The Monash University program Hand on Health is in its ninth year of operation, but is now digital for the first time.
This program is designed to introduce students from refugee backgrounds, asylum seekers, Indigenous and lower socioeconomic backgrounds to pursue careers in the health sector.
Successful applicants are invited to spend two days on the Clayton University campus, to experience life as a medical student. They were given shirts similar to those worn by undergraduate students during clinical and stethoscope placements.
During the training period, they participated in activities such as sewing wounds on prosthetic arms, practicing C-P-Rs on dolls, attending lectures and meeting with medical students.
Third-year medical student at Monash University, Ali Zarghami. Source: SBS/Scott Cardwell
When the COVID-19 restriction threatened to stop the program in its ninth year of operation, Monash launched it virtually, discovering the main benefits in who they could achieve.
