It hasn’t been an easy ride for Isabelle Knightley, a high schooler with ambitions to close the gap between First Nations people and their non-indigenous counterparts.
The Year 12 student is juggling both school, a traineeship, and “unhealed trauma” – all so she can achieve her dream of becoming a nurse.
That means waking up at 4.20am every morning just so she can catch two trains and three buses to attend school.
Except on the day she swaps the classroom for Logan Hospital.
On these days, Ms Knightly is gaining hands-on, paid nursing experience as part of the Deadly Start Traineeships program.
It’s not easy – particularly working in one of Queensland’s busiest emergency departments – but the opportunity is set to provide Ms Knightly a headstart on her healthcare dreams.
“I want to be financially stable. I want to be in the job that I’ve always dreamed of being in,” Ms Knightly said.
“I want to help a lot of people in unfortunate circumstances.
“That’s all I can see myself doing in ten years’ time.”
Through her practice at Logan Hospital, Ms Knightly is studying a Certificate III in Health Service Assistance.
After high school, she hopes to complete a university degree and become a nurse.
“I’ve faced some tough times growing up, including unhealed trauma at home, and it’s made me want to be the kind of person who can help others, no matter what their story is,” Ms Knightly said.
“That’s why a career in health feels right to me.”
Ms Knightly said she witnessed firsthand the cultural challenges faced by Indigenous Australians.
“I grew up watching people struggle with the system, watching people not wanting to go and feeling like they were going to get judged for their culture,” she said.
“There are some people out there that are anti-culture. It is like they see the bad and don’t see all the good.”
According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, about 30% of First Nations people (243,000 people) did not see a healthcare provider despite needing to.
Almost one quarter of these people cited embarrassment, fear or a dislike of the service as a reason for not attending.
More than a third blamed costs.
“I want to strive to make a change,” Ms Knightly said.
“I want people to know there are options out there for them.”
Ms Knightly isn’t the only young First Nations person chasing a career in healthcare.
There are currently seven other Deadly Start Trainees at Logan Hospital – five of those are in nursing and two in pharmacy.
There are also five First Nations cadets at the hospital.
“[The traineeships] give Indigenous children the chance to get into healthcare,” Ms Knightly said.
“You don’t really see many of them around, so it is very important to get the word out to other Indigenous people who are wanting to get in, but don’t know how to start, or don’t know how to open the window or haven’t been good in school.”
She described the traineeship as life-changing, claiming it was helping her grow stronger both mentally and physically, while also building her confidence.
Traineeship program coordinator Courtney Helmold said Ms Knightly was thriving in the program and stood out as a natural leader with a “promising future”.
“Alongside Isabelle’s supervisors in the Emergency Department, we’ve witnessed her perseverance and dedication to the traineeship,” Ms Helmold said.
“We’ve watched her mature and develop vital life skills such as time management, problem solving, and people skills.
“Isabelle has an exceptional and kind manner with patients and easily builds rapport, putting them at ease in what can be a very stressful environment.”
Ms Knightly’s passion and compassion helped shortlist her for the Queensland Training Awards’ School-based Trainee of the Year.
While didn’t win the award, Logan Hospital staff said Ms Knightly was nevertheless a “deserving winner in our eyes”.
