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BRANCH news Western Australia

CARAH Compass experience in the Outback

As active members of our rural health club, WAALHIIBE (a member of the National Rural Health Students Network (NRHSN)) we were offered the opportunity to apply for the CARAH Compass experience from 28 October to 2 November 2014, provided by the Northern Territory Medicare Local (NTML). We were lucky enough to be selected as two of the eight allied health and medical students from across the country to participate. The CARAH Compass experience aimed to introduce interested health students to the natural beauty of the Northern Territory as well as the methods of healthcare delivery in rural and remote Central Australia. These experiences were provided in the hope that we will seriously consider undertaking a rural or remote practicum during our degree and eventually employment in the Northern Territory. While in Alice Springs we visited some remote Aboriginal communities in order to explore their culture and gain a firsthand view of the health delivery services. In Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte), a community 80kms from Alice Springs along an unsealed road, we spoke to nurse Debbie Star who has lived and served in the community for four and a half years. She gave us an insight into living conditions in the community and the prevalence of chronic disease, such as kidney disease. A visit to the Ntaria Clinic at Hermannsburg highlighted the importance of improving health services, with the community being closely involved in the planning of a new $5 million clinic to ensure cultural appropriateness, such as separate male and female entrances. We were afforded the opportunity to meet with speech pathologists, Libby Coy, Anna Ritchie and Ha Young Lim (Summer), at Alice Springs Hospital who gave a perspective of speech pathology services in remote communities and in a hospital setting. They encouraged us to consider how paediatric services could be improved and built upon in

Above: Paige (left) and Nickee (right) visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and the Alice Springs Hospital (below) while in Alice Springs.

for women’s health delivery in an often difficult, environment. Our week in Alice Springs provided an excellent opportunity to not only experience the magnificent scenery of Central Australia, but to network with other allied health and medical students and qualified health professionals. We are very grateful to NRSHN, NTML and Rural Health Workforce Australia for providing this wonderful opportunity and highly encourage other students interested in rural or remote health to get involved within their own rural health club. Paige Chewter and Nickee Priestman First-year Speech Pathology, Edith Cowan University

remote communities to improve future outcomes, as well as gave us some fantastic tips of areas to focus on as we continue through our studies. Meeting Libby, Anna and Summer was a highlight of our trip as we had the unique opportunity to discuss topics and ask questions of specialists in our field living in a town so different to home. Another wonderful opportunity that we were able to partake in was visiting Alukura, a women’s only clinic that provides a range of culturally appropriate health services to Aboriginal women. We met Dr Claire Jarvis and some of her amazing staff and were impressed with the cultural inclusivity and passion

Speak Out February 2015

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www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au