An award that recognises exceptional progress in Aboriginal health education has been presented to a team at UNDA’s Australia’s School of Medicine, who are committed to closing the health gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
Fremantle-based Associate Dean Professor David Paul, Head of Aboriginal Health Curriculum, Associate Professor Clive Walley, Senior Lecturer Louise Austen, Placements Coordinator Sharon Bell and Student Support Officer Denise Groves, are part of Notre Dame’s Aboriginal Health Team that received the LIMElight Award for Excellence in Community Engagement at the seventh biennial LIME (Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education) Connection held in Melbourne in early April.
The LIMElight Awards recognise the significant and outstanding work of staff, students and medical schools in the teaching of Indigenous health, and Indigenous student recruitment and graduation, across Australia and New Zealand.
As part of a community-engagement program that began six years ago, Notre Dame’s Medicine students travel throughout Western Australia, working closely with Aboriginal elders to educate communities on a wide range of health issues.
Professor Paul said that due to the long-term nature of the engagement program, Notre Dame’s Medicine students have made a meaningful contribution to bridging the health gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
“Notre Dame’s Medicine students are exposed to the Aboriginal Health Curriculum from their first day on Campus, and we provide opportunities for students to learn on Country with Elders over time.
“An exposure to Aboriginal people, and their issues and experiences, ensures that our Medicine graduates are more effective when working with and alongside Aboriginal people and communities,” Professor Paul said.
From pages 20 to 21 from Issue 8: ‘Aboriginal’ of The Record Magazine