As a research assistant in the Connecting Leadership Education & Research (CLEAR) Outcomes Research program in the Department of Nursing at the University of Alberta, I was introduced to leadership sciences in health services, looking at the impact of specific leadership practices on outcomes for the health system, the healthcare workforce and for patients. As a member of the research team, I was directly involved in the entire research process, and this opportunity enabled me to gain knowledge of developing research that impacted decision-making and improvement of health care practices. Similarly, as a research assistant at the Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence (ARCHE) in the Department of Pediatrics, also at the University of Alberta, I assisted in research designed to further the development of clinical practice guidelines and recommendations for the delivery of health services. I am able to move from one methodological standpoint to another and work effectively within multidisciplinary …show more content…
The School of Public Administration offers an environment to interact with other passionate problem-solvers dedicated to making a difference, and there are a number of potential supervisors to work with. I am committed to an interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and teaching, and all of my experiences have helped to deal with the uncertainty of conducting program evaluations that are not clearly categorized, the outcomes are not predictable, and are extremely demanding in terms of time, intellect, and imagination. For me, a Ph.D. in Public Administration includes further development in the area of public policy; I am particularly interested in understanding planning, implementation and evaluation, including exploring different methods of evaluation, performance measures, and the promise of evidence-based policy, as well as participatory research, collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and leadership science. I hope to further develop both my quantitative and qualitative research skills that may be applied to analyze and assess the performance of public health promotion programs, particular to assess the health implications particularly for women and children. My future career goals, where I see myself in 5 or 10 years, is continuing on this path to advance knowledge in the field of program planning and