In July of this year, four UQ Doctor of Medicine students travelled to Laura in Far North Queensland for the Biennial Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival as representatives for TROHPIQ (Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland) and RHINO (Rural Health in Northern Outback).
As well as their main objectives of engaging youth with health careers and health promotion, the students had the invaluable experience of exploring Aboriginal culture and country for themselves.
Third year student Sarah Ayles said, “Over the weekend we, as future clinicians, had the opportunity to learn and participate in Indigenous culture.”
“We were frequently greeted by people who were willing to have a yarn about their experiences with the health system from Weipa to Thursday Island.”
As well as attending the festival, Sarah and her peers visited Split Rocks to see the famous rock art, as well as Mossman Gorge.
Sarah reported that one of the most consistent messages being promoted over the weekend was that of healthy starts for children and ongoing involvement with health professionals.
“We hope that we've inspired some future health professionals in Cape York,” she said.
Media: Ms Sarah Ayles, s.ayles@uq.edu.au; Ryan Sim, Marketing and Communications, Faculty of Medicine + Biomedical Sciences, r.sim@uq.edu.au.
