Aruni Ratnayake

My name is Aruni. I live with my husband, adult daughter and elderly father whom I care for. We migrated to Australia over 20 years ago. As an overseas qualified doctor living in Australia I chose not to complete my medical registration process. I worked in the community sector for many years and now for NSW Health. In my spare time I volunteer, try new recipes and watch tennis. My tennis dream came true when I got the chance to watch my favourite tennis players play at Wimbledon in 2016.

My passion for chronic disease prevention started during my working life as a doctor in Sri Lanka. I was able to transfer my medical skills and work in the non-government sector in Australia, in projects managing chronic pain, arthritis, cancer programs and until recently in diabetes. Promoting health and wellness is not easy as people don’t think they will face illness. Improving wellness through not only physical health but also emotional, spiritual and cultural health aspects as well as appropriate community engagement activities, is important. I am most interested in achieving health equity for all by addressing social determinants of health, which I am an advocate in.

Chronic disease and mental health conditions require a significant healthcare cost and I am most interested in the prevention of chronic disease. I wanted to update my knowledge on diabetes management and identify areas to target in trying to prevent diabetes. It was important for me to learn more about self-management, as for people with diabetes it’s a 24/7 condition. I was also interested in how to educate the community in making the right choices depending on the people’s needs to prevent diabetes.

I chose to study at UTS because of the track record of the course. I spoke to a few Credentialed Diabetes Educators and had the opportunity to engage two universities. I picked UTS after examining the course details, and how it was structured during the year including the online modules. I also made inquiries and the response from UTS was impressive.

Learning and research on the effects of social determinants of health on people with diabetes was the most rewarding aspect of the course. Also the comparison of the demographic and health data profiles of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the non-indigenous Australians. 

The guest speakers arranged for the subjects’ Clinical Management in diabetes and Clinical Practice in Diabetes were excellent and the online course was perfect to balance the work, family and study during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also the clinical placement experience was a good way to take the learnings of subject theory and put into real life community practice.

The course completion meets the UTS and the Australian Diabetes Educators Association (ADEA) accreditation requirements. The course has broadened my skills on diabetes education and management. This will assist in my work in community in diabetes prevention in the future.

The advice I would give to anyone considering studying this course is to find the course material, reference resources and links to library resources, which are available in abundance. The course coordinator is very helpful and if you have any questions she is quick to respond to emails. The subject outline is also a good starting document to read. Getting to know your classmates through the online platform Canvas is a good introductory exercise. This way they familiarize you with the use of the platform and the discussion board in assignment preparation, or before a guest lecture. If you are unable to watch the live broadcasts it is good to watch them online as soon as possible as they are uploaded quite quickly and the presenters cover valuable information, not only for assignment purposes but share useful tips for future. 

Diabetes rates are increasing and if you are a health professional who has seen this increase and are considering some further study, this is an ideal course as it is mostly online and not only you get the opportunity to become an educator but also learn from the experts in the field and receive current information from a very reputable university. 

Learn more about studying Diabetes Education and Management at UTS