Anne-Lyse DeGuio

The highlight of the MPH for me? To learn that what I had intuitively done for years, almost as an eccentric in the health delivery system, was in fact health promotion! And now I can demonstrate that this is what I have been about I am able to integrate health promotion into my clinical activities and show those around me how to work in a similar way. I also present these activities at conferences and workshops, so the momentum is gathering.

Traditional hierarchies have hampered nurses. My field, mental health, is still strongly medically dominated. Viewing mental health from a public health perspective, I have now gained recognition from senior clinicians and managers and actively participate in the overall development of our service. Armed with an understanding of epidemiology, statistics and health promotion empowerment models, I can identify needs, suggest changes in service delivery and enhance practice to a level usually inaccessible to nurses. For these reasons, I strongly encourage my nursing colleagues to enrol in the MPH rather than post graduate nursing studies.

The most unexpected impact of the MPH on my day to day practice has been my new passion for data collection when I'd always had such a fear of statistics. I now keep comprehensive data, analyse it, disseminate my findings and recommend changes. My evidence based practice has already produced positive outcomes.

Other pleasures in doing the course? The chance to exchange experiences and broaden perspectives with a multicultural student mix of various health disciplines. And all the lecturers I encountered were competent and communicated an enthusiasm for their field. Candidates were treated as adults and I enjoyed taking responsibility for my own learning, which isn't to say that we were not helped. The clear course notes and the program's overall flexibility were especially useful for a student with a hectic professional schedule.

I chose UNSW because, in my health professional experience, I had noticed that its graduates seemed embued with a commitment to equity. I am currently the Clinical Nurse Consultant in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry at St George Hospital and intend to pursue the proposed professional doctorate in public health at UNSW.