Dietetics Placement in regional Queensland

For my final year Dietetics, I had the privilege of completing placement in various locations across remote and regional QLD. For dietetics, we have a compulsory 27 weeks of fulltime placement in our final year. This year I was sent to Mount Isa, Townsville, Hervey Bay and the Sunshine Coast- relocating from home on a cattle farm in outback Queensland. Having to travel so far for placement provided significant financial strain as a student, as well as having to pay for accommodation and living expenses. I am beyond grateful to have received an ACEN scholarship, which has allowed me to complete placement in these diverse areas. The ACEN scholarship not only funded placement itself, but the amazing experience, lifelong connections and personal/professional growth that came alongside it. Going remote especially strengthened my passion for rural and remote work. Growing up in outback QLD on a farm, I was excited to complete placement in a remote location. Having the opportunity to travel out to a small remote community on the Northern Territory border southwest of Mount Isa exposed me to the reality of food insecurity in Australia. During this placement, I developed key skills such as problem-solving and adaptability with the everchanging conditions working in remote Australia preparing me well for a career in rural and remote healthcare. My communication skills also improved significantly, now having the knowledge, skills and tools to successfully communicate cross culturally. On clinical placement, I had diverse clinical caseloads and had the opportunity to have a full caseload, developing key leadership skills. In addition to this, I took the opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture from Elders, Indigenous healthcare workers and cultural educators to challenge my beliefs about their culture, health and determinants of health. Having placement in regional areas also had positive outcomes. Being in bigger more central hospitals, I had challenging caseloads such as surgical subspecialties- something you would not get in a rural location. This developed key clinical reasoning skills as well as strengthened my confidence in my abilities as a student dietitian... and got me way out of my comfort zone! Throughout each placement, I have also made invaluable connections to people – from my supervisors to fellow placement students, I have made lifelong friendships and mentors for my career in dietetics. With these connections, I also travelled and explored all that Queensland has to offer. From Fountain Springs in Mount Isa to the Daintree in Far North Queensland... to the glasshouse mountains on the Sunshine Coast and Fraser Island off Hervey Bay! Having this scholarship allowed for these adventures to happen, ultimately allowing me to become emersed in each community I called home for a short while. Thank you again ACEN, it goes beyond what these words can express. This scholarship has broadened my horizons in many ways, and strengthened my passion for rural and remote healthcare- preparing me well for my dream career.