Meet Fatima Idaayen: CLAN NCP Scholarship Holder
Interview taken 31st July, 2022
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Fatima and I have just recently graduated from a Bachelor of Psychology at Macquarie University. I am currently doing my graduate diploma at Bond and aim to get my general registration in Psychology in the near future. I am very much interested in behavioural drivers for change and intrinsic motivation and what drives us and I am hoping to start a career in that in the future. I am also a New Colombo Plan Scholar and I’m going to be travelling to Indonesia to work on reducing mortality rates of CAH, so, looking at their processes and exploring options over there as well.
Where do you think the link is between the elements of intrinsic motivation and behavioural drivers, as you’ve mentioned, and CLAN’s work? How do they fit together?
Intrinsic motivation is having the motivation to do something not just for external factors but because you really want to and it’s something interconnected with the person as a whole. So, with CLAN, I think there is a whole bunch of intrinsic motivation going around with everyone who is working on different CLAN projects and who is just involved with CLAN. So basically, how we can leverage connections to highlight the importance of CLAN’s mission and how we can make that resonate with other people to build our global networks. Particularly to Indonesia, we can use it to help different health processes; recently I’ve been learning a lot about CAH and what we can do over there to help. There are a lot of different areas that CLAN can also dip their feet into in terms of helping countries less fortunate than Australia. At the moment, CLAN already possesses those global networks, so it’s about understanding those motivators and how we can resonate with other people, which can be extremely advantageous not just to CLAN but in terms of benefiting other people.
What motivates you to work hard?
I think what motivates me to work hard is just seeing results. When I work hard on something and believe in it, just seeing the results that come out of that motivate me to keep going. And also, just the sense of fulfilment you get when you see other people also be impacted positively by the work you’re doing, that’s always a strong motivator for me to just push myself even more and learn new things. All the work that I am doing with CLAN right now, if I wasn’t doing that at the moment, then I would have no idea about the health situation in Indonesia and I push myself to know what I don’t know. Essentially exploring different perspectives.
How and when did you start working with CLAN, and what motivated you to do so?
So I got my New Colombo Plan Scholarship in my second year of university, 2 years ago, and during this time, Kate who is the President of CLAN was very involved in the NCP and I met her at the networking events. She was talking about CLAN and CLAN’s mission and their goals for the future. I come from a psychology background so all of the medical terminology wasn’t very familiar to me but I understood the importance of the after-stages. So if you’re improving the medical process, that after-step is education and improving the psychological welfare of those living with disorders. I pictured myself being able to work in that space and it was an important and holistic approach to take, not just having doctors look at the issue, but also bring that psychological aspect into it. I spoke to Kate about it and we connected very well and we spoke for a while. Then COVID hit, so that kind of stopped our plans for about two years. We reconnected again after COVID, and here we are now. It’s been great so far and I hope to continue working with CLAN for a while.
What is your role within CLAN?
I started off with CLAN just doing research in terms of grants and potential funding opportunities and explored that for a little bit. We applied for a grant for the team in Fiji, and are still waiting to hear back about that. Then recently I have taken up a role as a Newborn Screening Community Development Officer, and that is basically focusing on Newborn Screening Processes. And so, I went and had a placement in Westmead, and I was placed in a Newborn Screening department and that was very fascinating because I was able to be involved in the process of Newborn Screening. So from when the families come into the clinic, and then all the testing that is done, and then after, communicating the results to doctors and to families. The whole purpose of this was sort of to gain an idea of the processes that are used in Australia for Newborn Screening and how we can mirror them in Indonesia. Just looking at, for example, how many families get their Newborn Screening sample cards, if families are able to visit clinics, how samples are being delivered to the clinics, etc. It sparked so many questions that we could potentially investigate in Indonesia. And, it was a great experience because doing the heel-prick test on babies in Australia is something that families wouldn’t think twice about, because it’s so readily available, whereas in Indonesia, it is something that is not readily available, and so the question is how can we maximise access for everyone. Because most of the disorders that babies are screened for at this stage are easily preventable by medication and early intervention, however, that opportunity is easily missed in countries like Indonesia, so that process was really good to see. As part of my role, I am hoping to travel to Indonesia and share that knowledge that I have gained from having that placement and speaking with the Newborn Screening department on the different processes that we are using at the moment. That is my current role with CLAN.
Tell us about the New Colombo plan and the opportunities this has provided you.
