Flinders University Medical graduates to serve the NT

Thirty-one newly-minted doctors will help serve the health needs of the Territory after graduating from Flinders University.

Bethany Griffiths

@bethanyleag

3 min read

December 15, 2021 - 10:08AM

Charles Darwin University announces new medical school

Education

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THE Territory’s health system will soon benefit from thirty-one newly-minted doctors.

The students — including the largest cohort of Indigenous students — from Flinders University’s Northern Territory-based Medical Program graduated on Monday in a ceremony at the Darwin Convention Centre.

Medical program director Professor Emma Kennedy said she was proud to see the latest group of students come through the ranks.

“It’s a very diverse group of students that are mostly from the NT,” she said.

“What we’re really excited about is graduating a group of people who are already aware of some of the challenges of living and raising families in the Northern Territory.”

Indigenous woman Nikki Burnett was celebrating on graduation day just weeks shy of giving birth to her fourth child.

Dr Anna Walmsley (L) and Dr Nikki Burnett before graduating from the NT Based Flinders Uni Medical school. Picture: Glenn Campbell

She said she was grateful to have finished her degree after a very “convulated” journey.

“I didn’t actually complete high school so had to find back pathways,” she said.

“It was a long hard journey with lots of tears, lots of ‘wow’ moments.

“It’s been not easy but also very rewarding to have made it to the end.”

Ms Burnett said she’d always been interested in health, and to be a role model for other Indigenous people was a bonus.

“I think reaching for something is a lot easier when you can see other people around that have achieved it too,” she said.

After 20 years in the making, Anna Walmsley was also very excited to have made it to the end of her studies.

She said it was after being deployed to Iraq in 2002 and working as an engineer in a hospital that she was first ”got inspired about medicine and health”.

“The it was the experience of seeing the obstacles and barriers to health (in East Arnhem Land) that the itch needed to be scratched,” she said.

Ms Walsmley said she hopes to specialise in rural general practice and return to Ramagining to work there following her internship.

THE NT’S TOP YEAR 12 STUDENTS REVEALED

The Northern Territory’s best-performing students have been revealed after receiving their ATAR scores this morning.

1423 students completed the NT Certificate of Education and Training this year, with the top 20 celebrated during a ceremony at Parliament House.

Olivia Anderson from Darwin High School took out the top spot with an ATAR of 99.9.

She said the year had been a lot of work, but overall enjoyable.

“Year 12 in general was pretty stressful but really good — my friends and teachers made it pretty amazing,” she said.

“I was doing a lot of maths and science subjects so there was a lot of work.”

“Walking out of the final exam was pretty satisfying,” she said.

Olivia plans to study engineering at Australia National University in Canberra next year.

Darwin High students Olivia Anderson, Kyriakos Lambrinidis and Jillian Wong at the official congratulations of the Top 20 Year 12 students from the NT. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Tiana James was the top Aboriginal student for 2021, hailing from Good

She said she was very “surprised and excited” when she found out her results.

“It was a good year — lots of memories with friends,” she said.

Tiana said she hopes to stay in Darwin and study Medicine next year.

Education Minister Lauren Moss said the achievements of the smaller cohort of year 12’s this year was something worth celebrating.

“It is always a wonderful day to celebrate the top 20 students and its been a fantastic year,” she said.

“For a year that's been very complicated and had its disruptions I think everyone can be really proud of themselves.”

She said the difference between the scores of this year’s top achievers was very tight, with less than a per cent between the top three.

HIGHEST SCORING STUDENTS 2021:

1. Olivia Anderson – Darwin High School

2. Matthew Rawsthorne – The Essington School

3. Bo Zeng – St Phillip’s College