VICTORIA

JCTS Victoria

We work with our external stakeholders and partners to ensure our training reflects the breadth and scope of health challenges for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We also support doctors in training to continue their ongoing cultural education by providing them with recommended resources and referral pathways.

What we offer:

Doctors/Registrars in training (ACRRM & RACGP)

  • Orientation Sessions
    An Introduction to JCTS at Orientation Sessions (February & August) for Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) members and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) members.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Training Days
    JCTS organise cultural education days across Victoria in partnership with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and community services. Registrars have the opportunity to go out ‘on Country’ with local Elders and community members, take part in historical tours, and visit culturally significant sites.

  • Quarterly peer support group
    Open to Registrars who are working in Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) across Victoria, this support group allows Registrars to be able to talk through specific cases with specialist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators, share experiences, and build a community of practice.

  • Culcha Camps
    Open to all registrars working within an AMS. Registrars have the opportunity to attend an overnight camp allowing them to strengthen their connections to communities and connect with Traditional Owners.

  • Cultural education for doctors on their journey to Fellowship
    As part of the RACGP Fellowship Support Program, we provide cultural education support to ensure the care provided is relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples social, cultural, economic, and other unique needs.

Supervisors

  • Cultural education sessions for supervisors working in GP practices.

Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisations (ACCHOs)

  • Regular liaison visits
  • Support to on-site Cultural Mentors
“When Aboriginal people talk about our health, we don’t do it in isolation. Mental, physical and spiritual health is holistic.”

Meet the JCTS VIC team

Hear from a few of our Indigenous GP Registrars about how they benefited from the JCTS scholarship:

The JCTS VIC team live in regional areas across Victoria and enjoy the ease of connecting with the community and the rich culture and diverse geography that the regional areas provide.

Karen Dixon

Regional Manager, VIC

Fiona Capewell

Administration Officer

Belinda Cantwell

Administration Officer

Aunty Marlene Drysdale

Senior Cultural Educator, VIC
Aunty 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.

Aunty Nellie Flagg

Cultural Educator, VIC
Aunty Nellie Flagg’s Traditional countries are Wemba Wemba, Barapa Barapa, Dja Dja Wurrung and Boon Wurrung. She has over 35 years of experience working in a number of roles with Commonwealth and State governments and is the founding member of Wathaurong Aboriginal Coorperative in Geelong. As a JCTS Cultural Educator, Aunty Nellie enjoys the opportunities to share her own experiences of her life growing up as an Aboriginal girl and woman in Victoria.

Robert Ahmat

Cultural Educator, VIC
Robbie is originally from Darwin but moved away when he was 17 to play AFL for Collingwood. He played for them for three years until he got traded to the Sydney Swans, where he played for another four years.
He has previously worked at ANZ, Reiby Juvenile Justice in Western Sydney and Parkville Juvenile Justice Centre in Melbourne. Before joining JCTS, he worked at Melbourne Grammar School as a First Nations Program Manager.
He has joined JCTS to help make a difference and show our mob it’s ok to attend medical centres and to help doctors feel culturally competent and safe when working for an Aboriginal Medical Service.

About Victoria

Victoria has a rich culture and diverse geography, and the changing seasons and beautiful landscapes are reflective of this. There is a strong culture of good food and wine, festivals and amazing places to camp and explore.

Culturally sacred sites of interest in Victoria include:

  • Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park – this region is home to the largest number of significant and ancient Aboriginal rock art paintings and shelters in southern Australia and is a very spiritual place for Aboriginal peoples.
  • Budj Bim National Park – Budj Bim is a Gunditjmara name for Mount Eccles, a volcano located within the Western Victorian Volcanic Plains. The volcano is inactive. The Gunditjmara call the area ‘Tungatt Mirring’ or Stone Country. The Lake Condah Mission site includes bluestone ruins and a reconstructed timber building, as well as the cemetery which were part of the original settlement. Budj Bim is listed as a World Heritage Site.
  • Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve – located in the heart of the Great Ocean Road region, the reserve sits inside a dormant volcano that has an eleven kilometre crater rim.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria – Melbourne – is a significant cultural site for the local Kulin Nation.
  • Ghow (Kow) Swamp – located 3km south of Leitchville, the swamp’s name comes from the Aboriginal word Ghow, which describes the white gypsum soil found at Ghow Swamp. Ghow Swamp has been an immensely significant place for Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years.
  • Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre – part of the Melbourne Museum, the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre celebrates our vibrant cultures through performances, storytelling, artwork and more.
  • You Yangs Regional Park – part of an Aboriginal cultural landscape in the traditional Country of the Wadawurrung People.
  • King Billy mural, Geelong – two story high portrait depicting King Billy (also known as Willem Baa Niip or William Gore) a well-respected and influential man who fought for his right to live on the land with his mob (Wadawurrung people).

Thinking of relocating to Victoria? Discover what the region has to offer on the Visit Victoria website.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains images, voices and names of those returned to the dreaming.