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“It's Not About me, it's About the Community”: Culturally Relevant Health Career Promotion for Indigenous Students in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2015

Heather Kelly ,
Anske Robinson ,
Marlene Drysdale ,
Janice Chesters ,
Susan Faulkner ,
Isabel Ellender  and
Leanne Turnbull
Heather Kelly
Affiliation:
Monash University Department of Rural and Indigenous Health, PO Box 973, Moe, Victoria, 3825, Australia
Anske Robinson
Affiliation:
Monash University Department of Rural and Indigenous Health, PO Box 973, Moe, Victoria, 3825, Australia
Marlene Drysdale
Affiliation:
Monash University Department of Rural and Indigenous Health, PO Box 973, Moe, Victoria, 3825, Australia
Janice Chesters
Affiliation:
Monash University Department of Rural and Indigenous Health, PO Box 973, Moe, Victoria, 3825, Australia
Susan Faulkner
Affiliation:
Stokes & Partners Pty Ltd, Powell Street, Neutral Bay, New South Wales, 2089, Australia
Isabel Ellender
Affiliation:
Monash University Department of Rural and Indigenous Health, PO Box 973, Moe, Victoria, 3825, Australia
Leanne Turnbull
Affiliation:
Monash University Department of Rural and Indigenous Health, PO Box 973, Moe, Victoria, 3825, Australia
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Abstract

The numbers of Indigenous students studying in health career courses at the tertiary level is low. This paper describes a forum conducted as part of a project of national significance which examines the solutions and barriers for Indigenous student entry to medical and other health science education. Small group discussions and observations were used to determine how a group of Indigenous students, school age and mature, became interested in a health career, what influenced them, their expectations and where they sourced information. The initial design of the forum, based on other successful non-Indigenous health career events, was deemed inappropriate. When an Indigenous educator intervened, and used a more culturally appropriate approach, the engagement of the Indigenous students increased. The importance of culturally relevant health career promotion is a vital part of a complex series of actions needed to increase the recruitment and retention of Indigenous students into health science careers.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 19 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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