Willow Firth

I grew up in Bowral and went to the University of Canberra to do a Sports Science degree. Afterwards, I travelled around Australia for a year before ending up in Queensland, where I worked at Caloundra Sports Injury Clinic while studying Remedial Message.

For the last ten years, I have been working at Waminda – South Coast Aboriginal Women’s Health and Welfare Corporation. We implement exercise and healthy lifestyle programs up and down the South Coast Aboriginal Communities. I’ve also become a Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner in the last few years, and have been running Shared Medical Appointments (SMA’s) with general practitioners and other allied health professionals. 

I love the outdoors! I love mountain biking, trail running and obstacle racing. I am always trying to be the best person I can be to stay grounded, fit and strong so that I can help others with their health. I am also passionate about Indigenous health and social justice. 

In fact, I was inspired to study the Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education and Management after witnessing the escalating prevalence of diabetes among Aboriginal communities, who have limited access to culturally safe health professionals.

I chose to study at UTS because I needed to be able to do flexible distance education as I live on the South Coast. UTS looked like a vibrant and professional university in a good location. The course content looked amazing and it was offered via distance learning, with two blocks of face-to-face workshops. Plus, the course coordinator Shannon Lin also worked at Aboriginal Medical Service Redfern, which I thought aligned well with my own passions and role.

The most rewarding aspect of the course was that I loved being on campus during the face-to-face workshops! I loved feeling like a university student again. I would ride my bike from my accommodation to campus. UTS is a great campus with lovely grounds and funky study pods – I actually wish I could have spent longer on campus! 

I also really enjoyed my Clinical Placement, which I chose to do in Alice Springs at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, as I felt that was most applicable for me to work for an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO).

I think that the changing space of type 2 diabetes is exciting and I would like to continue doing research into this area. I would also like to be involved in more holistic diabetes care within a multi-disciplinary clinic, implementing Diabetes SMA’s (‘yarning circles’) and to ensure that more Aboriginal Communities have access to the health professionals they need to best manage their disease.

I am also interested in the window between pre-diabetes and diabetes – I see this is a window of opportunity not to let the disease to progress. I believe lifestyle changes can be implemented at this point to avoid the progression to a diabetes diagnosis. 

If you’re considering doing this course, do it! Admittedly, the work-study-life balance is difficult to juggle, but it is also very rewarding. Also, be open to working rural or remote areas.

Find out more about studying Diabetes Education and Management at UTS