Indigenous Medical Scholarships

Lizzie: Today, we're meeting Dr. Justin Cain.

Justin: He's a Gamilaroi Yuin man, a UOW medicine graduate, and the first Indigenous Australian to be accepted into the Royal Australian College of Surgeons' prestigious vascular surgery program.

Lizzie: Hello, Justin.

Justin: Hello. How are you?

Lizzie: Good to see you.

Justin: You too.

Lizzie: We're here at the Graduate School of Medicine. How does it feel to be back here?

Justin: Ah, look, it's very nostalgic; it just reminds me of what it was like here as a student.

Lizzie: You have also been championing rural health, and that started while you were here. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Justin: I met one of the staff of the Health Science Department, Kay Kent, and she got me to sign up for SHARP, which stood for Student Health Alliance for Rural Populations. I felt very passionate about equality and equity and health equity, so I signed up with SHARP, and yeah, that sort of motivated me to do medicine and become a doctor.

Lizzie: I think we're going to take a little trip down memory lane. If you want to jump in my Memory Mobile, we can see where it all began.

Justin: Can't wait.

Lizzie: Awesome. Talk to me about the National Rural Health Leadership Symposium.

Justin: Health students from all over the country got together here at Wollongong, and I was invited to present on Indigenous health and provide a student perspective on what it's like growing up in a remote Aboriginal community. It was really motivating for me, and it was through that event that I actually felt like I harnessed a bit of energy to pursue a health career and mainly medicine.

Lizzie: What does it feel like coming back now?

Justin: Um, it's very nostalgic; like hearing this stream has actually triggered a lot of memories from sitting on the grass and reading. It's actually really fun being back.

Lizzie: How did you end up at Wollongong Uni? Because you actually grew up down on the South Coast, didn't you?

Justin: So I grew up in Nowra, and the founder of the Shoalhaven Campus, Professor Ray Cleary, was actually a prominent member of the community down there. And pretty much his relationship with the local community is what sort of pushed a lot of young Aboriginal people to go to UOW.

Lizzie: And how does it feel to be sitting back in a lecture hall?

Justin: It's nice being back in here; it's changed a lot.

Lizzie: Friends and I used to have a whole row sort of down the front there, and it was a good time.

Justin: We're really close to WIC, the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre, so I think we should head over there and hear some more stories.

Lizzie: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Justin: Studying here as an undergrad doing exercise science and later medicine, you also got some scholarships to help you out with that. And how important is it that UOW keeps championing Indigenous students with these scholarships?

Justin: I think it's critical. One of the big unspoken things that we have in our culture is that we often help our community out, and that sometimes can be at the detriment of our education. I think helping take some financial strain off some of the decisions that we have to make keeps you focused on what you're here to do, and that's to finish your degree and to get a qualification.

Lizzie: A couple of years ago, you were honoured with an Alumni Award from UOW, so can you tell me a little bit about that?

Justin: I feel like there's a huge imposter syndrome because I feel I haven't done that much, but when you sit there and you hear people read out your accolades and achievements, you reflect on just how large the journey actually has been, and to be recognised like that was a huge personal achievement.

Lizzie: So we're pulling up here now to WIC, and why is it important for the university to have a space like this?

Justin: So few young Indigenous people can ever see themselves going to university. To have a space where we can feel safe and share cultural knowledge as well is really important, and it makes us feel safer on campus.

Lizzie: You had a pretty significant relationship with Professor Faye McMillan. Can you tell me about that?

Justin: So Faye was Australia's first Aboriginal pharmacist and was just a huge support for me and a lot of other young Koori kids that were coming through. So she mentored a lot of us and just provided a lot of good sort of care that you would expect from an Auntie or a big sister, really.

Lizzie: So you were also accepted into the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and you're the first Indigenous Australian to be accepted into their vascular surgery program. Can you tell me about that?

Justin: Yeah, so it was a huge achievement. In all of Australia and New Zealand, they only took nine people, and I was lucky to be one of them.

Lizzie: And how do you think your med school experience here helped prepare you for something like that?

Justin: I can't even put words to it because I was just so supported here; I knew UOW was home. So being here, being supported by the community was a big part of my medical journey.

Lizzie: What's your hope for medical students coming through and Indigenous students coming through?

Justin: Like, even just this evening, we met a student who's interested in doing medicine. Just seeing so many young Koori kids coming through wanting to do medicine just fills my heart with so much joy; it's just overwhelming.

Lizzie: It's been really nice to hear your journey through UOW, and good luck with the rest of your training

Justin: Thanks Lizzie