Teaching

The Wurru Wurru Health Unit designs and teaches First Nations health curriculum across all four years of the Doctor of Medicine (MD); including delivering cultural immersion programs such as Billibellary’s Walk and Bunjilaka program. Additionally, we arrange placement opportunities to allow for student exposure to First Nations peoples’ in a health environment.

  • The Wurru Wurru Health Model
    The Wurru Wurru health model is used as a teaching tool for health professional students to understand the complexity of all the social determinates of health and the influences biologically and across all levels of society including systemic influences. This model was created in collaboration with local First Nations Elders and community members, as well both First Nations and non-Indigenous staff and students both current and alumni from The University of Melbourne.

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  • Cultural Immersion

    Bunjilaka

    Cultural Immersion is described as “actively integrating into an unfamiliar community, interacting with local people, and seeking to understand the way others live in that community by being there and engaging in daily life activities.” (1)  The diversity and geographical locations of communities around Victoria means it can be difficult to engage directly with each community. To address this, whilst recognising the importance of respecting this diversity, the First Nations health team at the University of Melbourne alongside the Bunjilaka team at the Melbourne Museum created a full-day immersive experience focused on the First Peoples exhibition.

    Find out more here

    Billibellary's Walk

    The Wurru Wurru Health Unit provide tutor guides to support health professional students through their experience of the Billibellary’s walk on the Parkville Campus of the University of Melbourne in Naarm (Melbourne).

    Billibellary's Walk is named after the Ngurungaeta, or clan head, of the Wurundjeri people at the time of Melbourne’s settlement. The walk is a cultural interpretation of the University’s Parkville campus landscape.

    For more information please click here

  • Ways of Knowing Interprofessional Education Program
    The aim of the ‘Ways of Knowing’ interprofessional curriculum activity is to bring students together from Audiology, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing , Optometry, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Population and Global Health, Social Work and Speech Pathology to engage with multiple knowledges and ways of knowing.  This will be achieved by engaging with a series of 4 nested activities where students will have the opportunity to learn from, with and about students from other disciplines exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing, cultural safety and collaborative practice.  The 4 learning activities will require students to critically reflect upon their own knowledges of health, biases and assumptions and aims to develop essential behaviours, values and attitudes required for collaborative and cultural safety practice.