Supported by Flinders NT, Kristina Key from Sydney of University recently completed an eight-week Occupational Therapy (OT) placement in Darwin with Territory Therapy Solutions.

Being the first OT student from Sydney University to complete a placement in Darwin, Kristina didn’t really know what to expect. She chose Darwin because she wanted a unique experience working with different cultures, landscapes and challenges specific to the Top End and to expand her OT reasoning and flexibility to address this. “I attained this and much much more!”, she says.

Kristina explains, “I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to fly up to Bathurst and Melville Island in Tiwi. I also stayed overnight in the remote communities around Katherine to see and experience first-hand the complex communities and systems we were working within as OT’s.

“Whilst reading articles and talking to co-workers was beneficial, nothing compared to being on the soil of the communities we were servicing, hearing the unique perspectives and challenges of the individuals I was working with, and feeling the vast remoteness of these destinations for myself”.

Kristina found the community at the Flinders NT student accommodation invaluable with the sharing of ideas, experiences, trials and tribulations from the varied professions and placement sites.

“It was a valuable learning experience that differentiated this placement from any other. The eight weeks went by so quickly it felt like two weeks, and I could easily do another eight weeks!”, she said.

Thank you Flinders NT Rural and Remote Interprofessional Placement and Learning (RIPPL) team for your support in making this happen. It is an experience I will never forget!