Our Indigenous Programs
To adequately close the health gap between Indigenous and other Australians we need a more competent workforce. A more competent workforce means training Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people to more effectively address Indigenous health. The Faculty is dedicated to improving Indigenous health outcomes in Victoria and beyond,
One way the faculty is demonstrating its commitment is by establishing the Harvest Alliance School for Indigenous Health, the first dedicated school of its kind in Australia. The School is in development now, with an aim to be fully operational in 2013. The School will play a lead role in Indigenous health, but will work with the rest of the Faculty to contribute to improving Indigenous health outcomes, because we believe Indigenous health is everybody’s business.
The School is advised by a Community Reference Group which meets regularly and provides advice and support to us on cultural and intellectual issues relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health within the community. The CRG may also provide advice to the Dean and the Faculty Committee for Indigenous Health directly on these issues.
Teaching Programs
We are reviewing our existing Indigenous health curricula and developing a model whereby every student in the Faculty (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) will receive Indigenous health curricula content as part of their courses. Given the size of the Faculty, this will required a phased implementation approach.
Research Programs
We are implementing a Faculty-wide research protocol to facilitate more ethical and respectful research partnerships with Indigenous communities; and delivering a strategic research agenda that responds to Indigenous people's priorities. We are developing key partnerships and collaborations with Aboriginal and mainstream research organisations and institutes.
Community Development
The School will develop a community development program so that all activities of the School are delivered in an appropriate manner, and so that the School contributes to community service and community priorities.
Indigenous Student Services
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We are committed to improving access for Indigenous students to all our courses and will offer a range of alternative entry pathways to assist students from 2013. We are also committed to mentoring and supporting Indigenous students during their time at Monash. For more information on our programs please contact us on: indigenoushealth@monash.edu or 9905 8026
The School also works closely with Monash’s Yulendj, Indigenous Engagement Unit which offers a range of services to Indigenous students, and we encourage all Indigenous students within the faculty to contact the unit.
A range of equity and academic performance scholarships are available for Indigenous students studying at Monash University.
In January 2010, the faculty (together with CAIS) ran the Hands on Health camp for Indigenous students in the later years of high school. The camp gave bright students an opportunity to experience life on campus and to gain a deeper understanding of the range of health professions offered through our faculty. Given the success of the initiative, from 2011 onwards, this has become a university-wide program called 'Hands on Monash'. Click here for more information.
Our Indigenous Staff
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Gregory Phillips – Biography
Gregory Phillips is from the Waanyi and Jaru Aboriginal peoples, and grew up in Cloncurry and Mount Isa.
He is a medical anthropologist with a research master's degree in medical science and a Bachelor of Arts in Aboriginal Studies and Government, both from The University of Queensland. His master's thesis, Addictions and Healing in Aboriginal Country, was an ethnography of addiction and post-traumatic stress syndromes in a remote Aboriginal community. It passed with no corrections, and was published as a book by Aboriginal Studies Press n 2003.
Gregory has developed an accredited Indigenous health curriculum for all medical schools in Australia and New Zealand (2004), founded the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education Network (2005), and wrote a national Indigenous health workforce strategy (2008). He established the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Ltd (2009) in the wake of the federal apology to Indigenous Australians, and has advised federal ministers on Indigenous health inequality. He was honoured in 2011 with an Australian Leadership Award from the ADC Forum.
Gregory is currently Head of School (Acting) of the Harvest Alliance School for Indigenous Health at Monash University, the nation's first dedicated school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in a medical faculty.
Other staff within the Harvest Alliance School for Indigenous Health include:
- Associate Professor Marlene Drysdale's career has been been devoted to working for Aboriginal people. She is currently the Head of the Indigenous Health Unit within the Monash University Department of Rural and Indigenous Health (MUDRIH) where her responsibilities include the recruitment of Medical, Nursing and Allied Health Indigenous students, research, lecturing and curriculum development. For the past 19 years Marlene has worked in Rural Victoria in Aboriginal education and health with a strong community focus. Marlene's family ties are in Wiradjeri country in NSW. She has been an active member of State and National Committee on education and health matters, and is the current Director, Morwell Aboriginal Co-operative, as well as a member of the Mirimbiak Native Title Unit, the National Indigenous Women’s Group, and the Gippsland Domestic Violence Committee.
- Rose Gilby is a Wiradjuri woman and has been with the Indigenous Health Unit of MUDRIH since 2006 and previously worked for LaTrobe University. Rose has a background as an Aboriginal Health Worker and is currently completing her Bachelor of Nursing. Rose is based at the Mildura Campus.
- Cassandra Murray grew up in Darwin and has been with Monash University since 2007. Prior to coming to Monash she worked in student services at TAFE Tasmania. Apart from the administrative roles she has held in her time at Monash, Cass has also been an active Green Rep and Environmental Officer.
When the School is fully operational, it will have a complement of approximately 20 staff.
