Wavelength UNSW Medical scholarships in action!

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Cam Mutton

December 17, 2018

Our UNSW Medical School scholarship recipients share their experiences

The 2017 Wavelength University of New South Wales Medical School scholarship recipients from last year share their stories with us.

“Making a positive impact on the wider community has always been a cornerstone of Wavelength’s value system” Dr John Bethell, Wavelength Director and founder.

At Wavelength, we notice firsthand in our daily work the inequalities in healthcare within Indigenous communities in Rural Australia and we are very dedicated to helping close the gap.

Since 2011, we’ve been supporting medical students at the University of NSW (UNSW) Medical School and sponsoring two scholarships - the Wavelength International Indigenous Travel Award and the Wavelength International Elective Scholarship.

Last week, we were honoured to meet with two of our 2017 scholarship recipients, Destiny Kynuna (Wavelength International Travel Award recipient) and Rachel Clifford (Wavelength International Elective Scholarship recipient) and to hear about the impact and opportunities the scholarships have provided for them.

Wavelength Scholarship recipients with Staff Member

Wavelength Scholarship recipients Rachel Clifford (left) and Destiny Kynuna (right) with our Business Improvement Consultant, Camilla Mutton (middle).

“Giving to UNSW Medical School is about supporting cutting-edge research, creating equality of opportunity for students and establishing partnerships that positively impact our community and the wider world” Dr John Bethell, Wavelength Director and founder.

The Wavelength International Indigenous Travel Award helped Destiny to travel back to her indigenous community in Queensland during her academic year. During her travel back home, she had the opportunity to resource and also encourage other students in her community to consider a degree and career in medicine. 

Destiny witnessed the challenges of alcohol abuse in the communities she grew up around and developed a keen interest in specialising in Psychiatry and focusing on Addiction. She is truly inspired by some of Australia’s leading Indigenous doctors and would like to practice back in the town she grew up in after she graduates.

The Wavelength International Elective Scholarship supported Rachel during her 8-week elective placement in an Indigenous community during her 6th year of medical school. Rachel told us about her placement in Alice Springs and explained how this hands-on experience helped give her invaluable skills on how to work respectfully and effectively with Indigenous Australians. Working in Alice Springs and in regional NSW in Coffs Harbour fuelled Rachel’s love of Rural Medicine. She is starting her internship in Emergency Medicine in the new year on the Central Coast and is considering doing more placements in regional or rural areas of Australia in the future.

“Being able to provide culturally appropriate health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is such an essential skill…” - Rachel Clifford, Wavelength UNSW Medical School scholarship recipient.

It was inspiring to listen to what Destiny and Rachel have seen and learnt so far and to hear how the Wavelength UNSW Medical School scholarships have helped them along the way. Understanding what interests and motivates the doctors of tomorrow is essential to us and their insights into some of the challenges Doctors face in remote communities of Australia were really valuable.

Thank you to Destiny and Rachel for coming to meet with us and for reminding us of the positive impact we aim to make every day.

We take pride in making a wider difference.

One of Wavelength’s core values is Heart and hearing from our scholarship recipients gave us a greater sense of purpose and the inspiration to continue doing the work that we do every day to help communities across Australia.

If you’d like to learn more about other initiatives we support such as the charities we have partnered with, you can read more of our blogs here.

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