I am Myles McKenzie, a proud Barundji Aboriginal man of the Paroo river, raised in Townsville, North Queensland. Having grown up in regional North Queensland, I became cognizant of the complex health disparities faced in Northern Australia, including the elevated prevalence of untreated mental illness within Aboriginal communities and inaccessibility to culturally sensitive health services. The implications of these health disparities became especially evident during my secondary education, where I learnt that suicide remains one of the leading causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, affecting Aboriginal children as young as nine years of age.

These shocking health disparities inspired my passion for mental health, determined to reduce mental illness and suicide in my community. This aspiration motivated my completion of a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) before pursuing medicine. Currently, I am completing my second year of a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery with an expected completion date of December 2028. Following my medical training, I plan to complete a psychiatric fellowship and utilise my diverse mental health skills along with my cultural background to provide culturally sensitive mental healthcare for Aboriginal communities across North Queensland.

As a young Aboriginal man, my medical aspirations were instigated following my Aboriginal initiation at the age of 13. During this time, I began to hear the stories of my community elders where I learnt of the substantial health disparities experienced within remote communities, noting a common theme among my Elders’ stories: a sense that their health had been forgotten.

This experience highlighted the crucial need for accessible and culturally sensitive healthcare on country, and I would love nothing more than the opportunity to implement this approach for my North Queensland region as an Aboriginal doctor. This desire quickly transpired into self-determination following work experience in the remote Hughenden hospital and Townsville psychiatric unit. I realised mental health was often under-appreciated in medicine, with many of my mob left suffering untreated mental illness, unable to access mental health services. This prompted my aspiration to become an Aboriginal psychiatrist in North Queensland and provide culturally sensitive mental healthcare on-country to reduce the soring prevalence of untreated mental illness in North Queensland.

Through this aspiration, I will utilise my medicine, psychology, and cultural background to adapt a holistic approach to patient care, recognising that each component, be it physical, social, environmental, cultural, or spiritual, are crucial to achieve positive patient outcomes. Most importantly, I hope to utilise my traditional Aboriginal Spirituality and medical knowlegde to provide cultural, community-based mental healthcare and finally, reduce the distressing presence of Aboriginal youth suicide.

After recently completing my 3rd year of medicine and reaching the half-way point of my studies, I have experienced immense professional and personal growth. This year brought new hurdles, from the complexity of dermatology and immunology study to unexpected health challenges, with these hurdles testing my self-determination. Despite setbacks, I embraced novel study strategies throughout the year, ranging from digital flashcards, handwritten diagrams, and even plastering my bedroom with hundreds of dermatological images (much to my family’s displeasure). However, what became most notable this year was the importance of peer-based learning, as without my friends and study group, I would have struggled to pass the year. Engaging in regular study group sessions utilising fun learning strategies, including peer teaching, Kahoot! quizzes, and even creating our own mock exams, these opportunities enhanced our collective comprehension and application of complex content, enabling academic excellence. Subsequently, this year has been one where I knew I belonged in medicine, with that sense of imposter syndrome dissipating as I found my confidence to prosper as an Aboriginal medical student and future doctor for my North Queensland communities.

Outside my studies, I have focused on supporting younger Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to pursue their own health aspirations and become strong leaders of the future. This has included taking on tutoring and teaching opportunities within medicine and psychology, providing one-on-one support for Indigenous students to navigate personal and academic barriers to succeed in their studies. Most notably, I took on leadership roles within the JCU Winter and Summer School programs, supporting Indigenous high school students to explore medicine and find their own pathway to become an Aboriginal doctor in
North Queensland. During these programs, one notable experience occurred when I worked with two newly-graduated year 12 Indigenous students to prepare for their JCU medicine interviews, supporting these students to display their confidence and passion for a career as an Aboriginal doctor. These opportunities have provided hope for the future and even strengthened my own passion for medicine, knowing that I will have many incredible Indigenous medical colleagues in the near future. In the coming year, I hope to continue these roles, expanding to engage more closely with secondary high schools around North Queensland to break-down barriers to pursuing medical education, highlighting the diverse pathways to becoming a doctor.

Despite these positive experiences, several health challenges presented this year which illuminated the importance of work-life balance. These health challenges required adjusted priori es to focus on improving my physical and mental health. This saw me take on new activities, including daily jogging, strength training, and providing dedicated me each evening to create healthy meals. These health concerns provided a much-needed reminder that I must priori se my own health before studying, recognising that strong mental and physical health are foundational to sustain my long-term resilience and become an impactful future Aboriginal psychiatrist.

The Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Health Scholarship has been invaluable over this past year, enabling me to pursue every learning opportunity that presents, and work towards becoming a holistic, culturally-sensitive Aboriginal medical practitioner. This scholarship will become increasingly crucial over this coming year, with additional clinical workload and concluding government support placing extensive financial pressure on my studies. Subsequently, this scholarship has helped overcome these pressures, and I express my deepest gratitude to both Australian Rotary Health and the Rotary Club of Essendon for
their continued support in making my medical aspirations possible.