Dascha, a Year 12 student at Newcastle High School decided to undertake a school-based traineeship to prepare for her dream career in child and adolescent psychiatry. Dascha is enrolled in a Certificate III in Health Services Assistance at TAFE NSW and employed at Hunter New England Health.

Having experienced the power of holistic care first-hand as a teenager, it was a natural choice for Dascha to follow a health services assistance pathway. She also favours adult learning environments, so the vocational pathway was a perfect fit.

Dascha is not only shining in her school-based traineeship. She is also excelling in the classroom, on the sports field and in her part-time job. She’s the editor of her school’s fortnightly newsletter, represents her region in hockey and cross country, and is writing a systematic review on the effectiveness of dialectical behaviour therapy in the treatment of anorexia nervosa in adolescents.