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THE SURGICAL CARE OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: A STRUCTURED ORIENTATION PROGRAMME
Author(s) -
Gruen Russell L.,
Tesimale Louisa,
Kong Kelvin,
Clarke Marilyn,
Jacobs Sue,
Jacob Ollapallil,
Chenia Feisal,
Van Iersel Eileen,
O’Brien Margaret
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2007.04284.x
Subject(s) - medicine , indigenous , orientation (vector space) , family medicine , ecology , geometry , mathematics , biology
Many Australian surgeons have made outstanding contributions to Indigenous health. Indigenous health, through exceptional clinical and interpersonal skills, contextual and cultural understanding, or willingness to pursue novel methods of service delivery. The journey to deliver Indigenous health care has been colourful, rewarding and at times difficult. Some programs have worked, whilst others have failed. Until recently, there has been no forum to orientate and help newly arrived surgeons acquire the relevant skills. In this article we examine some issues of surgery and Indigenous health. We consider the how the nature of public discourse affects the perception of opportunities, what the main challenges are and how the profession can tackle them. We end by describing a programme developed jointly by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) to promote effective surgical care of Indigenous people, especially those living in rural and remote areas.