Introduction:
In the context of allied health education, cultural awareness and safety are crucial elements in providing effective and respectful care to First Nations Peoples residing in rural areas. This presentation aims to explore the significance of engaging health students in a cultural immersion experience alongside local Wiradjuri Elders whilst on work placement in the Lachlan area, Central West NSW.
Method:
The Connecting to Country experience, introduced in 2023 is embedded as a practice of respectful connection and partnership with local Elders. The two-hour experiential walk on Country provides a unique insight to the local Wiradjuri culture and the historical and contemporary issues faced by Australian First Nations Peoples. Written student reflections provide evaluation of the experience with relevance to current healthcare needs and the impact of biases and world views on practice.
Results:
Participation to date has included 17 students from the disciplines of speech pathology, occupational therapy, and pharmacy. All students report a greater appreciation of culturally safe and responsive practice, as exemplified, "Geoff’s stories and passion for teaching Wiradjuri culture and language to students of all ages was moving and enabled us as students to be better equipped, culturally, to work with and alongside First Nations people". (Speech pathology student).
“Being able to listen, reflect and develop partnerships will ensure we are decolonising our practice and appropriately supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families”. (Occupational Therapy student).
Discussion:
Cultural awareness education for therapists must move past assumptions and work towards culturally respectful practice specific to the context of the community they are working in (Ewen et al., 2014; Gerlach, 2015).
The partnership with local Elders respects Indigenous Australian Peoples as knowledge holders and provides a purposeful balance between Indigenous knowledges and informed experiences enabling the student to consider and critically reflect on one’s own culture and biases rather than learning about Australian First Nations culture in isolation.
In conclusion, integrating the Connecting to Country cultural immersion within rural placements, has provided students the opportunity to deepen their cultural sensitivity and competence through meaningful, situated learning experiences.
References:
Ewen, S., Paul, D., & Wilkin, A. (2014). Health disparities, cultural awareness, and Aboriginal health: Results from a health educator survey. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 4(10), 40-50. doi:10.5430/jnep. v4n10p40
Gerlach AJ. Sharpening our critical edge: Occupational Therapy in the context of marginalized populations: Aiguiser notre sens critique: L’ergotherapie dans le context des populations marginalisees. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2015;82(4):245-253. doi:10.1177/0008417415571730
