What is your role and what does your work focus on?
I am a Teaching Specialist and the Course Coordinator of the new Bachelor of Public Health and topic coordinator for four topics across both under-graduate and post-graduate public health which focus on global health, leadership, and transition to public health professional practice. My other main Leadership role is as an Academic Integrity Officer for the college, and like everyone else, on various Teaching and Community of Practice committees.
Where did you work before joining CMPH?
I came to Flinders after I completed my PhD in Medical Education at the University of Adelaide Medical School in 2014. My first role here was on contract as the Heaslip Fellow, followed by a Research Fellowship, before I began my Teaching Focused career in 2018. Prior to this I worked in many diverse occupations including clinical, management and medical education roles in workplaces such as the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre, Christies Beach Medical Centre, WorkCover, SA Health, Modbury Hospital, College of Dublin and the University of Adelaide.
What journey brought you to this point in your career?
My career journey was not linear and involved many paths, occupations and was family centred. I didn’t start a PhD until my children finished school, so I am a late comer to academia. Reflecting on my occupations, the commonality is they were all service-based and involved engagement with people from all walks of life, whether at the bedside or managing a person with a work-related injury or teaching and that is a privilege. I incorporate my experience of juggling work and family with studying and relate these to the experience of our many post-graduate students in public health who are in the same boat. What I learnt from my PhD journey and topic which focused on approaches to learning, I use every day in my teaching and interactions with students.
What is something you love most about your work?
The thing I love most is the first week of teaching in each semester, where I have a new bunch of students from diverse backgrounds and range of study skills, both in-person and on-line, and working with them to facilitate their learning journey and then witnessing their transformation. That is so rewarding and keeps me going in these challenging times in education. The second thing I love is working with the Bachelor of Public Health Teaching Team and all the new Topic Coordinators and guiding them into their new teaching roles and being inspired by their passion and commitment.
If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?
Not to drop out of High School. That meant when I did decide to do Year 12, it was around the same time that I wanted to add to my family, so I figured both Year 12 and pregnancy took 9 months, so might as well do them together and it worked out perfectly!
If you had a superpower what would it be?
I don’t think we need superpowers, however learning to be more patient with ourselves and others.
How do you like to relax or spend your spare time?
My passion outside of education and my children is singing. I am in 2 choirs with around 4 concerts a year so rehearsals are ongoing. I am in the Adelaide Philharmonia Chorus where we do major works with orchestras such as Mozart’s Requiem and currently rehearsing for The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins and conducted by Carl Crossin OAM and proceeds assisting the Ukrainian situation.