Tour aims at encouraging doctors to settle in NW

The Pilbara is full of challenges and rewards for young doctors, Hedland Health Campus medical officer Sarah McEwan says.

That is why this month she will be hosting three young indigenous doctors from Newcastle University as they tour the region.

The women aged, 23-25 years, touch down this week and Ms McEwan hopes to provide them with as many local experiences as possible.

She hopes that will include language lessons at Wangka Maya, coffees with locals at Spinifex Hill Aboriginal art gallery, trips to remote communities and even slots on Hedland radio stations.

The goal is to show the doctors a good time to encourage them to return.

“I was enticed to the Pilbara through this very same elective back in 2001,” Dr McEwan said.

“My aim is to try and get more Indigenous doctors to the Pilbara … so showing them the best time possible is my main approach.”

Dr McEwan knows the value of having more Aboriginal doctors in the region.

The Wiradjuri woman from central west New South Wales has now spent five-and-a-half-years living and working in the Pilbara at the Hedland Health Campus.

“Working in the Pilbara is very different from working in my community,” she said.

“But it is important because we are able to provide cultural awareness to the colleagues we work with and help bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients and clients.”

“It is also important to have strong Indigenous role models, whether they originate from the Pilbara or somewhere else.”