College/Division
College of Medicine and Dentistry
Publish Date
25 May 2021
Related Study Areas
Challenges bring rewards
From spectacular outback sunsets to croc spotting in Gulf of Carpentaria waterways, a six-week rural placement in Normanton captivated fourth-year James Cook University medicine student Hayley Walker. Hayley, who is from Naracoorte in South Australia, loved exploring the awe-inspiring landscape and learning about country and culture from the region’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples while getting exceptional experience in remote medicine.
I was based at the Aboriginal primary health service, Gidgee Healing, but also spent some time at the Normanton Hospital. This was a great first clinical exposure: patient histories, examinations, phlebotomy, PIVC insertion, children’s health checks, venesection, observation of remote resuscitation with use of Telehealth and RFDS retrieval process, interpretation of ECGs and chest X-rays, and documentation of patient notes.
Remote health and medicine are very exciting, rewarding and challenging. The community members of Normanton are all very welcoming and friendly, encouraging you to experience and be part of their community. The Gulf of Carpentaria is also a beautiful part of our country.
Behind the numbers
Takeaways from this experience are seeing and being exposed to the significant inequality in health outcomes of our Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This experience has not only provided a great education opportunity around Aboriginal history, health and culture but emphasised our tendency to easily forget the difficulties affecting our isolated communities. Australia has shown its capability to address, control and manage a pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Australians have come together and everyone has played a part and tackled this issue. With the comradeship and pride our country has so well demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, why do we have communities living with health conditions and diseases parallel to those in undeveloped countries?
First-hand experience of those living the disadvantage statistics we often quote in our assignments has made me so grateful for studying at JCU, which is producing health professionals to work in areas like Normanton and address these inequalities.
Geographic distance for health care also has its challenges. For example, pathology cannot be sent after 11am and only on weekdays, the nearest ultrasound is five hours away, chemotherapy treatment requires significant time away from family and country, and life-threatening conditions require the availability of a Royal Flying Doctor Service plane for retrieval.
COVID didn’t really affect the type of work I was doing on placement in Normanton. Fortunately, the local council required permits to access the Gulf during the height of the Australian outbreak. Remoteness has been beneficial in isolating this high-risk community. Both the hospital and health service are proactive in addressing any potential COVID symptoms.
Downtime in the Gulf
JCU has a house in Karumba so we spent a few weekends down there to enjoy the famous outback sunset while having Gulf barramundi for dinner. There’s a great gym so that was great to access regularly. Trivia night at the local pub is great. We also enjoyed exploring local waterways, seeing the beautiful water lilies at Mutton Hole Wetlands and the crocodiles!
My favourite thing about my rural placement was exploring the local area. The country is so unique and beautiful. I would recommend Normanton rural placement to everybody. It’s been such a great experience.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture
Approximately 60 per cent of the Normanton population identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. One of my favourite parts of placement was learning from the local Kukatj, Gkuthaarn, Kurtijar and Tagalaka people. They have such pride and respect for their country and culture, and I have learnt so much about fishing for barramundi. The health staff are all so welcoming, you really become part of the team.
My advice for a student preparing to go on placement is to bring lots of food; it’s super expensive in Normanton. Don’t be like me and have a non-Telstra SIM card. If you come in with an open mind, you are more likely to be open to new experiences, which is what we all enjoy. Normanton is a great placement location if you’re willing to get out, be a part of the community and enjoy the unique experience JCU offers.