{"id":3215,"date":"2025-12-22T15:53:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T05:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/?p=3215"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:43:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T04:13:38","slug":"from-nepal-to-darwin-a-volleyball-champion-becoming-a-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/2025\/12\/22\/from-nepal-to-darwin-a-volleyball-champion-becoming-a-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"From Nepal to Darwin: a volleyball champion becoming a doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMedicine is a privilege because you are invited into some of the most challenging moments of people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Gahanic Odari, that belief shaped a journey that began in childhood curiosity and led to graduating as a doctor through Flinders University\u2019s Northern Territory Medical Program<\/a>. Raised in Darwin after moving from Nepal at age 12, Gahanic chose to study medicine locally and plans to build his career in the place he now calls home.<\/p>\n

A childhood interest that became a calling<\/h3>\n
\"\"
From a camping trip in Central Australia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSince I was a child, medicine always seemed fascinating,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Gahanic says. \u201cI never expected I would end up in it, but science and my experiences with doctors stayed with me.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

During his school years at Dripstone Middle<\/a> and Casuarina Senior College<\/a>, Gahanic balanced study with sport and music. By Year 12, medicine felt like the right fit. \u201cI applied to the only university offering medicine locally in Darwin and was fortunate to be accepted.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Studying medicine while staying connected<\/h3>\n

Born in Nepal and raised in a multicultural Darwin community, Gahanic says staying close to family influenced his decision. \u201cI knew studying medicine away from home would be hard,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> he says. \u201cFlinders gave me the chance to study medicine while staying in the NT, which deepened my connection to the Territory.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Building confidence through experience<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Get together with the medical group post-exam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gahanic credits his time at Flinders with shaping his confidence as a future doctor. The learning was hands on and closely connected to real clinical environments. \u201cThe staff do an outstanding job preparing us for the workforce,\u201d<\/strong> <\/em>he says. \u201cThey\u2019ve equipped us with the fundamental skills to become safe and competent doctors.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He credits Territory clinicians for their generosity. \u201cDoctors across the NT were incredibly supportive, even those not formally linked to the university.\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>Simulation training also stood out. \u201cThe acute care scenarios helped me stay calm under pressure, including during ICU placements.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Placements, growth and a sense of humour<\/h3>\n

ICU placements in Darwin and Alice Springs left a lasting impression. One memorable moment came when an ICU consultant mistook Gahanic for a registrar. \u201cIt was stressful at the time,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> he laughs, \u201cbut it\u2019s now one of my funniest placement memories.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Looking ahead in the NT<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Sharing the graduation joy with his mum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gahanic plans to remain in the Territory as a junior doctor. \u201cI want to become a strong generalist before specialising,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> he says. Outside medicine, he continues to play competitive volleyball and will celebrate graduation by competing in Sydney. \u201cI\u2019m excited to keep learning, working close to home and growing alongside people I\u2019ve trained with.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

For prospective students, his advice is simple. \u201cFlinders offers clinical exposure that\u2019s second to none. Studying medicine here makes the journey for Territorians more meaningful.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Northern Territory Medical Program is a four-year master degree with multiple pathways tailored for Territorians. Find out more<\/a> about studying Doctor of Medicine in the Northern Territory with Flinders University.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMedicine is a privilege because you are invited into some of the most challenging moments of people\u2019s lives.\u201d For Gahanic Odari, that belief shaped a journey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5851,"featured_media":3216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4200,1625,5313,3320,5301,3215,3540],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cmph-student","category-flinders-nt","category-international","category-medicine","category-nt-placement","category-ntmp","category-rural-and-remote"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215","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=3215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}