Indigenous GPs and medical students say huge barriers remain for Aboriginal people who are keen to become doctors.

The number of Aboriginal doctors is rising, but one of their number, Aleeta Fejo, said racism and gaining access to resources remained obstacles.

"The goal of Aboriginal doctors is generally to be able to help our people and, if you've got people with racist attitudes or other people putting blockages there, how do we get ahead?" Dr Fejo asked.

"There are lots of obstacles that we need to remove so that we can have a free flow of Indigenous doctors through this system."

Third-year medical student at Flinders University in Adelaide, Sarah Bormann, said she had first-hand experience of facing discrimination from people working in the health sector.

"They see Aboriginal people more as their patients — they don't seem them as their equals or their peers," she said.

"I think that comes from those who are in those positions above them — not getting that education and not thinking about Aboriginal health and not thinking about Aboriginal people as doctors."

Some Indigenous people 'wary' of health system

Director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and Wellbeing, Professor Dennis McDermott, said Aboriginal people were sometimes reluctant to seek medical care.

He said they were wary of the health system and, even if they sought care, they often tended to check out of hospital before they should.

"These people have got serious illnesses, they need to actually stay in hospital for some weeks — [but] often three or four days and they're out of there," Professor McDermott said.

"We're not trying to point the finger at individual people, we're saying there's systemic racism going on here — the way business-as-usual goes on is actually discriminating against Aboriginal people."

A conference of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association has just been held in Adelaide, and delegates are keen to see more education of the medical profession on cultural awareness.

"We need to change services, organisations, educational institutions, hospitals to be more culturally safe environments", Professor McDermott said.

Ms Bormann said simple and practical changes could make a big difference for Aboriginal students and patients — such as taking the time to ask where someone is from.

"That's so important to us, our country and our land and where we're from is vitally important," the third-year medical student said.

"That's how we connect to our ancestors and that's how we connect to each other.

"I want to be able to have other Aboriginal students that come through the program, when I'm a doctor, who can actually see that change has happened."