• Charles Sturt’s Three Rivers Department of Rural Health (DRH) hosted Thrive 2025 in Parkes
• Researchers and lecturers from Three Rivers DRH focused on strengthening the rural health workforce
• Sponsored positions in the First Nations Cultural Awareness Journey were announced at the event

Sponsored places in Charles Sturt’s First Nations Cultural Awareness Journey were launched during a two-day forum for regional healthcare providers.

Charles Sturt’s Three Rivers Department of Rural Health (DRH) hosted Thrive 2025 in Parkes on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 March.

The event featured presentations on ‘Innovations from the heart of rural health’ from professionals working in speech pathology, physiotherapy, pharmacy, health promotion, paramedicine, First Nations health, dementia care and research.

Prominent speakers included researchers and lecturers from Charles Sturt as well as founder of Streetside Medics Dr Daniel Nour and CEO of Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health Ms Catherine Maloney.

Three Rivers DRH Lecturer in Rural Health Ms Chelsea Lander said Thrive 2025 was designed to create opportunities for connection and networking among rural health professionals to encourage collaboration and to strengthen the sector.

“Thrive 2025 was a celebration of the resilience and innovation within rural health,” Ms Lander said.

“By bringing together passionate professionals and thought leaders, we aimed to inspire meaningful change and strengthen the healthcare networks that rural communities depend on.”

Honours scholarship recipients Ms Leonie Parker and Ms Tiarna Bailey presented their projects ‘Nurse-led colposcopy: A scoping review’ and ‘Promoting positive healing strengths and successes in mental health interventions for First Nations people: A systematic review’.

Lecturer in Paramedicine in the Charles Sturt School of Nursing, Paramedicine and Healthcare Sciences Dr Buck Reed also presented his work on the evolving role of the paramedic.

The First Nations Cultural Awareness Journey sponsored positions were also launched at the event.

Healthcare professionals and Charles Sturt stakeholders in the Forbes, Parkes and Lachlan local government areas are invited to apply for a sponsored position in the program. The course explores First Nations peoples’ cultural practices, government policies and practices and the impacts of these on First Nations peoples.

Free access to the course will be supplied to successful applicants and participants will have up to two years’ access to the course material.

The online course takes approximately 14 hours to complete via a flexible work model.

“Providing access to this course will support cultural awareness across the community,” Ms Lander said.

“It is also an important opportunity for rural people to have access to this type of training, of which there are few locally delivered options and online courses can be very expensive.”

Applications for the First Nations Cultural Awareness Journey are open now until all positions have been filled.