She might be from the other side of Australia but Rebecca Lewis was a proud advocate for Mount Isa this week.
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Ms Lewis is from the small Western Australian wheatbelt town of Hyden and is now a student at James Cook University in Townsville, one year through her four year dual degree, doing a bachelor of nursing and a bachelor of midwifery.
In Mount Isa for a two-week placement at the Mount Isa Rural and Remote Health Centre she happily signed up to last Wednesday’s health careers expo at Tjirtamai Hall to advocate for her course.
“I looked all over Australia at the university offerings for degrees and JCU specialises in tropical medicine which is something intrigued about and as I learn more, becoming more passionate about,” Ms Lewis said.
“I’m 27 and I’ve wanted to be a health professional since I was 10; today’s universities are for everyone, you don’t need to be a genius, universities will work with you.”
Ms Lewis is also passionate about health in the bush.
“That’s the beauty of rural and remote health in Australia, being exposed to situations where you can see how important it is to have a good health infrastructure in rural and remote areas,” she said.
Rebecca is in Mount Isa on a midwifery placement.
The beauty of Mount Isa is that people come from all over for health care and for work
- Rebecca Lewis
“At this stage of my course that means two weeks on the maternity ward here in Mount Isa and being introduced to what the maternity and midwifery structure looks like,” she said.
Ms Lewis said she was really enjoying the placement.
“It’s the epitome of every reason why I’ve moved from Western Australia to here,” she said.
“The beauty of Mount Isa is that people come from all over for health care and for work.
“It’s a hub servicing the greater (north) west of Queensland so you are seeing a lot of different people.
“In two weeks I’ve been exposed to so much.”
Once Ms Lewis is finished her studies, she said she was keen to practice in a rural or remote area such as Mount Isa.
“Health care requires not only a skillset but networking so I’m looking to build bridges to come out here.”