Last year, I attended my Grandmother’s funeral; I never got the opportunity to meet her in person. As a very young girl, she was stolen from her home in NT and raised on a mission. She was institutionalised until she was 21 in what was described as ‘an experiment in assimilation’. Her son, my father, was also forcibly removed, this time at his birth, and sadly, as a result, he has grown up with identity issues, anxiety, depression and addiction; I have barely seen him for most of my life.

My story, although sad, is a common one for Indigenous Australians. Through assimilation policies, my connection to the Jawoyn culture has been fractured, as has my connection to key family members. From my own life experiences, I have seen first-hand the way these kinds of realities affect people mentally and physically; my own teenage years were an extremely challenging time. The turning point in my own life occurred in my late teens, when I met my biological uncle Robbie for the first time, and witnessed the life he has created, despite the difficulties he faced growing up. He serves his community in Swan Hill working in schools with Indigenous youth. When I met him, I saw the sense of fulfilment and connection to culture he had been able to establish by serving his community and helping young people who were ‘at risk,’ as he had once been. From observing his interactions, it was very clear to see that he has found his sense of purpose.

From that moment, I was completely inspired and understood that the key to my own happiness was also working to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. For me, that would be through health-care, as a Doctor. I understand that the shocking disparity in health outcomes between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians is intrinsically linked to the additional challenges that many Indigenous Australians face such as: racism, family dislocation and loss of culture and land, disempowerment and poverty. These kinds of challenges not only affect people’s emotional well-being, but also their physical well-being and ultimately, their mortality.

Living remotely means that many Indigenous Australians do not have adequate access to medical care, and research suggests that frequently, the medical care they do receive often lacks cultural sensitivity, with 25% of Indigenous Australians indicating they have experienced racism during medical care. I am determined to address these barriers to health for indigenous Australians when I graduate. I intend to work in remote communities and while it would be an absolute dream, to one day, work in my Grandmother’s Jawoyn country, I know that I will receive fulfilment from working in any remote community. I have a keen interest in addressing the high percentage of Indigenous people suffering from diabetes and associated complications such as renal failure. Similarly, fuelled by the disproportionate statistics, as well as my own father’s personal challenges, I am interested in addressing addictions and mental health. I am passionate about ensuring that I provide patient-centred health care, which is culturally sensitive and respectful of differences, such as indirect communication styles. I intend to bring informed methods to my practice which have been shown to enhance the comfort of Indigenous Australians seeking medical treatment such as clinical yarning and to focus on the whole person. I believe my own life experiences including family dislocation and loss of culture has positioned me to appreciate the connection between emotional pain and physical health and to understand the need for individuals to live empowered lives with strong connections to supportive communities and country. This in turn, will enhance the efficacy of medical interventions provided.

I would like to start this report reflecting on some experiences and milestones from last semester.

Last semester, I rotated through acute general surgery at Monash Medical Centre, general medicine at Dandenong hospital and I had my scholarly intensive project at VACCHO (Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation).

My first rotation on acute general surgery was memorable. I was able to assist in a thyroidectomy surgery (removal of thyroid). I spent a day in theatre assisting and did not leave until around eight o’clock at night. While the day was tiring, I felt very content, and it was a surreal experience.

My next rotation at Dandenong hospital was General Medicine. The team was very warm and welcoming, and I was encouraged to take notes and help with administration jobs. At one point I helped call an emergency X-ray for a patient who had suspected sepsis (infection in the blood). I met a lovely consultant who was a great mentor and gave me a lot of encouraging positive feedback and acted as my reference for internship applications.

My next rotation was a research project through Monash called the scholarly intensive project. I was able to do my project with VACCHO as I was fortunate to befriend an inspiring mentor at the AIDA conference last year (Australian Indigenous Doctor’s Association). She is a paediatrician who is currently working for VACCHO. My research title was called – ‘Learning from ACCHOs across Victoria Opportunistic influenza immunisations for Indigenous children at ACCHOs across Victoria’.

Over this time, I called and attended many ACCHOs throughout Victoria to ask about tools that are used to give influenza immunisations and ways we can learn from these brilliant organisations. I was able to attend council immunisation clinics. I also presented my report at the VACCHO GP gathering in Warrnambool. I was very nervous but very excited to do so. I received very encouraging feedback and submitted an abstract to present to a conference called PRIDoC (Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress).   I am very pleased that my abstract was accepted, and it will be presented in December later this year.

During the three week break I went back home to Launceston and spent a lot of time with my Mum and dog (Leila). I also spent the time finalising my application for internship. I recently received my internship, and I will be at The Royal Melbourne Hospital for 2025 and 2026. I was also selected to participate in The Indigenous University Games representing Monash University. We travelled to Wollongong and participated in four sports over a week (netball,
basketball, touch football and volleyball). This was a surreal experience and I feel very fortunate to have attended.

I started this semester on The Emergency Department at Monash Medical centre.  I was a little nervous prior to starting as we had a logbook which had various skills in it, we needed to get ticked off by a doctor while on the placement (over six weeks). As I was at Indigenous Nationals, I missed a week of my placement which put more pressure on me to get it done. However, I was lucky that a lot of the doctors were very helpful and made it a priority to get my assessments ticked off. Some of the tasks included plastering (casts), cannulation (putting a needle into a vein), suturing/stitching (I did a couple on eye cuts) and case presentations, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. While ED was fast paced, I really enjoyed it and surprisingly really liked the afternoon shift which went from two until eleven in the evening. I am happy that I got all my assessments ticked off.

Throughout this year I have attended many VESPA nights with other Indigenous medical students at Monash where we practice skills together. As I am the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Vice President for MUMUS a lot of my role is ensuring students feel supported and are aware of events such as these. I also attended a VACCHO/VESPA gathering in federation square earlier this year where all Indigenous students from a lot of Victorian universities attended. We learnt many practical skills and I think this is where I developed my love for suturing.

I am currently on Intensive Care Unit placement (my final week this week). I started at Monash Medical and now I’m at Victorian Heart Hospital. I have thoroughly enjoyed this rotation. The teams have been very teaching orientated and ensuring that we feel welcomed.  Some parts of this rotation have been difficult as there has been very unwell patients.  Something I have witnessed is the overwhelming displays of care and love from the teams on these units especially to the families. It has been a reminder of that the way in which small acts of kindness can really change someone’s days, weeks, and months. Especially when their worlds have been turned upside down.

This past weekend I was fortunate that North Melbourne Football helped my family and I to attend my sister’s 50th game of AFLW in Brisbane. My Dad and sister were also able to drive up there and it was such an emotional but powerful day to be reunited all together on Father’s Day.

My final rotation starts next week. I am on aged care at Monash Medical centre for six weeks. I have two assessments left to pass this year. I am very excited but also a bit sad and anxious that my university degree is coming to an end. I know that I am ready for this new chapter of my life, but I am also somewhat nervous about continuing my journey to becoming a good doctor.  I have been reminded by others that are years above me that it is normal to worry and feel this way before a big change.

I want to thank Rotary Club of Mornington/Boronia Medical Centre from the bottom of my heart for supporting me financially throughout this degree. It has really made such a difference to my life with the current cost of living, being away from home.