Alumni Profile - Elaine Zibrowski, HIS PhD'20

Current position: Researcher, Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit

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What is your job title and place of work?

Elaine completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Saskatchewan and currently works as a researcher within the Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit.

How did HIS help you get where you are in your career?

"My doctorate provided me with an opportunity to immerse myself in health-related discourses that I was unaware of, and to develop my skills as a qualitative researcher. The courses I took at FIMS encouraged me to expand my thinking past what I thought I already knew."

What would you say to a person considering the HIS program?

Elaine has been purple and proud since she first enrolled at the university.

“Western gives very high-quality education and research opportunities and I have been absolutely enriched with all of the people I’ve met and worked with."

"My favourite course was the PhD seminar where my classmates and I spent three hours every week discussing research. “Our group was vocal and open to dialogue and hearing diverse opinions….The concept of health information is very broad. Enjoy unpacking concepts in class with your peers”.

“Never be afraid to admit that you don't know something. It's an opportunity to learn.”

What was your research topic?

"My dissertation focused on how quality improvement methods that were pioneered by the car manufacturing industry have been subsequently applied to healthcare. I examined how the restructuring of some Ontario emergency medicine departments using these methods impacted how nurses and physicians worked with each other, how they interacted with patients seeking emergency medical care, and how they perceived their physical, cognitive and emotional well-being was affected by the changes that were introduced."