{"id":2700,"date":"2025-04-11T12:39:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T03:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/?p=2700"},"modified":"2025-04-14T13:15:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T03:45:18","slug":"youngest-in-the-medical-program-leading-on-the-world-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/2025\/04\/11\/youngest-in-the-medical-program-leading-on-the-world-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Youngest in the Medical Program, Leading on the World Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter Susanto’s passion for medicine, sustainability<\/span> and community change is already making waves.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Peter Susanto began his Doctor of Medicine<\/a> degree at Flinders University in the Northern Territory, he was just 17 years old – making him the youngest student in the program\u2019s history. Now in his second year, Peter is not only thriving academically, but also using his platform to drive real change, both locally and globally.<\/p>\n

Pushing the Boundaries<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Peter representing Australia at COP29<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYear 1 of medicine was a huge step up,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Peter admits. \u201cThe workload was much heavier than my undergraduate degree, and I was also juggling community engagements as the 2024 NT Young Australian of the Year<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Still, he embraced the challenge with focus and balance. \u201cGetting through Year 1 gave me the confidence that I can persevere through medical school and lead effective, compassionate care for our community.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter\u2019s drive extends well beyond the lecture theatre. In 2024, he became the first person from the NT to be selected for the prestigious Emerging Climate Leaders Program. As one of only four young Australians chosen, Peter attended COP29\u2014the UN Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. \u201cIt was absolutely amazing. Over 30,000 delegates attended, and I had the honour of presenting at the World Health Organisation pavilion on how climate change impacts health in the NT.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Proud Territorian<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Peter spoke on the impact of climate change on health in the NT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wearing his NT flag pin proudly, Peter used the moment to raise awareness about the Territory on the global stage. \u201cBefore my talk, most of the audience didn\u2019t even know where the NT was. That changed very quickly!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He has since taken what he learned back home\u2014presenting to NT energy executives, public health leaders, and soon to appear on a major health leadership panel in Darwin. \u201cThese experiences have equipped me to influence change within the health system and beyond,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> he says.<\/p>\n

Local Focus, Global Success<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Peter was one of only four chosen young Australians for the Emerging Climate Leaders Program<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another highlight? Successfully advocating for free oral health care for every NT resident under 18. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m most proud of. It\u2019s something that will really make a difference in people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter was also recently appointed UNICEF Australia Young Ambassador<\/a>, the only representative from the NT. \u201cIt\u2019s an exciting opportunity to help set children up to thrive.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Peter is determined to keep building the links between his medical studies and community work. \u201cThey complement each other so well. I\u2019m excited to keep learning, growing, and giving back.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter Susanto’s passion for medicine, sustainability and community change is already making waves. When Peter Susanto began his Doctor of Medicine degree at Flinders University in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5851,"featured_media":2705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4200,1625,4123,3320,3215,4191],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cmph-student","category-flinders-nt","category-get-to-know-cmph","category-medicine","category-ntmp","category-public-health"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5851"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}