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Indigenous medical education and one educator in particular from The University of Western Australia have won LIMElight awards for preparing medical graduates to better work with Aboriginal people in health care.

The awards were presented at the LIME (Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education) Connection  biennial conference in Melbourne recently, attended by Indigenous medical educators and practitioners from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

UWA's Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH) was awarded the 2009 LIMElight award for leading innovation in curriculum development and implementation of a comprehensive Indigenous health curriculum across the University's medical course.

And UWA's Professor Helen Milroy, Director of CAMDH, was awarded the 2009 LIMElight award for outstanding leadership by an individual. The award recognises her significant role in Indigenous medical education over the years.

Professor Milroy, who completed medical school at UWA in 1983, was also recognised as the first Indigenous medical graduate in Australia. She was one of seven doctors lauded by the peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors - the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association (AIDA).

"These seven doctors paved the way for more than 130 doctors who have followed their path," said AIDA President, Associate Professor Peter O'Mara.

A descendant of the Payku people from the Pilbara, Professor Milroy is a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry. She is also a member of organisations including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Development Team and the Western Australian Indigenous Implementation Board.

Media references

Dr David Paul (Senior Lecturer, CAMDH)  (+61 8) 6488 7084
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716