Trisha Maroney Memorial Prize

Trisha Maroney was a proud Wardaman woman from the Katherine region and an experienced speech pathologist with a passion for Aboriginal health and sharing her knowledge and skills with students.

Trish worked for Flinders NT in Katherine as an academic clinical supervisor for students. She also contributed to developing culturally safe practice skills in the next generation of clinicians, and promoted allied health recruitment and retention. Trish died in 2016 and is sorely missed in Katherine.

The Trisha Maroney Prize is awarded to a student on placement within the Katherine region that demonstrates the greatest in-depth self-reflection and improvement in their own cultural safe practice.

Past winners

2019 Winner

Tayler Cosentino - Medical Student, Flinders University

Read essay (PDF 49KB)

2019 Highly Commended

Alison Taylor - Speech Pathology Student, Flinders University

Read essay (PDF 91KB)

2018 results

2018 Winner

Kate Neville – Speech Pathology student, Flinders University

Placement: McFarlane Primary School

Mapping my family tree, provided insight into kinship which has supported me to further understand and be respectful of the roles of extended family members in caring for Aboriginal children.

Read essay (PDF 178KB)

2018 Highly Commended

Rachel Jones – Nursing student, Charles Darwin University

Placement: Katherine District Hospital

The kinship system was demonstrated in a simplified form as part of the learning materials. After studying it for a few minutes, I realised that in that worldview, each Indigenous person had a formal relationship with every other Indigenous person in their family, in their community, in more distant communities, and in Indigenous communities throughout Australia.

Read essay (PDF 456KB)

Tessa Hood – Medical student, University of Wollongong

Placement: Katherine District Hospital

In my first week in Katherine, I noticed a distinct difference in how people were spoken to about their illnesses. Doctors were sitting on the bed with patients. They spoke to them about their family and communities first. Then they explained simply the process that was happening in their bodies. Finally, they explained the ideal treatment plan…. If the patient didn’t want the treatment, it was negotiated so that we aimed for best practice with the patient, their community and culture at the centre of the picture.

Read essay (PDF 420KB)

Michaiah Cowley – Midwifery student, University of Technology Sydney

Placement: Katherine District Hospital

Cultural safety is largely about positioning the person in care at the centre of our services. I have learnt from my experiences in Katherine that it is important not to make any assumptions about what an individual may want in their care. Asking appropriate and well thought out questions, as well as reading verbal and nonverbal cues have become important practices for me to focus on to ensure I am comprehending the dynamics of each family and woman’s personality. It was a great opportunity for me to practice and gain more experience in observing and understanding Aboriginal families.