PhD qualified Registered Midwife and Nurse providing assessment and research support for midwifery and nursing students.

Find out more about Jessica

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  All throughout high school I knew I had a passion for the health fields. I started my career within nursing, and quickly progressed into midwifery which is where my true passion lies. I realised while working in clinical practice that my favourite part about my job as a midwife was providing education to new parents in the postnatal period. I loved helping new mothers learn all about their baby and how provide those essential mothercraft skills. This led me to pursue my Masters and enter an education-focussed career where I became a lecturer at University for both nursing and midwifery. My love for teaching and my 10 years of experience as an academic saw me become interested in providing 1-on-1 tutoring to help nursing and midwifery students to better succeed with their studies.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  Having multiple qualifications, I enjoy teaching in both the nursing and midwifery fields. I most enjoy teaching midwifery-related topics since that is where my heart lies within health and I just love everything about maternity care. I also have qualifications in clinical epidemiology, however, I feel I do not have the experience necessary to confidently tutor in that area yet. My least favourite topic to tutor general human bioscience. I have a keen interest in helping students to succeed with their academic writing and referencing, irrespective of the topic. I spend a lot of time assisting students to improve their writing skills and provide constructive feedback in areas where their written content could be improved to align with any marking rubrics or other assessment requirements.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  My main role model who first inspired me to pursue a health-based career was a high school PDHPE teacher I had named Mr O'Rourke. I nominated this teacher for an award when I completed my Bachelor of Nursing studies, and he won! It was well deserved and I don't think I would be where I am today if he hadn't inspired in my a love of health in the first place.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Confidence, patience, being constructive and helpful with feedback, being available and highly responsive, and of course, being friendly 😊 It is also important for a tutor to understand the learning needs/goals of their student to ensure you can meet their needs appropriately and help them to improve (whether it be improvements in knowledge, or improvement in academic writing etc). A good tutor will recognise that there are numerous different adult learning styles and be adaptive in their teaching to meet each individual's learning needs.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  When I was studying midwifery, I remember the lecturer talking about 'expressing' during a class on breastfeeding and I had NO IDEA what she was talking about at the time. It helped to highlight to me that I can never assume that just because something seems normal and obvious for me, that the person I am speaking to understands what I may be talking about. As a result, I've always ensured I explain things clearly to students, make no assumptions about prior level of knowledge, and provide regular opportunities for them to ask questions!

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or are still facing in your subject?

  The health fields are subject to constant change due to updating evidence and discovering new, safer ways to carry out our practice. This becomes a challenge as you need to ensure you are always remaining up-to-date within your teaching so that students complete their studies with the highest level of knowledge possible.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  Teaching truly is my passion. In my role as an academic, we have to be involved in both teaching and research, but it is because of teaching that I embarked down the pathways that I have until this point in my career. There is such joy in seeing students progress and grow into competent and confident healthcare providers throughout their studies and it is very rewarding to be a part of it all. I love knowing that when students walk out of a class I have led, that they will have learned something new they didn't know prior to walking in. That is very rewarding as an educator.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions)?

  I am extremely responsive and have a great attention to detail. I genuinely care about the students I tutor and want them to achieve their learning goals. I am highly organised and very professional. I have 15 years of experience within nursing and midwifery and I just love to share the knowledge I have gained with others who also share a passion for nursing and midwifery.