Get to know Jacqui Summers

What is your Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours project on?
My project explored how Australian middle aged men use health services and how they understand their health.
What was your motivation to further your study with the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours program?
Through the work placement program in the Bachelor of Health Sciences, I was able to conduct health research at a community level throughout my third year. This sparked my interest in becoming a health researcher. Through my coursework in the Bachelor of Health Sciences I was aware that research exploring the health needs and interests of Australia middle aged men was lacking

Get to know Kristy Reid

What was your Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours project on?
The level of physical activity and activity preferences in paediatric cancer patients.

What was your motivation to further your study with the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours program?
When I finished my undergraduate degree, I was offered a job at the Children’s Nutrition Research Centre as a research assistant. This job introduced me to research, which I enjoyed doing, and completing my honours degree seemed like a logical step in my path to becoming a research academic.

What is your Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours project on?
My project explored how Australian middle aged men use health services and how they understand their health.
What was your motivation to further your study with the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours program?
Through the work placement program in the Bachelor of Health Sciences, I was able to conduct health research at a community level throughout my third year. This sparked my interest in becoming a health researcher. Through my coursework in the Bachelor of Health Sciences I was aware that research exploring the health needs and interests of Australia middle aged men was lacking

What skills/experience/qualifications will you have at the end of your Honours?
I have gained numerous skills from the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours. Time management is crucial in conducting such a large research project over a single year. Learning to write at a professional level was a challenge but a skill that I will have for life. Liaising and working with other health professionals, the public and administration staff was not required in the undergraduate degree but was a very enjoyable part of the Honours project. Using statistical programs and applying for ethical approval for the study were also useful experiences for me to have now as a health researcher.

What Health areas and roles are you hoping to get into at the end of your Honours?
I was able to enter employment immediately after finishing my Honours. I am currently working as a research officer for the Healthy Communities Research Centre at UQ Ipswich. Currently, this role involves developing a questionnaire for a place-based longitudinal study.

What pathway did you follow to reach where you are now?
After studying Health Education in high school, I had an interest in health promotion and working with people. This led me to enrol in the Bachelor of Health Sciences and go on to complete the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours.

What areas do you most enjoy about studying the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours program?

The most enjoyable part of studying the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours program was being able to follow through. Throughout the undergraduate degree it was required in our assignments to develop health promotion programs or to critique an area of health research without ever being able to implement such a program or conduct our own research. The Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours gave me the opportunity to take that extra step and actually go out and collect data from real people and publish my findings so that I could contribute significant insight to a critical area of men’s health research.

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Get to know Kristy Reid

What was your Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours project on?
The level of physical activity and activity preferences in paediatric cancer patients.

What was your motivation to further your study with the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours program?
When I finished my undergraduate degree, I was offered a job at the Children’s Nutrition Research Centre as a research assistant. This job introduced me to research, which I enjoyed doing, and completing my honours degree seemed like a logical step in my path to becoming a research academic.

What skills/experience/qualifications do you have at the end of your Honours?
Throughout my honours degree I learnt the correct sequence in conducting a research project. I am now able to complete ethics forms and write a comprehensive research proposal. I also increased my knowledge in statistical analysis, gained more experience in giving oral presentations, and have enhanced my skills in report and literature review writing.

What Health areas and roles are you hoping to get into at the end of your Honours?
I am now enrolled in the Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics course at Griffith University and hope to pursue a career in research with in this field.

What pathway did you follow to reach where you are now?
I firstly completed my undergraduate degree in Exercise Science and then worked as a research assistant to gain experience in the field, and then started my Honours degree under the same supervisor.

What areas do you most enjoy about studying the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours program?
I enjoyed the interaction I had with my supervisor and I enjoyed finding an area I was passionate about and then conducting a research project in that area with the hope of finding something new.

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