LIMECONNECTIONV - LIME Network

Erena WikaireThe University of AucklandMs Erena I Wikaire is a Māori Physiotherapist (Ngati Hine) who has experiencein research concerned with Māori and Indigenous health and disability workforcedevelopment, Māori health scholarship funding programmes, cultural competence,mental health assessment and documentation, and the psychosocial impact ofadvanced cancer on patients, carers and families in Māori and Indigenous populations.Erena is currently completing a Masters in Public Health and is employed as aResearcher at Te Kupenga Hauora Māori, The University of Auckland. Ongoingresearch interests include Māori health workforce development and addressing ethnicinequalities in health.Miroma Bunbilla Pre-Entry to Medicine Program for Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander peopleAuthors:Vicki Holliday, LecturerAssociate Professor Peter O’Mara, DirectorDr Anita Watts, Senior LecturerSchool of Medicine and Public Health, Discipline of Indigenous Health, Faculty of Health, The University of NewcastleAbstract:The medical school at The University of Newcastle has a long history of training Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander doctors. Since 1985 there has been a special entry program for Indigenous applicants. Currentlythere are 175 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Doctors (Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Associationwebsite), of those, 62 have graduated from this university up to 2012. Since 2008, The University of Newcastleand the University of New England have jointly offered the Bachelor of Medicine (BMed) as a five-yearundergraduate degree referred to as the Joint Medical Program (JMP). A number of programs and strategieswere developed in the early years of the medical program to facilitate Indigenous entry to the program. Whilstthese have been important, they have also been somewhat ad hoc. Poor academic progression and poorretention rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have been an ongoing concern.The Miroma Bunbilla Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Pre-Entry to Medicine Program has been developedto strengthen special entry for applicants (school leavers or mature aged) who apply to the JMP. MiromaBunbilla was developed in 2012 and was offered to applicants in December 2012 as a pilot program. Theprogram has been designed to mirror components of year one in the JMP. Participation will provide anopportunity for facilitators, lecturers and tutors to observe and assess the students and identify strengthsand weaknesses in both individual and group work. This oral presentation will provide information about theMiroma Bunbilla pilot, its development, implementation and evaluation and how this evaluation informs thedevelopment of a new admissions process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants.48