November 1, 2025
Future Aboriginal Health Practitioners and SWAMS team members Ashlee Humphries and Ella McLean are progressing well in their course and recently spent time at a Perth hospital.
Ashlee and Ella are training through Marr Mooditj Training, a Perth-based Registered Training Organisation (RTO) that provides Aboriginal Health Practitioner education and more.
In October, they joined nearly 20 peers at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch for a “day in the life of an Aboriginal Health Practitioner (AHP)” experience. The visit gave trainees a chance to see what a typical day looks like for AHPs working in a hospital setting.
Ella said the experience highlighted how overwhelming hospital life can be for patients and reinforced the importance of clear communication and strong cultural support in those spaces.
“I’ve really enjoyed building my confidence and learning how to support our clients in a more holistic and culturally safe way,” she said. “It’s shown me how I can make a real difference for our mob.”
Ella said that while learning medical terms and clinical skills has been challenging, the course has shown how much it matters to take time with clients and communicate properly.
Ashlee said her training at Marr Mooditj has been exceptional because it is an Aboriginal-led organisation, and her peers are plenty of “Indigenous Mob keen on study.
“It’s been moorditj. We are learning to help our mob in a positive cultural way.” – AHP trainee Ashlee
However Ashlee knows how critically important her training is, too. “Seeing how our Indigenous Community suffer with health issues” reinforces why she is studying, she said.
Ashlee and Ella’s traineeships are run in partnership with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and help strengthen culturally safe care across our services.
The course usually takes about two years and includes classroom learning, self-paced study, and supervised clinical placements at Aboriginal health services.
Marr Mooditj is committed to providing quality training in a culturally safe and secure environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
At SWAMS, Ashlee works as an Indigenous Outreach Worker with the Maternal and Child Health team, and Ella is an Outreach Worker and Practice Support Officer with the Chronic Conditions team.
We congratulate Ashlee and Ella for their dedication and passion – they’re helping build a stronger, culturally safe future for our community.
To learn about career opportunities at SWAMS, email hr@swams.com.au, phone (08) 9797 8111 or go to
www.swams.com.au/about/work-with-us