Student testimonials

Testimonial  

Background

Which high school did you attend?

(Unapplicable – did my high school in overseas)

When you started your Bachelor degree at UniSA were you a high school leaver, TAFE student, adult entry or other?

(Unapplicable – didn’t complete my Bachelor degree in Unisa)

Study

Which program did you study?

Graduate Diploma in Medical Sonography

Why did you want to study this program?

I have been a qualified vascular sonographer for a number of years. I wanted to expand my area of scanning expertise

 Also, I wanted new challenges in my work.

Why did you choose to study it at UniSA?

UniSA has a good reputation. There were good reviews of the UniSA medical sonography course from my senior sonographers.

University of South Australia

What did you enjoy most about studying at UniSA?

Firstly, applying the knowledge I gained from each unit at my workplace has been very satisfying. Also, I enjoyed the challenge of completing assignments which I thought were difficult and different from what I had done in the past, and found myself coming up with creative ideas. This has given me a great sense of achievement.

How would you describe the quality of UniSA’s teaching staff? How did they support you during your studies?

The teaching staff in the course was exceptional, and definitely performed above and beyond their call of duty. Some unit coordinators even replied to my course-related emails on a Sunday!! They were very approachable, making study enjoyable.  The course unit co-ordinators have vast knowledge on their respective topics, which helped to expand my knowledge.

What was the highlight of your time at UniSA?

One of the highlights of my time at UniSA was to complete a poster assignment. At the time of doing the assignment, I strongly disliked it. I thought that it was a waste of time and was too difficult to put in so much information into an A4-sized poster. However, after completing the poster, I reflected on the journey of creating the poster and realised that it helped me to develop new skills and learn new things about myself.  I think it was one of the best assignments I had ever done. I now have the skills to create a poster, if I want to, for a conference or even at my workplace.

Tell me about any practical experience (work experience/work placements/field trips/overseas study) you’ve undertaken during your degree.

I had been working solely in the area of vascular sonography before enrolling into UniSA course. During the course, I expanded my area of scanning to general sonography.

Why was the experience valuable? (ie What did you learn here that you couldn't have learned in the classroom?)

I could apply what I had learnt in the course to my day-to-day work.

How did you find the teaching facilities at UniSA? (including laboratories and clinics, and online)

In my opinion, the teaching facilities were very good at UniSA. As my course was an online course, there were many video lectures in one of the units which I found it extremely useful. It was like sitting through a lecture and the information provided was easy to understand and made a lot of sense with my day-to-day scanning experience.

Also, I particularly found that the simulator was a fantastic teaching tool in learning/improving scanning techniques. For example, I was having difficulties in obtaining heart views of the fetus in a second trimester anatomy scan. The simulator enabled me to practise obtaining fetal heart views without the stress of time constraints.

Professional

Tell me about the work you have done since completing your study.

I have expanded my areas of scanning, from vascular to general ultrasound.

Why is this area of work important to you?

Having enjoyed vascular sonography for many years, I wanted to broaden my skills and experience into the realm of general sonography.

What do you think it takes to become a leader in your field?

-          Increased knowledge in ultrasonography

-          Extensive scanning experience

-          An interest in research

-          To continue to be curious, and willing to question things. Also, to never be complacent, thinking that I have learnt it all

-          To be willing to be a mentor to junior sonographers. It is by teaching  that we also learn new things