Candy Kilby and Yaltara Penrith are among 14 new graduates to have completed their Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care Practice at TAFE NSW Wagga Wagga. Photo: Supplied.
Wagga Wagga will soon see a boost in Aboriginal and Indigenous health care, with 14 TAFE NSW students recently graduating with a Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care Practice.
The graduates are the first from Wagga to have completed the course in over three years, marking a vital step in improving medical care for the region’s First Nations communities.
According to TAFE NSW, the region’s need for culturally safe care is high, with Aboriginal people making up 5.9 per cent of the population and experiencing more than double the disease burden of non-Indigenous Australians.
The high need for care is what contributed to Candy Kilby and her daughter Yaltara Penrith deciding to complete the course.
Along with their studies, Candy, Yaltara and the other 12 students were required to complete 500 hours of placements across hospitals and community care providers, 100 hours more than a standard nursing course at TAFE NSW.
Candy and Yaltara said completing the Cert IV together was a unique experience that allowed them to get the most out of the course.
“Yaltara and I both live in Griffith. We were travelling over to TAFE every Wednesday,” Candy said.
“It was very draining for us to come over and have a full day of learning, and then to drive home and then get up and go to work the next day.
“But now that we’ve completed it, it’s been very rewarding. I’d just like to thank my daughter, Yaltara, because she really carried me over the line in those last couple of units.”
Yaltara said the pair were able to effectively support each other during their study, with Yaltara offering experience on the academic side of the course and Candy bringing medical experience.
“I’m still really new to the medical side of things, but have been working in education for a while, and mum has been working in medicine for over 15 years,” Yaltara said.
“It was really nice having mum give me motivation, telling me I’d make a good Aboriginal health worker like her.
“On the other side, I’d help her with the study. There were a couple of times where I’d remind her about the assignments we’d have to complete and support her through that.”
Former senior manager of Aboriginal engagement at TAFE NSW, Peter Beath, followed the new cohort from the beginning of their studies to their graduation.
Mr Beath said he was proud of the graduates and pleased that more care for Indigenous people in Wagga and surrounds was on its way.
“The Aboriginal health worker role plays a pivotal part of the health system,” he said.
“Aboriginal health workers get to walk alongside our families and people at some of the most vulnerable moments and help them navigate through the mainstream health system, breaking down the stigma or the nervousness about engaging with mainstream health.
“It’s one of the biggest cohorts we’ve had go through the program. The program is getting bigger and bigger, and we work closely with the different health services and health systems within the Wagga Wagga region, but also the wider Riverina as well.
“It’s wonderful being able to see Aboriginal community members come here, study this course, study this qualification, get employment, but then go back out and make a difference in the lives of the people in their communities.”
