St Francis student Bridie Worner learnt a lot from Anita Tagliapietra this week. Photos: Oliver Jacques.
Griffith medical student Anita Tagliapietra has taught teenagers from her old schools how to dress wounds and explained to them the different pathways they can pursue to launch a career in healthcare.
The 24-year-old led hands-on workshops for students from Leeton’s St Francis De Sales Regional College and Yanco Agricultural High School interested in working in medicine and allied health.
“We use plastic, Vaseline and food colouring to simulate blood and pus to show the students what a wound might look like,” Ms Tagliapietra said.
“I’m teaching them how to clean it and prevent the spread of infection.”
Students also learned how to apply stitches to bananas as part of a full day of activities organised by the NSW Department of Education in partnership with the Three Rivers Department and the School of Rural Medicine.
Anita taught students how to dress wounds.
Ms Tagliapietra is studying a Bachelor of Clinical Science/Doctor of Medicine at Charles Sturt University and said rural students often face greater hurdles than their city counterparts when trying to enter medicine – although pathways are improving.
“When you compare metro to rural, you get so many more opportunities in metro areas. Your Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) gets brought up if you are in a city school that has a higher average ATAR,” she said.
“I graduated from St Francis with a mid-range ATAR and then went to the University of Wollongong to do nutrition science. Then I applied to medicine through my grade point average.
“Doing well in university is a lot easier and a lot less stressful than doing well in school.
“Everyone puts an emphasis on ATAR, but there are other ways to get into medicine. You don’t need 99.5 to become a doctor.”
Her own journey has not been easy.
Ms Tagliapietra is completing a 40-hour unpaid placement in Griffith while also working at Bunnings, tutoring and providing first aid support with a local footy club. She says working seven days a week has become necessary to make ends meet.
“Nursing and teaching students get paid for internships, but medical students still miss out. That’s something we want to change,” she said.
A large group of students from St Francis were impressed by the classes.
Despite the demanding workload, she hopes to return to Griffith or another rural community as a doctor and help address longstanding workforce shortages.
St Francis student Bridie Worner said learning from Ms Tagliapietra had strengthened her own ambitions.
“I loved today’s session. I really want to be a paediatric nurse, because I like children and I want to help them at their more vulnerable times,” she said.
Yanco Agricultural High School student Zali Trudgett also came away inspired.
“I learned how to properly dress a cut so it doesn’t get infected or get any germs or bacteria,” she said.
“I think I want to be a doctor. Today has given me a good idea of what that will be like.”
