abstracts and bios cover_final.indd - LIME Network

Teaching from the other side: Partnership in cross-cultural educationMs Colleen Hayes 1 , Ms Kerry Taylor 21. Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Program Educator, Northern Territory (NT) Rural Clinical School,Flinders University2. Senior Lecturer, Centre for Remote Health, Alice SpringsAbstractCultural safety by definition requires dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants. Whenparticipants use different languages and/or use the same language differently, effective dialogue is harder toachieve.Medical students participating in clinical experiences in Central Australia are usually non-Indigenous. Theyare most often from backgrounds that do not prepare them for the realities of Indigenous health or providea contextual understanding of the cultural influences affecting the delivery of medical care to Indigenouspeoples.Various reports have identified the need for Indigenous cultural mentors and educators to provide teachingaround cultural influences in health care settings. The NT Rural Clinical School has taken on this advice andemployed a full-time cultural education officer to help prepare medical students for practice in the NorthernTerritory.This poster will present a partnership model between an Indigenous Cultural educator and non-Indigenousacademic that is proving beneficial in more than just the relevant teaching program. It is helping botheducators and participants to develop a vocabulary for more effective cross-cultural learning and mentoring.Medical students are asked to reflect on their own culture in order to connect with another culture, throughthe use a two-way approach that blends mainstream academic and Indigenous cultural teaching methods.This presentation will discuss the responses of students to their cultural safety learning and the value ofpartnership in developing cross-cultural education skills.Presenters: Ms Colleen HayesColleen is an Arrernte/Kayetetye woman from Central Australia. She is an AboriginalCultural Awareness Educator at the Northern Territory Rural Clinical School (NTRCS),Alice Springs. Colleen has worked in the community focusing on health and education,developing strengths through cultural and community development networks andfiltering these skills and experiences across all levels. She has worked both inAboriginal Community organisations and government departments in Alice Springs.Currently she is working in partnership with NTRCS and Flinders University to deliveran Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Program for medical students undertaking clinicalexperiences in Central Australia.66