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What is the Ngalla Bidi Bursary?

The PRIDoC Bursary, Our Doctors Ngalla Bidi Our Pathway, supports students to attend the Pacific Region Aboriginal Doctors Congress (PRIDoC).

The Ngalla Bidi Bursary is a way that you can help WA Indigenous Medical Students on their journey towards becoming Doctors.

The bursary offers recipients the life-changing opportunity to attend the Pacific Regional Indigenous Doctors Congress, where they can embrace Aboriginal cultures, the spirit of connection, lifelong friendships, and empower each other through shared learning and experiences of Aboriginal medicine.

Sharing our work and knowledge allows us to be a stronger collective voice to advance our work together. Enhancing cultural responsiveness in Aboriginal health service delivery is a key step, contributing to culturally safe healthcare for Aboriginal people in Western Australia and the generations to come.

Our ambition is to fund at least 40 Ngalla Bidi Bursaries, with the intention for this to become an ongoing commitment, contributing to attendance at future PRIDoC events every two years.

Donations are being accepted until 30 September 2024, and bursaries will be awarded in October 2024.

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What is PRIDoC

PRIDoC provides a forum for Indigenous doctors and students from across the Pacific to gather and discuss issues of mutual interest, particularly those about physical, mental, spiritual, social and cultural well-being.

PRIDoC was started in 2002 to provide a vehicle for Indigenous doctors and medical students from throughout the Pacific Rim to network, discuss issues of mutual interest, and share scientific advances and best practices, as well as ancient wisdom and traditional knowledge, to further the health and well-being of our communities. In addition, support and mentorship of medical students have always been an important PRIDoC function. PRIDoC comprises delegates from Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hawaii, the USA and Canada.

The 12th Biennial PRIDoC is coming to Australia. The conference is from 2nd – 6th December 2024 in Adelaide, South Australia – the traditional Country of the Kaurna people.

The Request

AHCWA respectfully asks you to consider supporting the Ngalla Bidi Bursary. With each bursary valued at $5,000*, we are keen to get as many contributions as possible.

We would be genuinely grateful if consideration were given to supporting one full Ngalla Bidi Bursary at $5,000. If a full investment isn’t possible now, we ask that you please consider contributing to the Ngalla Bidi Bursary Fund, where AHCWA and other funders are collectively pulling together to support several full scholarships.

We are open to your suggested amount if you would like to support multiple Ngalla Bidi Bursaries. Our ambition is to fund at least 40 Ngalla Bidi Bursaries. We aim for this to become an ongoing commitment to continue contributing to attendance at future PRIDoC events every two years.

Donations are being accepted until 30 September 2024 allowing bursaries to be awarded in October 2024.

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For further information please contact:

Keisha Calyun
AHCWA’s PRIDoC Bursaries Program Coordinator
e: [email protected]
t: (08) 9227 1631

The Benefits

✓ Opportunity to empower Aboriginal medical students.

✓ Tax deductible donation (AHCWA has DGR status).

✓ Opportunity to be acknowledged and thanked in the AHCWA newsletter.

✓ Opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to, and vision for, Reconciliation and Closing the Gap.

✓ Framed certificate of appreciation.

✓ Mention and thanks for your donation at the WA Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector Conference, which has more than 500 attendees, and listed as a donor in the post-conference report.

✓ Acknowledgement and thanks in social media content.

✓ Access to use of social media content produced which showcases bursary recipients experience at PRIDoC 2024.

✓ Foundational supporter status for investing in the first year.

✓ Substantial donations (of $25,000 or more) will be acknowledged on the official partnerships page of the AHCWA website.

✓ Donors may remain anonymous if they wish.

The ‘Ngalla Bidi’ Promise

The Ngalla Bidi Bursary will support 40 students and junior doctors with the opportunity to attend PRIDoC in 2024. We are aiming for this to become an ongoing commitment to be able to continue to contribute to the attendance at future PRIDoC events every two years.

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This Bursary offers recipients the lifechanging opportunity to attend PRIDoC to embrace Indigenous cultures, the spirit of connection, lifelong connections and empowering each other through shared learning and experiences of Indigenous medicine.

✓ Connecting and building relationships with Indigenous doctors and mentors globally.

✓ Discovering how medicine can be practised in decolonised ways that will benefit Aboriginal people.

✓ Reminder of why they chose to study medicine and motivation to prevail.

