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Pre-Health graduates strive for change

March 2023 edition
Norlisha Bartlett, Royce Ramsamy, Shenea Tipungwuti-Edwards, Porsche Cahill and Jaylene Friel completed the program.

Improving the lives of their people is at the forefront of the aspirations of recent graduates from Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) First Nations Introduction to University Program for Health graduates.

In January and February students embarked on a four-week intensive study and mentoring program, designed to give them foundational skills and knowledge for future studies in health.

Jaylene Friel, Shenea Tipungwuti-Edwards, Norlisha Bartlett and Royce Ramsamy were among the graduates of the inaugural program. 

Arrernte and Murrinh-Patha woman Jaylene said the program opened her mind to how she can combine her cultural knowledge with Western systems to get the best health outcomes from her people, particular in mental health.

“I’m seeing where my skills and knowledge fit and how I can keep climbing up, educating myself and becoming that voice for my people because it's very silent,” she said.

Tiwi and Burarra woman Shenea plans to study Biomedical Science as a pathway to become a doctor.

“I knew from a young age a lot of the systems are in place aren't really meant for Aboriginal people and aren’t meant to work for them. I originally wanted to go and work in like legal systems but then I realised my passion is with health,” she said.

“I found this program pretty helpful because I got to learn about the systems."

Bardi and Jabirr Jabirr woman Norlisha said the program helped her learn what academic pathways were available to lead her into a career of advocating for policy changes in mental health systems.

“We've had Aboriginal Community Controlled Health, we've had policies, we've had NT Health come in and speak to us just how wide and how many pathways there are for us,” she said.

“I think that's been the best thing because not knowing which pathway to take was really hard."

Kuku Yalanji man Royce Ramsamy said one of his key takeaways from the program was learning the technical aspects of attending university, such as writing essays and referencing.

“This is like the first time that I've truly studied in almost two years. It’s kind of like a TEP (Tertiary Enabling Program) course but more condensed into four weeks rather than a full semester,” he said.

The program covered a variety of topics including the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge in improving health outcomes, health policy and research, writing essays and making presentations.

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