Sabrina Gupta
Dr Sabrina Gupta (pictured above) is passionate about preparing students for meaningful careers in public health.
“I teach into the Bachelor of Health Sciences and Master of Public Health degrees. The subjects that I teach are all about understanding the social determinants of health, considerations for priority populations, and developing strategies on how best to engage with diverse groups within the community,” says Dr Gupta.
Preparing students for the realities of their future careers is at the heart of Dr Gupta’s teaching philosophy.
“I strive to relate student class activities and assessments to tasks they would be doing on completion of their course so they can go on to be competent and confident practitioners,” she says.
“I also ensure that students understand that much of what they will do in their careers could be very impactful on people’s lives, which adds another layer of meaning to their learning.”
For Dr Gupta, having the opportunity to contribute to a highly skilled workforce is why she teaches.
“It’s extremely rewarding to know that by training future health practitioners, I have made a positive impact on the community.”
Natasha Prasad
Natasha Prasad, Lecturer in Health Information Management, says the best part about teaching is seeing students go out into the world and put into practice what they’ve learned.
“I currently teach the ‘Understanding Digital Health’ and ‘Professional Practice’ subjects within the Health Information Management courses, but I have previously taught a range of subjects, from medical terminology to pathophysiology,” she says.
“Understanding digital health is particularly important as most of us are now interacting with this technology. It is crucial for those looking to work in the health space to be aware of the current digital health landscape,” explains Prasad.
Getting students to understand, rather than memorise, is Prasad’s teaching philosophy. “True learning is about understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. Not just remembering selected bits of information.”
“It’s really rewarding to see students put something they learned into practice, especially when you see their excitement when they come back from placement and say, ‘I got to do that thing you taught us!’”.
“I also really enjoy helping students through failures and struggles because, in these moments, I get to make a real difference by changing their perspective. Things are not always perfect and it’s an opportunity to grow.”
