From her early experiences in rural Western Australia to her current role with Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia (AHCWA), Jessica Curnuck’s dedication to cultural safety in healthcare has made her a powerful voice for change in Aboriginal health.
The Yamatji yorga woman was born and raised on her father’s country, Naaguja barna, and has maternal roots among the Martu mob from the Central Desert.
“Growing up, the only exposure I had to hospitals was visiting sick and dying relatives, so healthcare wasn’t something I viewed as a positive experience or a career aspiration,” Jessica said.
However her perspective changed during the birth of her first daughter.
“My nurses were amazing – their care and kindness truly shaped my thoughts about healthcare as a future career.”
It was this experience and connection to her heritage that influenced her decision to study nursing, winding up in Alice Springs completing her graduate program.
“Due to my lived experience as a First Nations person from rural WA, I knew that health inequalities existed.”
“However it was during my time in Alice that I truly started to understand how a lack of services and access in rural and remote regions affects the overall health outcomes of those who lived in those areas.”
After nearly a decade working in mainstream and private health services in various roles such as a remote mine site medic, a registered nurse specialising in rural and remote emergency and primary healthcare, and time in the Central Desert, her desire for change and passion for Aboriginal health led to her current role at AHCWA.
“I wanted to focus more on primary and preventative care, helping people understand their chronic illnesses and how to reduce the exacerbations that lead to emergency presentations,” she said.
“I realised that working in the peak body for Aboriginal health was somewhere I could blend my lived experiences and skills as a nurse and as a First Nations person.”
Her work as AHCWA Eye Health Coordinator now centres on addressing eye health disparities within Aboriginal communities and Jessica has become a fierce advocate for the role that cultural safety plays in this field.
“I believe cultural safety is more than just important; it is an absolute necessity,” she said.
“It is necessary because the lives of the people who do not look or behave like you depend on it.
“Australia is a multicultural nation; but it is also a nation built on the genocide of an Indigenous population who are still fighting for the recognition that we are the First Nations people of this continent.
“Because of this, cultural safety needs to be embedded in organisations, and individuals who choose to work in this space need to accept and celebrate the unique and beautiful differences that each and every culture has here in Australia.”
Jessica said it was important for healthcare providers to create environments where First Nations people felt safe, accepted and respected.
“Acceptance means acknowledging the unique hardships that we as Aboriginal people have faced and still face today,” she said.
“The trauma of the families torn apart, of my mob who are still out there searching for their loved ones, for those who do not feel comfortable where they stand because they feel deep down that the lands on which they stand are not their own… all of this is at the forefront of my mind when working and providing care to First Nations people.
“Cultural safety is about healthcare workers and organisations providing safe spaces for First Nations people to enter a facility without judgement or fear. Mob will not and should not be expected to change who they are to conform to Western standards or systems.
“Organisations need to alter the way in which they provide services for the people whom they serve.”
Looking to the future, Jessica plans to keep her feet firmly planted in the Aboriginal healthcare space.
“I know that I want to stay in the healthcare field; I know that I want to continue making a difference in the lives of my mob,” she said.
“I know I want to continue sharing my story about the effects that a single encounter can have on the lives of people and I want healthcare workers to understand the profound effect they can have on the lives of the people they encounter every day.”
Jessica Curnuck was a presenter at the inaugural WA Aboriginal Eye Health Forum in Fremantle (Walyalup) in June.