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Supporting student doctors through the pandemic

The importance of financial support for four young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are each recipients of St John of God Health Care scholarships to pursue their dreams of becoming doctors was highlighted over the past year.

29 Nov 2021

The importance of financial support for four young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are each recipients of St John of God Health Care scholarships to pursue their dreams of becoming doctors was highlighted over the past year.

The four students, Dominic Breslin, Rosie Manolas, Cameron Howard and Kelly Reynolds, are currently in their third year of studying medicine at the University of Notre Dame.

Like so many people, their experiences last year reinforced the importance of support from family, friends and the wider community.

Dominic faced the challenges of studying remotely, combined with welcoming his second son into the world with limited family support.

“I prepared myself for a very stressful semester. I also realised I would need to be very organised for this semester as our family couldn’t come over to visit and help out due to the COVID-19 restrictions,” Dominic said.

Rosie juggled study with a, “frantic house hunt in the middle of a pandemic in a critical rental market.”

While Cameron and Kelly said the scholarships meant they could focus their energy on study without having to juggle additional work.

St John of God Health Care Group Director Workforce Carla Bonev said it was fantastic to hear just how significant the support the organisation provided was to each individual.

“It is so pleasing to hear that we have made an impact on the lives of these students so they feel secure and supported to focus on, and continue their studies,” she said.

“When there is so much uncertainty in our community, it is easy to forget that support for individual people can have a huge benefit to them and, looking long term, to the communities we live in.
“We are all excited to see what these students achieve this year and next year, in their final year of study, as well as in their future careers.”

Rosie and Cameron are spending 2021 in Broome under the Rural Clinical School Program, while Kelly is continuing her study in Kalgoorlie, and Dominic is continuing his studies in Perth.

“I hope I can make an impact on the town of Kalgoorlie and be involved in the community. I am most excited to learn more about rural health and Aboriginal health first hand outside of a city context,” Kelly said.