The NCP Scholarship is a signature initiative by the Australian Government that aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific Region, and they hope to do this by supporting students to intern and study in the region. So, this scholarship is open every year and different universities around Australia can nominate students to apply, and it allows a widened global perspective and brings more opportunities and networking and a whole different level of knowledge. My work with CLAN right now is primarily due to the NCP and I probably wouldn’t have heard of CLAN if it wasn’t for that. I’ve recently taken up an offer for a position at KPMG within the Governance, Risk and Advisory team, and that is looking at behavioural drivers for change, which I mentioned before, looking at those key drivers to enhance employee performance, so that goes hand in hand with with CLAN can do in Indonesia in terms of intrinsic motivation as well. I just think that there is so much knowledge, it’s crazy, it honestly changed my life, and I’m glad that I started to apply when I did.
What was the most inspiring moment within your work with CLAN thus far?
Honestly, there are a lot of inspiring moments that I’ve had. I think that one of the most inspiring moments was on the Newborn Screening placement when I was working with a nurse and observing the process, and they identified a child with a disease which is an immune deficiency disorder where the baby is born with essentially no immune cells, meaning they can’t fight off any infections, and so, any normal flu that a healthy baby would have, would potentially kill this child. So as soon as they identified that, they tried to get in contact with the doctor, but they were on leave, so they kept trying different avenues, and finally they managed to get in contact with another doctor and informed them of the baby. There was the risk of that baby catching a bacterial infection which would almost immediately kill the baby. So they informed the family, who brought the baby back to the hospital, and they were able to treat the baby, which is ongoing as far as i’m aware. That really highlighted how important newborn screening is, and being able to identify that changed the whole trajectory of that baby’s life, and that family’s life. I would say that was one of the most inspiring moments so far.
What is some advice you would provide others who would like to get involved, in either the NCP or CLAN, or anything that you’ve been involved in?
I would say just go for it. Don’t be scared to take on the opportunities. They’re advantageous to you in your career path, and to your worldview. It changes your perspective and the way you look at things. In the process, you get to meet a lot of amazing people. So, definitely just go for it.
What projects are you currently working on?
That brings me back to the Newborn Screening. So in CLAN Indonesia, there’s a focus on Newborn Screening and looking at the different processes they have going on. One thing that I did learn is that it is very much a holistic approach, so I am very interested to see if the team in Indonesia does incorporate the holistic approach, so looking at the pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical stages.
Pre-analytical is asking questions about the efficiency of getting the samples to the lab, and if families have access to those sample cards, and if families are able to do the heel prick. Moreover, how many home births are going on in Indonesia? And are they done by midwives or are they done by a family member? if they’re done by a family member, are they doing the heel prick test?
Then, within the analytical, it’s about the efficiency of the processes to analyse that, so looking at the cut-off points to determine abnormalities, and then also looking at how they identify that cut off point; so are they basing that cut-off point on a positive, or what are they doing during that testing stage.
Post-analytical looking at the psychological impact behind it, education and family information about the disorder including information packs or pamphlets. Basically looking at the whole approach and how we can implement it more effectively.
How has working with CLAN, or seeing CLAN’s work, shaped your worldview?
I used to think, a lot of people do, from my own perspective. I was born in Australia and I rarely left the country, so a lot of the time my perspectives were only based here and I wasn’t really aware of the advantages, or the extent of the disadvantages, that would be faced in other less wealthy countries. I think working with CLAN changed my worldview in that I realised that simple things matter the most and those simple things can often change a family’s whole life. And I think one of the most important things I‘ve learned is that early intervention is key. In Australia we have care so readily available that you wouldn’t even think twice about it. When Newborn Screening is done for you, everything is just covered. Whereas, in other countries, people have to actively look for that, and that’s where the problem is. So sort of thinking about different perspectives and different situations in other parts of the world is key.
What are your goals for the future?
I really like what I’m doing with CLAN, so I see myself hoping to continue on projects like this in the future, but focusing on that post-analytical stage that I mentioned before; the psycho-education aspect. I hope to develop my knowledge in motivational behaviours and what motivates people, and I do hope to get my general registration as a psychologist, and be able to do my work with that qualification. Working on the psycho-educational stages, globally, is the goal.
What is your top must-read book?
I don’t have a must-read book, but I did actually just finish reading a book called ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat’ by Oliver Sacks. He is a neurologist, and the book is a sort of collection of detailed case studies of different patients who he has examined. The man who mistook his wife for a hat had visual agnosia, where you can’t interpret visual information around you, hence the title of the book. That was a very interesting book that detailed many different cases with aphasia and that type of thing. Very interesting.
