I am a Registered Nurse and emigrated to New Zealand in my early twenties. Over the last 25 years I have worked in various roles facilitating the ongoing development, implementation and monitoring of patient safety and quality management systems in the health sector. Prior to the MBA, I was Quality and Patient Safety Manager at the CDHB; I am still in the same position.
My commitment to complete the MBA degree came in stages. I first completed the Post Grad Strategic Leadership Certificate. From this, I discovered that I enjoyed studying again and was benefitting from the practical applications of the learnings to the work environment. The certificate became my pathway to the MBA. Living in Canterbury, UC was the obvious choice, and I was drawn to the offering of face-to-face classes.
Economics: I still refer to this as the paper I learned and gained the most from. The soft skills during the course, such as the leveraging of cognitive diversity was a great source of enjoyment. Stand outs were the group effort in the operation management simulation game in strategic capacity management and Dragons Den presentation for international business strategy. The many assignments and presentations allowed me to become more skilled in succinct writing and public speaking. The challenge to handwrite a learning journal (viewed to be good for the brain) was surprisingly soothing. Exposure to the different teaching styles of the lecturers and various approaches to get the vast course content across in short timeframes. The ability to make individual assignments applicable to my work environment and the long- lasting impact: I am still building on previous learnings.
