When Noah Losa graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Doctor of Medicine degree, he celebrated the milestone with a twist – by dressing up in drag.
“I wanted my graduation to reflect my journey in becoming a doctor, but also becoming myself – being a proudly queer person who did really have to fight for my identity, and isn’t ashamed to be proudly visible,” he says.
“I wanted to show that queer people are not excluded from careers like medicine. Even though there’s a history of conservatism in these areas – and intention is needed to break down these barriers – I wanted people to know and believe that you can really be anything you wish.”
Graduating in drag was a simple way to show that “queerness is a superpower, and not a limitation,” he says.
It was also a natural move for Noah, given his passion for the power of visibility. “I want to be as loud and proud as I can be, because I know how important it can be, to myself and to other queer people who might not be fully in touch with how special queerness can be,” he says.
“If just one younger queer person saw that and thought, you know, 'I’m a kid who likes dressing up in fairy dresses, and I can still be a great doctor’ then that alone would make it worthwhile.”
After finishing his post-university internship year, Noah now works as a junior medical officer at Western Health, which has been “such a safe and open place to be myself,” he says.
Noah during a shift at Western Health.
“Working in medicine, you’re constantly changing rotations and areas, joining a new work environment, experiencing a new workflow and completely new role. But it does mean that you’re constantly learning and adapting. That’s such a privileged position, to constantly be able to push yourself, grow and adapt.”
Postgraduate study a “huge turning point”
For Noah, embarking on a medical career has been a longstanding ambition that was first ignited when he was managing several health conditions in his later teenage years.
“It turns out that a lot of that was actually undiagnosed anxiety from being in the closet,” he reflects now. “That’s probably not an unfamiliar story for many people.”
Growing up as one of 10 homeschooled children in a religious household in regional Victoria, Noah dreamed of studying medicine at the University of Melbourne because he had “always wanted to push the boundaries of what I can achieve”.
He transferred into a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University, but it was not until he embarked on a postgraduate medical degree in 2019 that he experienced what he calls a profound transformation – both professionally and personally.
A key moment was attending the annual medical student conference in the first year of his Doctor of Medicine degree. He attended a session on conversion therapy – the harmful practice of attempting to change a person’s sexuality, gender identity or gender expression – that was run by a man who identified as gay, but came from a very religious background.
“He had managed to reconcile his religion and sexuality,” Noah explains. “It was such an important thing for me to reconcile. I don’t identify as religious now, but it was such an important stepping stone … it was an eye-opening experience.”
Attending the student conference turned out to be a “huge turning point” in Noah’s coming out story, inspiring him to embrace his sexuality more openly.
“That exposure to diversity, and diverse thinking more broadly, had a really big impact on me. I found really close friends who helped me so much in feeling safe to come out and be myself.
“The University was also really supportive. I couldn’t have asked for a better environment. It was a really turbulent period of my life and they were always supportive throughout all of that.”
Helping people live their best lives
Today, Noah has aspirations for embracing a career working as a GP – focusing on mental health, LGBTQIA+ and trans healthcare, and sexual and reproductive health – and in public health and policymaking.
“I’ve always felt that empowering people to live their best lives is such a powerful way for your actions to spread so much further than just yourself. It’s such a powerful way to enact change, these ripple effects of the actions of other people. It’s also more than you can achieve on your own.”
Reflecting on the end of a busy year as a medical Intern, he shared that he feels that he has found his Ikigai - a Japanese term for the balance that comes from spending time doing what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for and what the world needs.
“It was a lovely moment of reflection, and realisation that yes, it’s hard at times, but I know I’m in the right place. I’m where I’m meant to be.”