Lesley Salem AM
Tirkapena Indigenous Award recipient 2023
Lesley Salem AM is a Wonnarua woman, artist, author and nurse practitioner. In recognition of her significant contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities, she was awarded the 2023 Tirkapena Indigenous Award from the University of Adelaide. Lesley works tirelessly to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, both through her passionate advocacy and her work as a nurse practitioner. Lesley’s nursing career grew out of an interest in those around her. “My interest wasn’t in healthcare, it was in people,” she says.
Having been accepted to study electrical engineering at university, Lesley initially began working in nursing to earn some money before commencing her degree. In her first week of work, she helped recover a man from cardiac arrest and to deliver a baby in a car outside the hospital. She knew immediately she had to change her plans. “It changed my life forever… after that week I couldn’t think of anything more exciting. From that point forward I have loved nursing.” Lesley has been a dedicated nurse practitioner since that first week. She has also furthered her studies in areas she is particularly passionate about, undertaking a post graduate qualification in renal and transplant, and a post graduate certificate in diabetes.
Lesley Salem AM
Graduate Certificate in Apheresis Nursing Science 2002, Master of Nursing Science 2008
“My interest wasn’t in healthcare, it was in people.”
Following in the footsteps of her late father Les Elvin, an artist and Elder of the Wonnarua Nation, Lesley has used the power of art to create change. Les was NAIDOC Artist of the Year in 2008, and used art as a means to uplift and empower people. “He opened up the lives of so many people through art,” says Lesley. Her own art uses a contemporary dotting style and embraces traditional cultural symbolism to tell stories. For Lesley, creative practice and nursing practice are inseparable and complimentary.
“Being creative means you look at things differently… I feel at times I’ve been very successful in using that different way of thinking, and also using art to draw people in to be engaged with health services – people who were previously disengaged from health, who had no trust.” Using art as a nurse practitioner, Lesley helps her patients heal from illness and trauma in a way that resonates with them.
In 2022, Lesley was made a member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to nursing and Indigenous health. “At the centre of everything I do is a strong dedication to improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people and those with socioeconomic disadvantages. I enjoy mentoring and believe that sharing knowledge is the key to reducing barriers and making healthcare and education accessible for all,” says Lesley