FACULTY FOCUS
campusreview.com.au
Leilani Greene and Ketisha Gill. Photo: Supplied.
Helping hand
New QUT Indigenous scholarship
helps students to work in rural
and remote nursing.
By Louise Durack
A
goal to work in rural and remote
nursing has been the driving force
for students Ketisha Gill and Leilani
Greene, as they become the first recipients
of QUT’s new $10,000 Argent Indigenous
Nursing Scholarship.
Studying double degrees in nursing
and paramedic science, the two
students will receive the financial boost
they need to help pay for the travel
and living costs associated with their
vital final-year practical placements in
communities in Queensland and the
Northern Territory.
Following a six-week paramedicine
placement in Cherbourg this semester, Gill,
24, will head to Alice Springs Hospital in
June for a six-week nursing placement in its
intensive care unit.
“I have big dreams to work in rural and
remote nursing after I graduate, and I
have already spent a lot of time in the NT,”
she says.
“I volunteered a lot of my time through
Primary Health Network Northern Territory
and also Indigenous Allied Health Australia,
spending time out in their communities.
10
I think it’s very important to be closing the
gap, and this is a place that I don’t think has
enough funding or people to help.
“Nursing is just such a great way to
communicate with people and hear their
story and contribute to their lives. I love
that nursing is becoming more holistic –
it’s not just about medication, it’s ‘What
can we do for you, what do you need, how
can we help you be the healthiest person
you can be?’
“We’re looking at the big picture of
nursing, and I think it’s really cool to be part
of this changing workplace atmosphere.
“Paramedicine is also wonderful because
it’s different every day. People are calling
you for help at their most vulnerable point –
it’s really humbling to do what we do.”
Gill grew up in regional Western Australia,
the eldest of four girls, and initially thought
she was destined for a research career.
“I did a neuroscience degree in WA and
was planning to research Parkinson’s and
Alzheimer’s disease, but I decided I needed
to be more hands-on and help people in
my community,” she says.
“I chose QUT’s double degree in nursing
and paramedic science because I need a lot
of variety and stimulation, but it was really
the Oodgeroo Unit [QUT’s Indigenous
Support Unit] that sealed the deal for me.
“The amount of support they offered
their students was amazing. Moving from
WA, I didn’t know a single soul, but the
Oodgeroo Unit welcomed me with open
arms, and I have been part of that big
beautiful mob ever since.”
In addition to studying, Gill also works in
retail, does tutoring, is a first aid officer for a
netball club and even conducts weddings,
having been a marriage celebrant for the
past five years.
“The scholarship is going to be so much
help for me financially, as we have to
pay our own travel costs for the practical
placements; this will mean I can dedicate
more time to my studies and placements,”
she says.
Greene, 23, will gain six weeks of extra
nursing experience at a Brisbane hospital
this semester and will also head out to a
western Queensland ambulance station for
six weeks’ experience.
Originally from Cairns, Greene moved to
Brisbane in 2017 to start at QUT as a mature
age student. Last year, she returned to her
hometown as a student ambassador and
had the opportunity to talk at a careers
expo with students from her old school,
Cairns State High.
“I hadn’t thought university was an
achievable goal because of the difficulty of
moving away from my strong family and
community connections in Cairns,” she says.
“This is something I know a lot of
Indigenous kids struggle with. But the
Oodgeroo Unit became my home away
from home. The sense of community
that they have built here at QUT is the
reason I’m here four years later and about
to graduate.
“So at the Cairns expo, I spoke about
QUT and the pathways school students
could take.
“We all have different stories and different
journeys, and to be able to pass that on
to someone else who might one day get
to experience uni is a real benefit – and
hopefully makes it easier for them.
“For me, one of the best things has been
getting to know the people who work at
QUT and benefiting from their experience,”
Greene says.
“I also knew that they had paramedic
simulation rooms and practical experiences
for nursing, and I’m a very hands-on learner.
I think having that double degree opens up
job prospects.
“If I go into nursing after I graduate, I’m
hoping to get a graduate position in a rural/
regional area where there’s a lot of variety
and responsibility.” ■