Rate My Professor Christine Clinch

Dr. Christine Clinch, a Badamia woman of the Yamatji Nation from the Badimia people of the Murchison region, is a Senior Lecturer and the Clinical Lead for the Aboriginal Health Team at Curtin Medical School within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University. She began her professional journey as an Aboriginal Health Worker before studying medicine at the University of Western Australia, graduating with a Doctor of Medicine in 2008. Clinch's early career focused on Aboriginal medical education at the University of Western Australia's Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH), where she served as an Assistant Professor and Lecturer. During her time at UWA, she contributed to the integration of Aboriginal health curriculum into the undergraduate medical program and its transition to a four-year graduate entry Medical Doctorate course in 2014.

In 2016, Clinch made history as the Director of Aboriginal Health at St John of God Midland Public Hospital, becoming a pioneering Aboriginal executive in hospital leadership. She co-developed innovative teaching assessments at UWA, such as 'Judging a book by its cover: A visual artwork assessment for medical students,' implemented from 2014 to 2016. This approach required first-year students to create visual art pieces and 1500-word reflections on themes from the Australian Government Productivity Commission’s Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report, promoting self-directed learning and cultural awareness using a marking rubric weighted 40% visual and 60% written. Her research specializations include quality of life measures for older Aboriginal peoples, co-authoring the 'Good Spirit, Good Life' tool and framework for those with cognitive impairment and dementia. Developed through participatory action research involving yarning circles and interviews with 22 Aboriginal participants identifying 12 key themes—community, family, culture and identity, eldership, services, religion, friends, country, self, health, healing and supports, and future planning—this work was published in The Gerontologist in 2021, with validation studies following in 2022. Clinch also serves as Secretary on the Wungening Aboriginal Corporation Board since 2017 and as a LIME Reference Group Member, advancing Indigenous health education and culturally safe practices.