Earlier this week we welcomed three new cohorts of medical students to our campuses in Lismore and Grafton and one of their first activities was to participate in a Cultural Immersion program. The program gives our students an opportunity to immerse themselves in local Aboriginal culture and community before embarking on their placements.
In Lismore, the new students (from the University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University) all spent two days on-country with the Aboriginal Health Education team and local Aboriginal community members to talk about Aboriginal people, life in a rural area, health, and history.
The program provided an opportunity to unpack what the students already know about Aboriginal cultures, Australian colonial history and health needs, and what they need to know as the next generation of doctors.Â
Highlights of the program included a twilight weaving workshop, a screening of the powerful film In my blood it runs, and a guided tour of Cape Byron with local Bundjalung woman, Delta Kay. Delta shared with the students stories about local Aboriginal history, including how Bundjalung people traditionally cared for and preserved the land, as well as the devastating impact of settlement and displacement on their people and how their family negotiated their Native Title.
In Grafton, our new University of Wollongong students spent a valuable day at Yarrawarrah Cultural Centre on Gumbaynggirr country. Lily, a Gumbaynggirr local, took the students on a guided tour of the local bush identifying bush tucker and bush medicine. Lily also shared creation stories, in a yarning circle, then led the team in a fibre workshop, making baskets from palm leaves.
Local artist Josie provided some history on the boomerang’s cultural importance and traditional usage. Josie discussed common symbols used in Gumbaynggirr story telling art and how to tell a story using symbols.  After much yarning and some painting students has opportunity to create their own story in art on a boomerang.
Embedding cultural immersion as a key component in our new students’ orientation to rural placement is a perfect way to extend their thinking and challenge them to consider how they can respond to the social determinants of health, and what role they play as individuals and as future medical professionals.
