From 18 – 22nd January this year, the Sydney Pharmacy School (SPS) hosted the Sydney Pharmacy First Nations student camp. The proportion of pharmacists in the workforce who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander is small, 0.4%. The aim is to increase this to 3.43% by 2031 to help provide culturally safe healthcare. To encourage student to attend USyd and the SPS, year 9 – 11 First Nations high school students from across N.S.W. were invited to attend the camp.
Six students stayed at St Andrew’s College and the Not on My Watch team were engaged to support the students during their stay at the camp. Students had a full program including visits to external sites: Pfizer Australia, Westmead Hospital, Webstercare, a Redfern Walking Tour with Aunty Donna, and Emerton Pharmacy. Various activities on site at SPS gave the students a taste of Pharmacy at USyd, including making a cream. A scholarships information session was conducted by Sydney Future Students and current SPS First Nations student ambassadors, together with a tour of the Gadigal Centre. We finished with a wonderful cultural harbour cruise with Tribal Warrior.
First Nations SPS student ambassadors (Amirah, Jazmyn, Isaac and Noah) were key to the success of the camp, along with camp organisers Prof Rebekah Moles, Dr Alex Burke (Wiradjuri), Dr Jack Collins, and Dr Susan Welch.
The camp was really well received by the students. “It’s been incredible.” (S1) “I’d recommend it, especially around our age and not being sure what you want to do in the future. I think it’s a good experience.” (S2)
Prof Andrew McLachlan (HOS Sydney Pharmacy School) said, “this camp was a transformative opportunity for First Nations school students to get a good understanding of what studying pharmacy at the University of Sydney is like and also a chance to explore the many and varied career options for pharmacists”
He particularly thanked Pfizer Australia and The Pharmacy Guild of Australia for their generous sponsorship of this camp and their support for pharmacy education.
Prof Rebekah Moles (Deputy HOS/Camp Facilitator) shared that “the camp was a roaring success for both students and staff involved. I know that we have opened the possibility of studying pharmacy and studying at Sydney for these students, and I can’t wait to see them again and meet next years’ crew.”
