Martha Mansah Student Profile

Student profile

Name: Martha Mansah
Course: PhD

I am Martha Mansah, a Lecturer Griffith University Nathan Campus.
I am currently finalising my Doctor of Philosophy through the University of Western Sydney. My clinical expertise involves gerontology, med-surgical and critical nursing. My passion is the strong advocacy of evidence based nursing, student learning and development.

Why did you decide to undertake a research program?
I have always been interested to know more about the world. The reasons behind things and why these things happens. Research was the perfect vehicle for exploring major issues in nursing related to aged care, critical care and community care.

What is your research topic?
My doctoral thesis is entitled ‘Safe transfer of elderly patients (STEP) across health care settings’. This is an important area, as the elderly are particularly vulnerable to errors and adverse events during transfer of care from the Emergency Department to Medical or Surgical Ward.

What is it like to be a PhD student at UWS?
My journey with UWS has been great. The opportunities provided to me were extraordinary. For example, in my second year candidature, I went to an international conference sponsored by the University, where I met leading experts in my field. I have attended national conferences that have also been sponsored by the University.

What has been the highlight of your PhD work?
We published one part of the study and had emails worldwide enquiring about the article. This was a major highlight for me, as I realised that all the hard work of collecting data, analysing and writing and rewriting, actually means, that we have made a contribution to society. It was a very satisfying feeling to see that my passion for quality care for elderly patients was being shared with so many people.

What are your professional goals after the completing of your PhD?
I am working as a Lecturer for Griffith University, QLD. I feel my journey with UWS really prepared me for this position. Therefore, after completing my PhD, I would like to focus on publications from the research. I would like to continue to work together with my supervisors and apply for grants to enable a bigger study of the issues addressed in the PhD work.