UWA postgraduate student Suzy Jasper has contributed 100 hours towards a digital data project that supports the delivery of local aged care services, through a McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship at Bethanie.
The Crawley resident and Master of Public Health student assisted with the development of a new information management policy for Bethanie, a local not-for-profit aged care provider with 34 aged care facilities across metropolitan Perth and regional WA.
“I was keen for an opportunity to work with a project group to gain knowledge plus identify ways in which I could contribute to the community,” said Suzy.
“One of the most rewarding elements was being able to put together a useful piece of work for Bethanie. They do such important work for the community, specifically the aged care population, so I was pleased to contribute in some way to facilitate this,” she said.
The information management policy comprises of digital data principles, practices and standards to ensure Bethanie can continue to carry out the important work they do for seniors across WA communities to a high standard.
“There is a direct correlation between the work Suzy delivered and the business of running aged care,” said internship supervisor and Manager of ICT Experience at Bethanie, Andrew Garside.
“The task was a complete success, not only did we get a very polished policy document we also received a process document that explains how to comply to the policy,” he said.
Mr Garside was so impressed with Suzy’s efforts that he nominated her for an Outstanding Intern Award, remarking Suzy was self-motivated, intuitive and “went the extra yard” to deliver on the project.
Suzy was surprised at the strong transferable skills between her Public Health studies at the data policy project, showing her the many ways that she can support the community.
“I was also able to use my initiative and perform research which should be useful for the organisation in the future. The cherry on the cake was the great feedback I received by my supervisors and the appreciation they had for the work I had done,” she said.
“If you are open in learning new transferrable skills, then I think the McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship a great opportunity,” said Suzy.