IN THE SPOTLIGHT
“
My advice
is to persist.
DON’T STOP,
JUST GO FOR IT.
“
HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE
A DOCTOR?
I didn’t grow up wanting to be a Doctor. I
actually studied Law but my heart wasn’t
in it. I stopped to think about what was
really important and realised I wanted to
help people, so I studied Medicine. After
my car accident, I wanted to finish my
studies and become a Doctor more than
anything.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE WHEN YOU MADE
THE DECISION TO GO BACK TO
STUDYING?
It was scary because I wasn’t sure how I
could do it... all I knew was I had to try.
I’ve learned that a lot of the barriers in life
are in your own head, or in other people’s
heads. There were people who were
supportive of me, and there were people
who weren’t. I just had to dive in and do it.
WHEN YOU GRADUATED UNIVERSITY,
DID YOU FACE ANY CHALLENGES
GETTING INTO THE WORKFORCE?
Yes! I should have gone straight into an
internship like all the other graduates.
Instead I was told that because of my
disability, that didn’t apply to me. As far
as I was concerned, I’d passed medical
school and I was ready. In the end, it took
my community coming together and
advocating for me to make it happen.
WHERE ARE YOU UP TO WITH YOUR
CAREER NOW?
I’m in my third post graduate year now, so
I am a Senior House Officer at the Gold
Coast Hospital. I work part time in the
emergency department and part time
conducting research on spinal cord injury.
I’m really interested in the emerging
technologies helping people, so I’d like to
keep following this path. Over the last few
years there’s been advances with
electrical simulation, drug therapy and
thought control. It gives me hope and I’m
excited to see what happens next.
DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF
WISDOM TO SHARE?
My advice is to persist. Don’t stop, just go
for it! I hope my story opens doors for
people, and not just in the medical field. I
want to make people think differently;
think about how we can do it, rather than
why we can’t. If I can inspire people to
chase their dreams, it’s all worth it.
CPL – Choice, Passion, Life
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