"We look at the bigger picture, rather than each individual public health system."

Question:

Tell us more about yourself and your background.

Joanne:

My background is in pediatric nursing. I trained and qualified in England, then went backpacking around Australia and never returned home.

I lived for 17 years in Australia doing pediatric nursing and intensive care, and then moved on to the education side of things. I started doing a lot of education development and implementation of emergency response systems across states. In my last position in Australia, I was developing an education programme for doctors and nurses on how to recognise a deteriorating child, which became a mandatory education programme for the medical staff in Australia.

And then, I just really wanted to do some voluntary work – some missionary work overseas. I didn't know where actually. Then, a friend took me to the Philippines and I met this lady who owned an orphanage. She invited me to go and set up a medical intensive care in her orphanage.

So, I did. I sold everything and moved to the Philippines about 6 years ago. I was very much thrown in at the deep end working in public health, which I'd never done before. I was doing a lot of work for the poor socioeconomic demographic groups, working in squatter areas. Then, about 2 years ago, I got a job as a health director, developing an education programme for the ultra-poor across the south islands of the Philippines. We do a 4-month training programme 3 times a year for the ultra-poor community, which involves lessons on values, health and livelihood. So that was a big change in my life.

Question:

What motivated you to study an MSc in Global Public Health with Queen Mary Online?

Joanne:

My new job. I had started my position thinking I had a wealth of health knowledge and experience, and realised that it was just a whole different ballgame working in public health. So I decided to look into starting a masters in public health. I stumbled upon the Queen Mary Online course which had ‘global’ in its title. The ‘global public health’ aspect of the course was a real drawcard for me, because I knew I didn't just want to do public health. I'm very focussed on the whole global picture. So, this course was absolutely perfect.

Question:

What do you feel is the global aspect of this course?

Joanne:

We've got people from around the globe. It allows us to look into globalisation and the bigger picture, rather than each individual public health system. The course curriculum very much has a global slant on everything – every area in public health that you look at is taken into a worldwide context.

Question:

How is the course impacting you on a personal and professional level?

Joanne:

It’s helping me grow as a person. I always find any form of study and any challenge you take on in life just develops your character, stamina, commitment and resolution. I'm certainly growing with what I'm doing and the path I've chosen to take with this.

I actually didn't realise how much it would impact on my professional life. I thought I would need to be halfway through finishing a masters before it actually started making a difference, but the impacts of this course were noticeable straight away. I understood more about the global picture and how it fitted into the context I was working within in the Philippines with the ultra-poor. It was just an absolute fit from the beginning.

It’s helped me develop my skills and ability to see a greater picture than what I'm doing and just direct different things towards it. Even with something as small as terminology – I can be sitting in a meeting and I can understand what they're talking about now because of my course. It's been fantastic.

Not only do I get an opportunity to apply what I’m learning in my day-to-day tasks, but vice-versa – my work is helping me write my assignments because I'm literally doing what I’m writing about. Everything's contextual when I write, so many of the forums I've posted have been based on the country I'm working in and it's just brought a new light to what I'm writing and doing. So, it's been very much a yin and yang sort of mutual benefit.

Question:

How do you feel you know you're connected with your peers and able to support one another?

Joanne:

I’d say we have more support and encouragement for each other than when I studied on-campus in the past. It doesn't matter that we're countries apart. We started a WhatsApp group quite early on and it's just been invaluable. We post things from technical questions to encouragement and advice. I did a masters about 10 years ago and it was in a face-to-face classroom style. And I can say compared to that, with this course, there’s much more support between one another.

Even though we've never seen each other, we’ve bonded and become friends because we’re learning together.

Question:

What about the support of the academics and tutors?

Joanne:

I can't commend them enough. They've been absolutely incredible, from the student advisors to each module tutor and the lead tutors. They've just been ever-present throughout our whole course if we ever have a problem or need advice. They’re approachable, professional, supportive and encouraging.

I can't speak highly enough of them or Queen Mary. I've just found the whole course incredibly professional and high-class.

Question:

How are you managing your time – with your work, study and social life?

Joanne:

I have an allocated study day which I would say has been invaluable for me in time management.

I work in the evenings, because I come home at around 5.15pm and I have a daughter and am a single parent. I’ll work before she goes to bed, but I try and leave it until 7.30pm, once she's in bed, and then I'll spend a couple of hours every night working. Sometimes I’ll also work on weekends. It depends how much I manage to get do get done during the week and whether there's an assignment due.

It always seems to be generally the same quantity of work – it’s nicely spread across the weeks, so it’s manageable. I would say I spend about 18 to 20 hours a week studying.

Question:

How easy was it to get used to the online learning environment?

Joanne:

I didn't really struggle with it at all. Everything is very easily laid out, so it's very user-friendly. It's also aesthetically pleasing.

Question:

What are the different types of assessment on the course?

Joanne:

There’s been a great variety. There have been blogs, online exams, online presentations – they’ve really mixed it up. It’s not just been essay after essay, which can get a bit tedious. It's been a nice mixture of assessments.

Question:

How would you describe the course in terms of its accessibility?

Joanne:

It's incredibly accessible to anyone anywhere in the world. I could study in the middle of the night if I wanted to. You can play the videos and complete the readings that are part of the learnings anytime you want. It's completely workable around anybody's schedule.

Question:

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced with this course?

Joanne:

Getting marks that I’m happy with! And trying to fit everything in. But it's just all about what your priorities are.

Joanne is currently studying an online MSc in Global Public Health with Queen Mary Online. You can find out more about the course and how it can deepen your understanding of global public health issues. With good time management skills and the motivation and discipline to study 25 hours per week, you can finish your MSc Global Public Health within two years.