Bronwyn Guy

I completed my undergraduate nursing degree many years ago at UTS, at the former Ku-rin-gai campus. I then worked in paediatric and neonatal intensive care units in Sydney, New York and London before relocating to the Hunter Valley as a single mother with two young children. I moved into General Practice nursing, and it was here that I began to learn about the burden of chronic disease and its impact on both individuals and the Australian health system as a whole. 

As much as I enjoy General Practice, I realised that I wanted to focus and specialise in Type 2 Diabetes, particularly disease prevention. As someone who is passionate about the role of health and fitness in maintaining a great quality of life, I want to educate and assist people to optimise their health through healthy lifestyle choices.

Studying at UTS was an easy choice – it is the only university in New South Wales offering this course! Being able to come back to study and complete assessments, while still juggling work and family life, has been very rewarding. Studying this course has also given me the opportunity to network and meet like-minded health professionals. 

Through my studies, I’ve become more confident – I actually put myself forward to do a presentation for my peers in the course! I have also been pushed to develop new IT skills, as I was not familiar with Microsoft Office programs prior to starting. It has been a steep learning curve, but well worth it.

I am aiming to finish my final semester this year, before commencing the credentialing process to become a Diabetes Educator and hopefully discovering new career opportunities.

If you’re interested in the Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education and Management, my advice is: just do it! Also, look to organisations such as your local primary health network (PHN) for scholarship opportunities to ease the financial burden.

Find out more about the Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education and Management at UTS