The North West Hospital and Health Service is for the first time, hosting TAFE students studying the Certificate IV Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care (Practice), and the students are all Kalkadoon descendants and local to Mount Isa.
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Edward Connelly, Christine Rankine and Donna Ah-One are all mature-aged students, and unlike the other eight students enrolled in the course, are not currently employed.
So, when it came to work placement, Lila Pigliafiori, NWHHS Indigenous Workforce Coordinator, sprang into action and negotiated full placement for the three with the NWHHS.
Christine Rankine, 63, and the eldest of the trio, said they are all very proud of themselves.
“We’re the first intake of students for this course. I’ve never worked with computers before; my background is in hospitality, so it’s a big learning curve for me.”
Ms Rankine wants to be an Indigenous Liaison Officer in the hospital once she graduates in May 2019.
Edward Connelly has done a lot of social work and community support at the likes of Topsy Harry in Mount Isa, but he is keen to get a qualification and work as an Indigenous Health Worker.
“It’s 30 years since I’ve been to school, and I’m really looking forward to graduating. There’s a high need for Indigenous health workers and this qualification will open all the doors for me. I want to represent my people,” he said.
Donna Ah-One, Edward’s sister, graduated from high school and has done a Cert 3 which has seen her working in children’s services for most of her working life, but has a real passion for the health of her people.
“I applied for a job at the hospital earlier and I think I came close to getting it but they told me I would need a health qualification.
“So, I said, “I’ll be back!” and I will be back!”
She feels she can ‘take more in’ at her stage of life, in terms of the study and learning, and is grateful to Ms Pigliafiori and the NWHHS for the opportunity to work alongside health professionals.
Ms Pigliafiori said the qualification would give them the edge over others in terms of health work because they are learning how to practise clinical skills that will support the health profession across the region.
“This Certificate IV will give them the qualification to assist with the understanding of how to support the effective delivery of clinical care under the supervision of the medical or clinical team, and they are being trained to specifically understand the disease process, the treatment process and the community care necessary to help their people.”
“It’s very exciting to think these three will be qualified in less than a year, and ready to work in such an important role – Indigenous health work.”