ANU Medical School runs hands-on workshop for Indigenous students

The ANU Medical School recently hosted a Hands-On workshop for Indigenous Students: Know Your Body. Indigenous students from Yrs 10, 11 and 12 from around the region were invited to attend the workshop. The workshop not only aimed to inspire more young Indigenous Australian to consider medicine as a career but also to provide Indigenous students with an enjoyable experience where they fully participated in a science activity. Twelve students attended from the following public, private and catholic school systems: Calwell High School, Erindale College, Hawker College, Radford College, St Clare’s College, St Francis Xavier College, Wanniassa High School

Through the workshop the ANU Medical School sought to provide an opportunity for Indigenous senior school students to met and chat to Indigenous medical students about their experiences of getting into medical school and the benefits this provides to their community. Through a fun series of activities, which included looking at the bugs we have on our hands, anatomy quiz, ECG (and heart models), hearing test, spirometry and looking at malaria, the activities aimed to spark interest amongst Indigenous students for medicine as a career. The workshop also demonstrated the close relationship between medicine and science and therefore encouraged the students to study science throughout secondary school.

A program was developed which not only provided hands-on experience in the lab but also provided an opportunity to see over a working ambulance and discuss with the attending ambulance officer the role of a paramedic. The participants also had the opportunity listening to and directing questions to A/Prof Keiran Fallon as to the role of a sports doctor at the Australian Institute of Sport. Medical students from the ANU Rural Medical Society acted as guides and showed the Indigenous students around the ANU campus and also cooked a BBQ for the Indigenous students, which was held at the Jabal Centre.

Feedback from the participants indicated the day was a great success and enjoyed by all those who attended. The ANU Medical School aims to continue these workshops on an annual basis and has already set Monday, 9 August 2010 for the next workshop.

It is hoped that interest may be attracted from Indigenous students in our rural areas. If you are able to assist in promoting this workshop to High Schools within your region please contact Ms Gaye Doolan, Indigenous Health Project Officer, gaye.doolan@anu.edu.au for details of the workshop.

More information about the Rural Clinical School can be found at: http://medicalschool.anu.edu.au/sgprih

Posted 31 August 2009