Rachel Carter DR Taylor Glover was 11 when

her home life started to fall apart . “ Growing up , there was drug abuse , alcohol abuse and violence ,” she says .

“ Mum and Dad divorced and sold the family home , and my two brothers and I were left to fend for ourselves .

“ Our parents loved us , but they were not in a position to look after us .”

Living in Dapto , NSW , Dr Glover ended up moving in with her best

“ We went back to our little lives and our nice apartments while there were people living less than a four-hour flight away in crazy conditions ,” she says .

“ I saw kids who had scabies and no parents to go home to , or whose loved ones had taken their own lives , as well as people who

‘ I want to be the kind of doctor who listens and sees people for who they are .’

had turned to a life of drugs .

“ One patient was at risk of losing their sight because they had been hit in the face with a hot frying pan . “ I think about that all the time .”

Now 25 , Dr Glover hopes to work in rural medicine and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health .

“ Really anything where I can

make the biggest impact ,” she says . She also wants to break the cycle of poverty for herself and others .

“ Growing up , we did not have a lot . It was pay cheque to pay cheque ,” she says .

“ I want a financially stable future , and I want to give back to a community .”

With her intern year at Orange Base Hospital in NSW starting in January , she says : “ I want to be the kind of doctor who listens and sees people for who they are .”

Dr Taylor Glover .

friend ’ s grandparents .

“ It was scary and isolating ,”

she says .

“ I only had a suitcase , but they

made it a home where I could be

comfortable .

“ It also shifted my perspective

on family . You didn ’ t need to be

blood to love each other .

“ That led me towards a career

in medicine .”

She remembers a conversation

with her school careers adviser . Her

thoughts were architect , pilot or

hairdresser .

But she was good at science ,

liked community studies and loved

connecting with people . Medicine

was added to her list .

“ But the adviser suggested I try

nursing or allied health ,” she says .

“ It was a low socioeconomic

school , and not many students

went to university .

“ I think she was softening the

blow in case I didn ’ t make it .”

Dr Glover secured an undergraduate

degree in pre-medical health

and science , then applied for medical

school .

She was rejected .

“ I cried for a week . It felt like

somebody had died .”

She became a medical receptionist

and assistant at a GP practice ,

where she flew alongside a GP with

a pilot ’ s licence to outreach clinics

in Boorowa , almost 300km inland .

“ That experience reinforced in

my mind that I wanted to get into

medicine .

“ I was growing up , because I

was dealing with patients and conflict

resolution .”

She won a place at the Australian

National University with an Indigenous

cadetship from the NSW Rural

Doctors Network to support her

financially .

Moving to Canberra was “ great

but hectic ”, she says .

She had married two years

before but went through a divorce

while juggling study and nannying .

Her highlights were three placements

: in the NT township of Tennant

Creek ; in the NSW regional

centre of Goulburn ; and in Malta

in Europe .

Her six-week stint in Tennant

Creek ’ s ED was “ raw medicine ”.

“ If someone was really sick ,

there was only one spot on the

plane to Alice Springs .

“ We had to decide who got to

go on the plane and whom to put

on the bush bus .”

Dr Glover remembers returning

to Alice Springs after her placement

and feeling shocked to see

shops again .