I was awarded the John Prichard Memorial Scholarship in my fourth year at university and got on board my first KDT trip in 2019.
It was life changing. There’s this thing about the Kimberley: there’s a heartbeat and it imprints itself on you; you can’t shake it and you want to keep going back. I just think there’s moments in life where you realise how sheltered you are, and I think going out into these communities…it’s a culture shock – you don’t realise that people live so differently in your own country. I remember my first time in clinic sitting and watching the clinicians interact with the patients and hearing the patients in the waiting area, and I couldn’t pick up what they were talking about, I could only hear little bits of English here and there.
John explained to me that English is not everyone’s first language and many Aboriginal people speak several languages and understand many more. They weren’t speaking English. I felt so silly that I hadn’t even realised that, you just assume that in Australia, English will be the dominant language. It was eye-opening and humbling to watch the work and see the outcomes.
I was 27 on that first trip and I’d been an ICU nurse in Melbourne before I trained as a dentist, and I knew way too much about what could go wrong. So I was quite happy to stand back and watch, or go into the waiting room and talk to people. It’s funny because sometimes the patients seem really quiet and stoic, and then you just get them on a topic that means a lot to them and all of a sudden their faces light up, and you’re having a conversation with someone you would not have had the opportunity to speak to otherwise.
I was in awe of the kids, the way they look at you. It’s like they look straight into your soul. We had this debrief at the end of the week, and I was so emotional; it’s really hard to put your finger on what it is about that country that is so special it marks you forever. But it’s one of the most incredible things I’ve done in my career and in my life. It was just such an eyeopener for me to this world that I’d never been part of – especially as an Aboriginal woman myself.
My family is from the Melbourne region, and that’s where I grew up. I came across to WA to study dentistry, but I think they’ve adopted me here in the west now.
On a later trip, once I’d qualified, there was this patient that we treated at the YYMS (Yuri Yungi Aboriginal Medical Service) dentist clinic. My dental assistant at that time, Kirra Moody, was an Aboriginal woman as well.
It didn’t even occur to me when we were treating her, but there we were, two Aboriginal clinicians treating an Aboriginal patient. It didn’t hit me at the time how massive that is.
We talk about culturally safe healthcare, and that’s how you do it. You have an Aboriginal dentist and Aboriginal nurse working on an Aboriginal patient alongside one of the greatest Aboriginal allies in Jan Owen. And Jan was the one who realised this and the gravity of the situation. I didn’t have any idea until it was all over. And then I was like, ‘Holy cow, that’s really cool!’. And Jan was like, ‘Yeah. I took a picture of it, don’t worry, I realised how special that moment was’.
I think that will go down as one of the most memorable moments in my career. It’s hard to tell that story and not get emotional.
Reproduced with permission. Originally published in: Millar H, 2005, Outback dental adventures. Travels of the Kimberley Dental Team, Kimberley Dental Team.
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