This month Joint Colleges Training Services (JCTS) will be launching a series of webinars focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness, especially for non-vocationally registered doctors on their journey to Fellowship.
Delivered through the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Fellowship Support Program (FSP), the training will help doctors to ensure the care they provide is relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ social, cultural, economic, and other unique needs.
Topics covered will include cultural safety, intergenerational trauma, the Stolen Generation, suicide prevention and the impacts of racism.
Jackie Price, a proud Wiradjuri woman from Cootamundra, NSW and Program Manager for the delivery of this training said: “The JCTS webinars have been designed to equip doctors on their journey to Fellowship, by providing them with cultural awareness training, so they have the confidence in their skills and abilities when treating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the community.”
The webinars will be delivered across three educational nodes based on geographical regions of JCTS Cultural Educators:
- New South Wales/ Australian Capital Territory – Gwen Troutman-Weir
- Victoria/South Australia/Tasmania – Marlene Drysdale
- Queensland/ Northern Territory/ Western Australia – Curtis Roman
Visit the RACGP website for further information about the FSP program.
Meet the JCTS Cultural Educators
Gwen Troutman-Weir is a Murri woman from Mungindi, which is on Gomeroi Country located on the NSW/QLD border. She has a Bachelor of Health Science and is a strong community advocate for education and has been working in Aboriginal health and education for more than 30 years. Gwen has a passion for working with individuals and communities to achieve better and more sustainable outcomes that are owned and led by our Aboriginal peoples.
Marlene Drysdale is a Wiradjuri woman who was born in Melbourne on Wurundjeri country and spent most of her childhood in Echuca on Yorta Yorta country. She has a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in politics and management from the University of Tasmania, a Bachelor of Arts in Aboriginal Studies from the University of South Australia, and a Master of Education with a specialty in Aboriginal Education. Marlene’s PhD was titled “Aboriginal Women and Reconciliation in Australia: Communication Strategies and Symbolism”. Her many research interests include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, child and maternal health, Reconciliation, registrar supervision and cultural mentoring.