✓ Sharing learnings, experiences and advances.

✓ Growing skills and capabilities in communications and forming networks.

✓ Increasing understanding of the value of traditional culture.

✓ Building strong and capable Aboriginal doctors to service the community who other Indigenous doctors have mentored.

✓ Getting better care and outcomes when students and junior doctors are taught aspects of medicine in Indigenous ways that are not done through universities.

The Bursary awards each recipient with $5,000*. The Bursary funds will be applied to flights, accommodation and travel insurance. * This figure will be dependent on the conference location.

The support that we will provide:

✓ Pre-application support and encouragement for recipients who may require assistance in applying.

✓ Cultural care to make the recipients feel welcome, safe and connected. It is essential that the recipients feel supported.

✓ Open and informed communication – recipients must feel informed throughout the conference on optimising their time.

✓ Opportunities for recipients to meet with and interact with key stakeholders.

✓ Guidance and support from “Aunties and Uncles.”

“I believe in supporting the growth of resilient Aboriginal doctors through engagement, mentorship, and access to knowledge-sharing networks. Addressing the scarcity of Indigenous doctors is a vital step towards health parity for Aboriginal Peoples. Enhancing cultural responsiveness in Aboriginal health service delivery is a key step, contributing to culturally safe healthcare for Aboriginal people in Western Australia and the generations to come.

The students we sponsored to attend PRIDoC in 2022 returned re-energised, spiritually connected, and enthusiastic about their medical careers within a supportive network of global Indigenous health professionals.

This Indigenous-led gathering provides strength, fostering community through shared lessons, valuable knowledge and spiritual renewal.

Let’s unite in uplifting our emerging Aboriginal physicians, viewing it as a significant investment in the spirit of connection.

Warm wishes, Professor Fiona Stanley AC

Message from our Aboriginal Doctor Patrons

We are all deeply honoured to be asked to be the first group of Patrons to help guide and mentor the first recipient group of the Ngalla Bidi Bursary Fund.

This fund will allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medical Students and Junior Doctors from WA to attend PRIDoC 2024. We aim to create a culturally safe, rewarding and transformative experience for each individual.

There is much to learn from our international Indigenous medical students and medical colleagues and friends. We all have very similar stories, no matter where we are from and at what stage we are in our careers. Many of us have had to overcome personal adversities, but our shared narratives strengthen our experiences and provide a united voice.

We hope our Students and Junior Doctors will find joy and replenishment through the many connections and relationships that will be
formed and having the opportunity to share our cultures and our student and clinical experiences throughout the gathering.

Most importantly, we hope the experience will bolster everyone’s expertise in practicing western and our cultural medicine and to allow our mob to go on their medical career journey confidently.

This experience is not just about the present; it’s about building a positive legacy and providing personal and professional growth. As we stand together, support one another, and work harmoniously, we anticipate looking back on this journey with pride. We also would like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors.

Best wishes
Aunty Kim Isaacs (DYHS), Uncle Daniel Hunt (DYHS), Uncle Corey Dalton (DHYS)

The Exemplars

Along with Keisha, two other Aboriginal Medical Students attended PRIDoC 2022. Daisy Alps Quandamooka Ngugi, a woman from Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), a Year 4 Medical Student at Curtin University and Jaaron Davis Kalkadoon, Waanji and Eastern Arrernte man from Mount Ida, a Year 4 Medical Student at Curtin University.

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PRIDoC was an amazing opportunity to meet and hear from inspiring Indigenous doctors and medical students. Hearing their experiences and learning about their beautiful cultures, it was encouraging to feel like this was a cause we were all fighting for, and we had support and community all around the world. Across the board, it was acknowledged that the most change would come from seeing representation of our peoples in the healthcare system.

We gained so much from this experience, but three key take-home messages we took away were:
1. To create change, we need to see more representation of our people within the medical system. Currently, the number of Indigenous doctors in Australia is not representative of the population. However, we want to aim higher than this as the inequity Indigenous peoples face in education, healthcare and incarceration are far higher than that of the broader population.
2. Indigenous peoples should not only be included in the Western medical system but also in our cultures and viewpoints. Appreciation of our cultural views and practices and knowledge of our languages and traditional medicines are all steps toward closing the gap.
3. Change should be driven by the wants and needs of our communities, not from the western medical point of view. All positive change we saw in response to COVID-19 within our communities was driven by leaders in our community providing education, access and events that connected with and served our people.

