Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine

Students Experiences

Bond Medical Program - Josue Alexis

Profile courtesy of The Medical Link

Josue Alexis was in the midst of a seven-week backpacking tour around South East Asia with his brother when some friends informed them that they were helping out at a local Cambodian orphanage and could do with some help.

The three weeks Josue spent there turned out to be insightful and humbling.

“One of the things that struck me is that despite all their hardships, these people are content and happy,” recalled Josue, a second year medical student at Bond University.

“Some of the locals we met there invited us back to their home village for a few nights and served us meals. You know that the meal they make represents a significant part of their income but they’re happy to provide it.”

The work in the orphanage included assisting with procedures, vaccinations and wound dressing, as well as some education on health issues.

Run by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Josue described it as a facility offering quality care, especially considering its location.

The experience has given Josue a taste for more and he hopes to work in a third world country for a few years once he graduates.

Earlier this year, Josue found himself in another volunteering capacity, this time for the indigenous community of Cherbourg.

“We worked in a clinic set up by the locals, doing some basic assessments and observing. Essentially it was about gaining a cultural awareness,” he said.

“It was really eye opening because you’re only three and a half hours from Brisbane but it’s a totally different world out there.”

Josue believes it’s incumbent on his own generation to help fix the indigenous health problem.

“The solution isn’t always money because there are cultural issues that limit the way health care is delivered in these communities,” he said.

“It will take a major change in the way health issues are addressed and while there’s increased interest among my generation I think there’s a long way to go still.”

In January, Josue will attend a medical students’ conference in Thailand to deliver a group paper and booth presentation on awareness of indigenous health issues and youth binge drinking.

With a father from the Caribbean and a mother from Spain, Josue was schooled in Paris, Barcelona, Sydney and Brisbane, and is fluent in four languages.

He believes medicine will provide diversity, plenty of challenges and the unconventional kind of life he is seeking. He’s considering paediatrics at a later stage and can’t wait to start working in the “real world” of medicine.

It seems as if Josue’s more than half way there.

This profile was featured in the December/January 2008 Edition of the Medical Link. View the Medical Link version.