Healthy career for Waikato University statistics graduate

Healthy career for Waikato University statistics graduate

Sparked by a passion for numbers, a career in the health industry was just what the doctor ordered for University of Waikato statistics graduate Claire Forsythe.

As a Business Analyst for the Waikato District Health Board (DHB), Claire extracts, investigates, interprets and models patient and other DHB data. This includes creating reports, providing information for capacity planning projects and developing advanced planning models. The information she provides to management groups helps to support decision making processes throughout the DHB.

“Learning about such a complicated and interesting area such as health has been both a challenge and an awesome learning experience,” says Claire.

The former Te Awamutu College student completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Otago, majoring in psychology and statistics.

“I wanted to complete further study in the area of statistics, but I also wanted to be closer to friends and family, so I made the move back to Hamilton and began a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in statistics at Waikato University.”

After completing the PGDip Claire was offered her current position at the Waikato DHB. A year down the track she decided to continue study part-time, with a Master of Science (MSc) in statistics, again through Waikato University.

“Waikato University was great to work with to complete my masters because it is close to the hospital, plus flexible lecture and meeting times proved to be convenient, even when working full-time.”

Claire says that the MSc gave her the opportunity to expand her skills and knowledge, which she has been able to apply to her everyday work.

“During study I presented my MSc thesis at the New Zealand Statistical Association Conference. This was great because it gave me confidence to further develop my career utilising both my analysis skills and statistical background.”

In the future Claire hopes to specialise in statistical analysis.
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