Strategy rethink needed to boost Indigenous student numbers in health studies

Media Release, Monday 12 May 2008

Urgent action is needed to get more Indigenous students into university medical schools if Australia is to succeed in closing the Indigenous health gap by 2030, a University of Melbourne academic has warned.

Chair of Indigenous Health at the University of Melbourne, Professor Ian Anderson, says that with Australian Indigenous Doctors Association figures showing there are only 125 Indigenous medical practitioners in Australia, there is a serious shortfall of about 800 Indigenous doctors.

“Although Indigenous people make up 1.9 per cent of Australia’s population they represent only about one per cent of the health workforce and only 0.2 per cent are doctors,” he said.

“In 2005 Indigenous students made up only one per cent of those studying health or welfare related degrees.”

In a public lecture this week (13 May) Professor Anderson will outline how universities can raise the number of Indigenous doctors graduating and help close the Indigenous health gap – which sees an Indigenous person live 17 years less than a non-Indigenous person.

“We need a real commitment by Australian medical schools to achievable targets which will help build the capacity of Australia’s Indigenous health workforce,” Professor Anderson said.

In his lecture Professor Anderson will argue that Australia’s 18 medical schools must rethink their approach to recruiting and supporting Indigenous students to graduate in medical and health degrees.

He will argue that universities must:

Work with schools to help address low performance and completion rates among Indigenous students - less than a quarter complete Year 12 - and to provide more support for Indigenous students to complete maths and sciences at upper secondary level – a key factor to admission into tertiary medical and health science courses;

Implement programs which encourage Indigenous school students to aspire to a medical career – through activities such as mentoring programs and summer schools; and

Provide an Indigenous health curriculum for all medical students such as that developed by the Deans of Australian Medical Schools.

Professor Anderson said the research process also needed reform to ensure research delivers real benefits to Indigenous communities.

Professor Anderson said there were many equity programs for Indigenous students in Australia’s universities that had achieved positive outcomes.

But sadly, overall, these programs have largely failed to create sustained improvements in participation by Indigenous students – particularly in medicine and health sciences.

Professor Anderson said the Prime Minister and Opposition leader had pledged to close Indigenous health gap by 2030 and to building the capacity of health services to bridge the gap by 2018.

The Federal Government has committed $19 million to the national Indigenous health workforce training plan.

“Further investment in innovation in recruitment and retention of Indigenous students, in resources to encourage curriculum reform and in student places will enhance the reform agenda.

“But all of us in the university sector also need to take our share of responsibility for change.”

Professor Anderson said too few medical schools shared the load of educating Indigenous doctors with most Indigenous students studying at James Cook University and at the universities of Newcastle, Western Australia and New South Wales.

“These universities have committed resources into integrated, comprehensive long-term programs which include outreach into high schools, bridging programs and dedicated student support,’’ he said.

Professor Anderson said it was important that Indigenous students had a choice of studying at a university near their home and family support.

“Universities need to be proactive, to shift their approach from passively waiting for Indigenous students to ask for entry to building partnerships with school communities which boost student performance and create environments in which Indigenous students can succeed,” Professor Anderson said.

Professor Anderson will deliver a public lecture “The Knowledge Economy and Aboriginal Health Development” at the University of Melbourne on Tuesday 13 May at 6pm.

* Professor Ian Anderson is Director of Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit, and the Centre for Health and Society, in the Melbourne School of Population Health at The University of Melbourne. He is also the Research Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.

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Janine Sim-Jones
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University of Melbourne
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