‘Walking in each other’s shoes, honouring each other’s stories’—this guiding motto shaped the 2025 Remote Health Experience, an annual event that brings together health students from across the Northern Territory for immersive, inter-professional learning.
Living in remote Australia often means the nearest hospital is hundreds of kilometres away, with only one health worker on the ground and support available on call. To prepare future health professionals for these challenges, Flinders University hosted the three-day event just outside Katherine, NT, from 8–10 March 2025.
Building Skills for Remote Practice
This year’s 80 participants included students primarily from Flinders University and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, as well as a range of healthcare professionals. Seeing students and professionals from various fields—such as allied health, paramedicine, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health practice—interact and learn from each other’s experiences is invaluable in the context of remote health.
“The event also helps us all to connect and build relationships that enable us to become better professionals,” says Associate Professor Emma Kennedy from Flinders University.
Participants engaged in a series of skills stations covering:
- Understanding cultural perspectives of care through kinship
- Learning cannulation techniques
- Managing snake bites in remote settings
- Exploring sustainability in healthcare
- Practising remote communication strategies
- Making informed decisions in primary healthcare
Learning from Experience
For Dean Sullivan, who grew up on a family farm near Mataranka and is now studying medicine in Darwin, the weekend was an invaluable opportunity to connect with fellow students and learn about different health professions in a familiar region.
“I started studying medicine last month, and coming here to learn these hands-on skills really helps me put things in perspective and appreciate the role each health professional plays,” Mr Sullivan shared.
Acknowledging Our Partners
Flinders University extends its gratitude to Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Indigenous Allied Health Australia, and Banatjarl Strongbala Wimun Grup for their support in making this event possible.