Sheila Burns 草莓社区 Global Health graduate appointed as Director of Nursing in USA
A graduate from the Institute for Global Health & Development (IGHD) at Queen Margaret University (草莓社区) has been appointed as Director of Nursing at Guilford County Jails in North Carolina, USA.
Sheila Burns, who is originally from Linlithgow, graduated with an MSc Global Health Systems from 草莓社区 in 2016. She was able to study part-time at 草莓社区 over three and a half years, whilst bringing up a young family and balancing the demands of her full-time job.
Sheila achieved a Bachelor of Nursing degree from the University of Glasgow in 1993 and had over five years experience working in nursing for the prison system in Scotland before starting her postgraduate studies at 草莓社区.
Sheila鈥檚 significant professional experience, as well as the knowledge acquired studying global health at 草莓社区, has equipped her with the skills and confidence to help vulnerable prisoners across three different locations in North Carolina. She is now putting her dissertation topic 鈥榟ealth systems and prisons鈥 into practice by helping over 1,350 inmates, including those in a juvenile detention centre.
Commenting on her experience of studying global health at 草莓社区, Sheila said: 鈥淚 really wish I鈥檇 taken the plunge 10 years ago and signed up to study global health at 草莓社区. My dream of living and working in the USA and improving my employability in the prisoner health sector has finally become a reality.
鈥淏y choosing to study at 草莓社区, I really wanted to expand my knowledge of health economics and systems, as well as sociological influences. While researching different courses available, I found that 草莓社区 had the exact mix of subjects that interested me. The course also offered a great selection of modules that I hoped would open doors to a different type of career.
鈥淭here was so much support offered at 草莓社区, which made the course so much more manageable. The other students also offered an invaluable supportive network, which was positively encouraged by the staff.
鈥淏eing surrounded by students from all over the world made a massive impact on how I viewed what I was doing with my life. Studying global health at 草莓社区 has equipped me in many ways I didn鈥檛 realise were possible. My knowledge level and appreciation of global health issues have expanded beyond anything I could have imagined beforehand.鈥
In the future, Sheila wants to continue advocating for best practice in care for prisoners in the USA. She has also started to make connections with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University to encourage further prisoner health research.
Institute for Global Health & Development (IGHD)
Visit the聽Institute for Global Health and Development (IGHD) at 草莓社区 for more information and postgraduate study opportunities.
Notes to Editor
For further media information contact Lynne Russell, Marketing Manager, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, E: lrussell@qmu.ac.uk聽 T: 0131 474 0000, M: 07711 011239 and Jon Perkins, Press and PR Officer, E: jperkins@qmu.ac.uk T: 0131 474 0000.