Interview taken 31st July, 2022
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Fatima and I have just recently graduated from a Bachelor of Psychology at Macquarie University. I am currently doing my graduate diploma at Bond and aim to get my general registration in Psychology in the near future. I am very much interested in behavioural drivers for change and intrinsic motivation and what drives us and I am hoping to start a career in that in the future. I am also a New Colombo Plan Scholar and I’m going to be travelling to Indonesia to work on reducing mortality rates of CAH, so, looking at their processes and exploring options over there as well.
Where do you think the link is between the elements of intrinsic motivation and behavioural drivers, as you’ve mentioned, and CLAN’s work? How do they fit together?
Intrinsic motivation is having the motivation to do something not just for external factors but because you really want to and it’s something interconnected with the person as a whole. So, with CLAN, I think there is a whole bunch of intrinsic motivation going around with everyone who is working on different CLAN projects and who is just involved with CLAN. So basically, how we can leverage connections to highlight the importance of CLAN’s mission and how we can make that resonate with other people to build our global networks. Particularly to Indonesia, we can use it to help different health processes; recently I’ve been learning a lot about CAH and what we can do over there to help. There are a lot of different areas that CLAN can also dip their feet into in terms of helping countries less fortunate than Australia. At the moment, CLAN already possesses those global networks, so it’s about understanding those motivators and how we can resonate with other people, which can be extremely advantageous not just to CLAN but in terms of benefiting other people.
What motivates you to work hard?
I think what motivates me to work hard is just seeing results. When I work hard on something and believe in it, just seeing the results that come out of that motivate me to keep going. And also, just the sense of fulfilment you get when you see other people also be impacted positively by the work you’re doing, that’s always a strong motivator for me to just push myself even more and learn new things. All the work that I am doing with CLAN right now, if I wasn’t doing that at the moment, then I would have no idea about the health situation in Indonesia and I push myself to know what I don’t know. Essentially exploring different perspectives.
How and when did you start working with CLAN, and what motivated you to do so?
So I got my New Colombo Plan Scholarship in my second year of university, 2 years ago, and during this time, Kate who is the President of CLAN was very involved in the NCP and I met her at the networking events. She was talking about CLAN and CLAN’s mission and their goals for the future. I come from a psychology background so all of the medical terminology wasn’t very familiar to me but I understood the importance of the after-stages. So if you’re improving the medical process, that after-step is education and improving the psychological welfare of those living with disorders. I pictured myself being able to work in that space and it was an important and holistic approach to take, not just having doctors look at the issue, but also bring that psychological aspect into it. I spoke to Kate about it and we connected very well and we spoke for a while. Then COVID hit, so that kind of stopped our plans for about two years. We reconnected again after COVID, and here we are now. It’s been great so far and I hope to continue working with CLAN for a while.
What is your role within CLAN?
I started off with CLAN just doing research in terms of grants and potential funding opportunities and explored that for a little bit. We applied for a grant for the team in Fiji, and are still waiting to hear back about that. Then recently I have taken up a role as a Newborn Screening Community Development Officer, and that is basically focusing on Newborn Screening Processes. And so, I went and had a placement in Westmead, and I was placed in a Newborn Screening department and that was very fascinating because I was able to be involved in the process of Newborn Screening. So from when the families come into the clinic, and then all the testing that is done, and then after, communicating the results to doctors and to families. The whole purpose of this was sort of to gain an idea of the processes that are used in Australia for Newborn Screening and how we can mirror them in Indonesia. Just looking at, for example, how many families get their Newborn Screening sample cards, if families are able to visit clinics, how samples are being delivered to the clinics, etc. It sparked so many questions that we could potentially investigate in Indonesia. And, it was a great experience because doing the heel-prick test on babies in Australia is something that families wouldn’t think twice about, because it’s so readily available, whereas in Indonesia, it is something that is not readily available, and so the question is how can we maximise access for everyone. Because most of the disorders that babies are screened for at this stage are easily preventable by medication and early intervention, however, that opportunity is easily missed in countries like Indonesia, so that process was really good to see. As part of my role, I am hoping to travel to Indonesia and share that knowledge that I have gained from having that placement and speaking with the Newborn Screening department on the different processes that we are using at the moment. That is my current role with CLAN.
Tell us about the New Colombo plan and the opportunities this has provided you.
