A
GRADUATE FROM QMU’s Institute for Global
Health & Development (IGHD) has been
appointed Director of Nursing at Guilford County
Jails in North Carolina, USA. is now putting her dissertation topic ‘health systems and
prisons’ into practice by helping over 1,350 inmates,
including those in a juvenile detention centre.
Sheila achieved a Bachelor of Nursing degree from the
University of Glasgow in 1993 and had over five years’
experience working in nursing for the prison system
in Scotland before starting her postgraduate studies
at QMU. “By choosing to study at QMU, I really wanted to
expand my knowledge of health economics and
systems, as well as sociological influences. Whilst
researching different courses available, I found that QMU
had the exact mix of subjects that interested me. The
course also offered a great selection of modules that I
hop ed would open doors to a different type of career.
Sheila Burns, who is originally from Linlithgow,
graduated with an MSc Global Health Systems from
QMU in 2016. She was able to study part-time at QMU
over three and a half years, whilst bringing up a young
family and balancing the demands of her full-time job.
Sheila’s significant professional experience, as well as
the knowledge acquired studying global health at QMU,
has equipped her with the skills and confidence
to help vulnerable prisoners across three
different locations in North Carolina. She
Commenting on her experience of studying global
health at QMU, Sheila said: “I really wish I’d taken the
plunge 10 years ago and signed up to study global
health at QMU. My dream of living and working in the
USA and improving my employability in the prisoner
health sector has finally become a reality.
“There was so much support offered at QMU, which
made the course so much more manageable. The other
students also offered an invaluable supportive network,
which was positively encouraged by the staff.
“Being surrounded by students from all over the world
made a massive impact on how I viewed what I was
doing with my life. Studying global health at QMU
has equipped me in many ways I didn’t realise were
possible. My knowledge level and appreciation
of global health issues have expanded beyond
anything I could have imagined beforehand.”
In the future, Sheila wants to continue
advocating for best practice in care for prisoners
in the USA. She has also started to make
connections with the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest
University to encourage further prisoner
health research.❒
Institute for Global Health
& Development (IGHD)
Visit www.qmu.ac.uk for more
information about postgraduate
study in global health at QMU.
View the new Institute for Global
Health and Development film on
QMU’s You Tube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/QMUniversity
Credit: Jamilia Davis Norwood Photography
QMYOU / Health & Rehabilitation
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