicine.

Following graduation, I hope to be someone that Indigenous patients will trust and to be a point of communication for those who need it, advocating for them and making cultural practices accessible. In the longer term, I intend to give back to the community by working in rural settings, and settings where there is a focus on Indigenous health. As a qualified medical practitioner, I intend to provide culturally safe care and aid in bridging the gap for better health outcomes for the Indigenous population.

My name is Kaiara and I am a final year medical student at Monash University this year. This year so far has been excellent. I feel as though I have been honing skills and developing my knowledge ready to commence internship next year.

In my first semester, I completed my scholarly intensive placement (research). I participated in data collection and report writing on a very interesting subject in the neurology field related to the presentation of first seizures. This was something that was new for me. This was my first exposure to research and I was quite nervous prior to starting this. Upon completion of this rotation, I felt confident in my skills and was very pleased with my first exposure to clinical research.

The next rotation I completed was in the Emergency Department at the Alfred Hospital. This was an exciting rotation where I got to see patients independently and think through the management of conditions, allowing me to put the study into practice. Also in this rotation I had the opportunity to practice many procedural skills all of which we will be expected to perform independently and competently next year. Along with this, the Alfred is one of the main trauma centres for Victoria so I had the privilege to be involved in the care of some of these patients which gave me a lot of perspective.

The last rotation of semester one was my aged care rotation which I completed in the general medicine department at Alfred. This was my favourite rotation of the semester. I loved the intricacies of the medical management of these patients and feel I had the opportunity to build rapport with many of the patients. Along with this, I really felt as though I was a part of the team in this rotation. I was largely involved in the ward rounds and ward jobs and felt quite valued in this rotation which greatly improved my confidence.

Now moving into semester two, I have kicked off the semester on the Trauma service at the Alfred hospital. This is quite a confronting rotation with the severity of presentations and patient condition. It is also an extremely busy service and is giving me valuable insight into how to manage a busy ward as a junior doctor.
I feel privileged to be a recipient of the Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Health Scholarship this year. It has taken the external pressure of finance away which I am beyond grateful for. Specifically it has helped me to fund getting to and from placements as I commute over an hour each way, the cost of fuel and car maintenance can be quite burdensome.

I look forward to seeing what the rest of the year will bring as I finish this rotation and then rotate through ICU and cardiology, and not so far in the future, graduate medical school.   Thank you once again for the support of Australian Rotary Health this year.