Category: Member Story

1) Where​ ​you​ ​are​ ​from? Gunnedah – New South Wales, Kamilaroi Nation, and currently I live in Bundaberg. 2) Where​ ​on​ ​the​ ​medical​ ​continuum​ ​are​ ​you?I am a former Royal Australian Navy medic and intensive care paramedic in several ambulance services and for RFDS. I am a graduate of James Cook University and I have a Fellowship of the RACGP, a Fellowship in Advanced … Continued

My first thoughts. So, where do I start when I need to provide a report to AIDA on the conference. Then the words start flowing with tears, inspiration and a real passion for what I am currently doing. Not only a journey to becoming a Doctor but also a journey to becoming an Aboriginal Doctor. … Continued

As an Indigenous medical student, Melissa Carroll made it her mission to give a voice to her fellow Indigenous medical students. Now, a first year Indigenous medical doctor and an AIDA Member, we congratulate Melissa on her achievements so far. Her family are Wiradjuri from the Central-West area of NSW and she grew up in Newcastle on Awabakal and … Continued

AIDA spoke with Luke Walker, one of our Indigenous medical student members who is now in his final year of studying medicine. Luke is a Wiradjuri man from a small town called Narromine located about 30 minutes west of Dubbo, in Central West NSW. In Year 12 he was awarded Narromine’s Young Citizen of the … Continued

AIDA spoke to Dr Claudia Paul who finished her studies last year to become a medical doctor. We asked her how it felt to pass her final exams after five years of studies. “It has taken a little while for it to sink in, that I have now finished medical school (finally) and am working … Continued

AIDA recently spoke to Australia’s first Indigenous Radiation Oncology trainee and AIDA Indigenous Medical Doctor Member, Dr Kelly Needham – a mother of 12-year old twins who grew up in a blue collar Australian family in south western Sydney, who now lives on the Central Coast. “My Indigenous heritage comes from my father’s side of … Continued

AIDA spoke with Dr Declan Scott, a Wirlomin Noongar man from the ancestral country on the south coast of WA roughly between Bremer Bay and Esperance. Declan grew up in Coolbellup in Perth and is now an Intern at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Western Australia. He graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and … Continued

Miss Kelly Langford has been an Indigenous Medical Student Member with AIDA since her first year of enrolment in the Doctor of Medicine at The University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2015. She is a proud Darraba woman from the Badjala Nation on Fraser Island. We asked what inspired Kelly to study medicine. “When I … Continued

AIDA spoke with Dr Kristopher Rallah-Baker about his career, art, culture and music, and his connection to AIDA. Kristopher was born in Canberra, ACT, where his dad worked with National Parks and Wildlife Service and his mum worked in the Aboriginal Development Commission. Although he doesn’t remember it, Kristopher says Uncle Neville Bonner held him … Continued