Aboriginal medical graduate 'thrilled' with return to Alice Springs

It’s taken the best part of a decade but University of Queensland medical graduate Dr Sherice Ansell is about to achieve her goal of working at Alice Springs Hospital, which serves her Arrernte and Anmatyerre homelands.

She will finally be closing the circle on a journey inspired by her father Frank, a traditional Aboriginal healer (Ngangkari) and Health Worker in Alice Springs.

Sherice graduated from UQ in 2019 and will soon complete her final rotation in Obstetrics and Gynaecology as an intern at West Moreton Health’s Ipswich Hospital.

“My whole family is excited that I have accepted an offer to return back to Alice Springs as a doctor,” she says.

“My father encouraged me to do medicine; he knew that in order have a larger influence on positive change for our people you needed to have a western education.

“I was an Aboriginal Health Worker employed in Alice Springs previously, but it’s the doctor that has the last say about a person’s treatment.

“You listen to whatever they say, and for a lot of Aboriginal patients that isn’t necessarily the best thing, because those decisions may be coming from someone who doesn’t have a cultural understanding.

“My father told me ‘if you do Medicine, you will be in a better position to talk for your people’.”

Sherice was the first of her family to study at university and said it wasn’t an easy transition.

“I didn’t know what university was when I went through high school. It wasn’t until I was rubbing shoulders with nurses and doctors as an Aboriginal Health Worker that I thought, I could do that.”

With the support of UQ’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (ATSIS) Unit, Sherice gradually adjusted to life as a student in a big city.

“The first two years were probably the most difficult because I moved away from home,” she said.

“I was at the ATSIS unit almost every day and the support was just awesome and made so much of a difference.”

Sherice is thrilled to be an inspiration for Indigenous children she comes into contact with through her work or the community.

“You don’t believe that you can become something if you don’t see it,” she says.

“By getting more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors into the workforce, we can continue to inspire our younger Indigenous communities.”

It was 2012 when Sherice decided to pursue her passion to study Medicine and become a doctor.

“While based in a rural clinic in Alice Springs, studying to be an Aboriginal Health Practitioner, I worked alongside international and non-Indigenous doctors and nurses who had very little cultural understanding of Indigenous people.

“Seeing the language barriers between Indigenous patients and non-Indigenous doctors and having to interpret medical jargon into plain English so that patients could understand, I realised that I wanted to become a doctor, not only for my personal aspirations and passion but also to help my own community.

“Becoming a doctor helps me facilitate the outcomes of healthier lives for my people.”

West Moreton Health Chief Medical Officer Dr Deepak Doshi said Ipswich Hospital wished Sherice the very best for her future and thanked her for helping provide cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and families.

Prof Bronwyn Fredericks, UQ’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) said she “looks forward to seeing Sherice graduate, to her working as a doctor and to the difference Sherice will make for years to come”. 

If you are interested or know someone who is interested in studying Medicine, please contact the University of Queensland’s ATSIS Unit at https://atsis.uq.edu.au/.