Chairperson’s Message

Ngalla Bidi means ‘our pathway’ in the Noongar language of the South West of Western Australia.

Our Doctors ‘Ngalla Bidi’ Our Pathway is about Aboriginal doctors working together along a shared pathway that emphasises working in Indigenous ways. Sharing the work and knowledge allows us to be a stronger voice collectively to advance our work together.

Our focus on engaging and supporting Aboriginal medical students and junior doctors by facilitating access to knowledge sharing networks aims to cultivate strong and capable Aboriginal doctors dedicated to improving the cultural responsiveness of health service delivery to our Aboriginal community. Providing mentorship opportunities by other Indigenous doctors enhances this mission.

Statistics reveal a scarcity of Aboriginal doctors, with fewer than 600 practising nationwide but needing 4000 Aboriginal doctors to reach population parity. Addressing a completion gap compared to non-Indigenous peers is crucial. We aim to increase the number of Aboriginal Doctors delivering health care to Aboriginal people in Western Australia. To achieve this, we aspire to send 40 Aboriginal Medical Students and Junior Doctors to the biennial Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress (PRIDoC), which will be held in Adelaide this year. This Indigenous-led space for Indigenous doctors, medical students, health researchers, health professionals, and allies provides a supportive space for the Indigenous faculty to unite, foster community, and develop skills to navigate an academic career successfully.

We hope this will improve care and outcomes when students and junior doctors are taught aspects of medicine in Indigenous ways that are not done through universities. This will increase culturally safe health care for Aboriginal people in Western Australia.

Supporting the Ngalla Bidi Bursary Fund aligns with our vision for culturally safe healthcare. Your consideration in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Vicki O’Donnell OAM
AHCWA Chairperson

About the art and artist

Artist — Keisha Calyun — Ballardong Noongar

In this artwork, the connection between the Indigenous people of the six countries that make up PRIDoC, is represented through the green sea turtle. Each of the six countries are home to green sea turtles. Just like when we come together for PRIDoC, the green sea turtle travels vast distances and moves across the land and the sea.

The blue circles represent each Nation and are shown in the artwork where each country is located on the world map (from bottom clockwise to top: Aotearoa – New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Hawaii, Canada, and USA). The blue lines that run from each country represent our connection as Indigenous people, even though we are across the ocean, these connections come together at the green sea turtle shell.

Keisha’s journey

Keisha, a Ballardong Noongar woman who won the 2022 Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship to study her Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery at Curtin University, visited PRIDoC in July 2022, which was held in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish — the Museum, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh peoples.

When I attended PRIDoC, I got a whole new understanding of how connected and powerful we as Indigenous people are. It showed me ways to be the best doctor possible so I can help create positive changes for our people. PRIDoC reaffirmed to me what makes Indigenous doctors different.

It can get hard throughout the year at uni, especially being only one of a handful of Indigenous students. PRIDoC completely recharged my spirit and reassured me I would get through medical school. PRIDoC was one of the most decolonised spaces I have been in and was a safe space for me to express myself. It didn’t feel like the typical conference but more like a family and community gathering.

Being in medical school, it is very easy to only think about the Western medicine that we are being taught. It’s not holistic like the Aboriginal health sector is, and it does not take Indigenous culture and practices into consideration. Speakers at PRIDoC shared proof with me that it is possible to integrate Indigenous practices to complement western medicine. These are invaluable lessons that I will never learn in a classroom at university and can only be taught by other Indigenous doctors.

At PRIDoC, I got a whole new understanding of how powerful Indigenous people really are. I got spiritual renewal and strength and felt connection and love from the community. I’ve built networks and relationships with Indigenous doctors and future doctors from all over the world. I also met a lot of mob from all over Australia and these bonds have continued to strengthen since PRIDoC.

For the people with the money, I hope you understand how attending PRIDoC has impacted me as a medical student. I hope you see its benefits for all Aboriginal medical students and how it can ripple into benefits for our patients and communities.

Only one Australian medical student receives a scholarship to go to PRIDoC. Please consider funding Western Australian Aboriginal medical students.

Boordawan, thank you.

Keisha Calyun
AHCWA employee and
Year 3 Medical Student Curtin University

Further information and contributions

For further information please contact:

Keisha Calyun
AHCWA’s PRIDoC Bursaries Program Coordinator
e: [email protected]
t: (08) 9227 1631

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