My final John Flynn

Placement in the beautiful

Tiwi Islands! Sally Plunkett - John Flynn Placement 3

Nguiu, Bathurst Island (Tiwi Islands)

• Introduction In November 2014, I had the pleasure of completing my third and final John Flynn placement at Nguiu (Warrimunga) Health Clinic, Bathurst Island in the Northern Territory.

• Description Nguiu is a remote Aboriginal community with a population of approximately 1500 people, located on Bathurst Island, as part of the Tiwi Islands, approximately 70km north of Darwin. The clinic is well serviced with both a men's and women's acute clinic, in addition to a chronic disease, children's and antenatal service and a 2 bed emergency care room. There is one resident GP, one part-time GP from Darwin, one resident GP registrar, two junior doctors on PGPPP placement, in addition to 1 midwife, and approximately 4 remote area nurses and 6 aboriginal health practitioners & aboriginal community workers working in the clinic. Settling back into Nguiu for my final placement was made very easy by the welcoming familiar faces of those I had met on my previous placements. The staff were particularly friendly which made the transition into living in a remote Aboriginal community very smooth. The local Tiwi Aboriginal Health practitioners and community workers are fantastic to get to know in order to gain a greater insight and understanding of the local community and their culture, and I would definitely recommend to those coming to the Tiwi Islands in the future to do the same in order to get the most out of your John Flynn placement!

Exploring these beautiful islands…

Local wall murals..

Amazing local Tiwi art!

Careflight

Traditional

Pukamani poles

One of my favourite experiences during this placement was participating in the Women’s Health Check day organised by the Chronic Disease Coordinator, Heather. This was held down at the old Catholic Church, now Centacare. It consisted of a full adult check including BP, weight, eye and oral examination, skin examination, sexual health check, as well as immunisations and blood tests. In addition to this a BBQ was held and women sat under a big tree singing songs and participating in arts and crafts. It was fantastic to see so many women getting their health check whilst also having a cultural day with other Tiwi women!

Since my previous placement, NTGPE has built new shared accommodation for John Flynn students and rotating residents on their PGPPP placements. This made my final placement a less isolating experience as previously I was living in my own flat provided by the clinic. Weekends were filled with cultural experiences including visiting the local Tiwi art centre, getting out of the community visiting local waterholes and beaches, eating local Tiwi delicacies and watching the local AFL competition.

• Analysis and Reflection Despite improvements, the health of the Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory is still unfortunately much worse than experienced in other parts of Australia. This can be at times confronting and lead to a lot of reflection on why these communities still face these issues and such a high burden of disease. Whilst I was on placement there was on average one death a week, two of whom were under the age of 35. The huge psychological impact this would have on the local Tiwi people dealing with the tragic and often preventable death of their loved ones was very hard to comprehend. The weekly NTGPE teleconferences and chatting with other colleagues working in the clinic was a good opportunity to talk about these issues and to develop a greater understanding as to why such large health burden still exists within the community. The thing I learnt most from this John Flynn placement is to be flexible, open-minded and creative in how you spend your time in the clinic and in your free time. The local people and particularly the Tiwi workers are extremely friendly and welcoming, and I would recommend taking any and every opportunity to get out and experience the community and the greater Tiwi Islands as it is an incredibly beautiful and culturally rich part of remote Australia.

• Conclusion

My John Flynn Placement in the Tiwi Islands was truly an amazing, once in a life time experience whereby I was able to gain a greater understanding of Indigenous Health and culture in a remote Aboriginal community. Highly recommended for medical students wanting to gain insight into both the health and culture of Aboriginal people living within the Northern Territory.

Women’s Health Day

Me with some of the Clinic Staff

Local AFL Derby! Weekend coffee

shop :-)

Cassie, Tiwi Community

Health worker & ‘Strong

woman’