A personal trainer for almost a decade in Alice Springs, Jason Wilmot enjoyed working in preventative health. However, he found his skills were limited to those who could afford it.

Working as a personal trainer for Professor John Wakerman, who was instrumental in the medical program in the Northern Territory (NT), changed Jason’s career path.

Professor Wakerman encouraged Jason to get an undergraduate degree and then apply for the Flinders University Doctor of Medicine through the NT Medical Program. Jason hasn’t looked back.

Now in his second year of studies, Jason wants to give back to his hometown of Alice Springs and work as a doctor in the Red Centre.

“I loved working with people and doing preventative health with personal training, but what I found is it was really limited to who could afford to buy my services and so medicine served two purposes,” Jason said.

“One, you can expand who you’re able to help with their health, and secondly, it’s not just accessible to those that can afford you anymore, you can offer it to everybody.

“And the other part of getting into medicine was just how important it was to have doctors remain in the Territory. I’ve lived here my entire life, so it was really kind of like a no-brainer for me.”

After completing a Bachelor in Exercise Science as a mature-aged student, Jason was determined to get good marks to then go on to study medicine.

“I think instead of thinking about your capabilities, you should think about what you want to do for your community and what your idea of change and how you would go about it is because I don’t think people are aware of what they can do until they have purpose and direction. For me, that’s what really helped,” he said.

Jason believes he’s studying medicine through one of the best programs in the world due to the size of the classes and the dedication of staff – who have even taken the time to share their culture.

“We’re likely in not only one of the best medical programs in Australia but probably the world given the size of our class,” Jason said.

“There’s 24 of us in our year and 30 in the years to come, so the teacher or doctor to student ratio is incredible. We’re given this opportunity where usually, you’d be in a class of over 100 students and there are only 30 of us. It’s really intimate you get to learn from these specialists, and consultants every week, and it’s just such a different environment.

“To think that we were cooking Sri Lankan curries with our forensic pathologist teacher in year one. This is something you’re not going to experience anywhere else.”

Explore a health degree right here in the Northern Territory, study with Flinders University.