The NCP Scholarship is a signature initiative by the Australian Government that aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific Region, and they hope to do this by supporting students to intern and study in the region. So, this scholarship is open every year and different universities around Australia can nominate students to apply, and it allows a widened global perspective and brings more opportunities and networking and a whole different level of knowledge. My work with CLAN right now is primarily due to the NCP and I probably wouldn’t have heard of CLAN if it wasn’t for that. I’ve recently taken up an offer for a position at KPMG within the Governance, Risk and Advisory team, and that is looking at behavioural drivers for change, which I mentioned before, looking at those key drivers to enhance employee performance, so that goes hand in hand with with CLAN can do in Indonesia in terms of intrinsic motivation as well. I just think that there is so much knowledge, it’s crazy, it honestly changed my life, and I’m glad that I started to apply when I did.
What was the most inspiring moment within your work with CLAN thus far?
Honestly, there are a lot of inspiring moments that I’ve had. I think that one of the most inspiring moments was on the Newborn Screening placement when I was working with a nurse and observing the process, and they identified a child with a disease which is an immune deficiency disorder where the baby is born with essentially no immune cells, meaning they can’t fight off any infections, and so, any normal flu that a healthy baby would have, would potentially kill this child. So as soon as they identified that, they tried to get in contact with the doctor, but they were on leave, so they kept trying different avenues, and finally they managed to get in contact with another doctor and informed them of the baby. There was the risk of that baby catching a bacterial infection which would almost immediately kill the baby. So they informed the family, who brought the baby back to the hospital, and they were able to treat the baby, which is ongoing as far as i’m aware. That really highlighted how important newborn screening is, and being able to identify that changed the whole trajectory of that baby’s life, and that family’s life. I would say that was one of the most inspiring moments so far.
What is some advice you would provide others who would like to get involved, in either the NCP or CLAN, or anything that you’ve been involved in?
I would say just go for it. Don’t be scared to take on the opportunities. They’re advantageous to you in your career path, and to your worldview. It changes your perspective and the way you look at things. In the process, you get to meet a lot of amazing people. So, definitely just go for it.
What projects are you currently working on?
That brings me back to the Newborn Screening. So in CLAN Indonesia, there’s a focus on Newborn Screening and looking at the different processes they have going on. One thing that I did learn is that it is very much a holistic approach, so I am very interested to see if the team in Indonesia does incorporate the holistic approach, so looking at the pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical stages.
Pre-analytical is asking questions about the efficiency of getting the samples to the lab, and if families have access to those sample cards, and if families are able to do the heel prick. Moreover, how many home births are going on in Indonesia? And are they done by midwives or are they done by a family member? if they’re done by a family member, are they doing the heel prick test?
Then, within the analytical, it’s about the efficiency of the processes to analyse that, so looking at the cut-off points to determine abnormalities, and then also looking at how they identify that cut off point; so are they basing that cut-off point on a positive, or what are they doing during that testing stage.
Post-analytical looking at the psychological impact behind it, education and family information about the disorder including information packs or pamphlets. Basically looking at the whole approach and how we can implement it more effectively.
How has working with CLAN, or seeing CLAN’s work, shaped your worldview?
I used to think, a lot of people do, from my own perspective. I was born in Australia and I rarely left the country, so a lot of the time my perspectives were only based here and I wasn’t really aware of the advantages, or the extent of the disadvantages, that would be faced in other less wealthy countries. I think working with CLAN changed my worldview in that I realised that simple things matter the most and those simple things can often change a family’s whole life. And I think one of the most important things I‘ve learned is that early intervention is key. In Australia we have care so readily available that you wouldn’t even think twice about it. When Newborn Screening is done for you, everything is just covered. Whereas, in other countries, people have to actively look for that, and that’s where the problem is. So sort of thinking about different perspectives and different situations in other parts of the world is key.
What are your goals for the future?
I really like what I’m doing with CLAN, so I see myself hoping to continue on projects like this in the future, but focusing on that post-analytical stage that I mentioned before; the psycho-education aspect. I hope to develop my knowledge in motivational behaviours and what motivates people, and I do hope to get my general registration as a psychologist, and be able to do my work with that qualification. Working on the psycho-educational stages, globally, is the goal.
What is your top must-read book?
I don’t have a must-read book, but I did actually just finish reading a book called ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat’ by Oliver Sacks. He is a neurologist, and the book is a sort of collection of detailed case studies of different patients who he has examined. The man who mistook his wife for a hat had visual agnosia, where you can’t interpret visual information around you, hence the title of the book. That was a very interesting book that detailed many different cases with aphasia and that type of thing. Very interesting.
