A holistic approach to healthcare is something that has stayed with Gunnedah's Sarah Clark after a month in Alice Springs.
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The UNSW Rural Clinical School student focused on pediatrics and spent time in the nursery and gastro ward where she discovered that the staff treated the whole person, not just the main issue.
"There's rheumatic heart disease and skin conditions that go around. A lot of kids presented and they got really holistic treatment ... say they came in for a broken arm but they needed treatment for scabies or head lice," Ms Clark said.
"It was good that they help them instead of sending them home."
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The 23-year-old said her experience in other hospitals was that the patient was patched up and moved on because "you're taking up room in the hospital, we need the bed".
"I really like the holistic care approach within the [Alice Springs] hospital. Often it's something you get from a good GP," she said.
Ms Clark said ingrained fear also played into the attitude of Indigenous people towards health care.
A fellow student she was sharing accommodation with told her about a man she had met who had issues with his vision but didn't attend appointment because he "didn't know what was going on".
"He was scared that if he's really sick, they'll take him back to the mission," Ms Clark said.
"That stuck with me because there seems to be an overarching fear that the doctors are going to do something against their will and they have no say in it.
"It's so disheartening that it stays on ... and has instilled fear of the health care system."
Ms Clark said a limited understanding of healthy living was highlighted in the nursery where she saw babies affected by their mothers' decisions to continue smoking, drinking and taking drugs during pregnancy.
"It's difficult to watch because as a student, you feel there's not heaps you can do to fix these issues because it's a big, long-term problem that needs a long-term solution," she said.
It wasn't all work, though. Ms Clark got together with fellow students and got out of town to explore the area's culture and history.
"It was really fun. Alice Springs in itself is a really cool town. Everyone was really friendly and really happy to have you," she said.
"They were really excited that I chose to go there, which shows the need for doctors."
Ms Clark is now gearing up for a month-long placement, starting Monday, in the pediatrics rehabilitation ward in John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.
