What can you do with a Health Sciences degree?

Patient and public engagement project coordinator – Ruhee Mardhani

During her BSc in Health Studies with a minor in Gerontology, Ruhee developed a passion for social and behavioural health sciences. Ruhee went on to complete a Master of Public Health at the University of Toronto, specializing in Indigenous Health.

Now, she is able to combine her interests in public health, patient engagement, and Indigenous health in her role at BC Patient Safety and Quality Council, where there is a mandate to include diverse patient and caregiver voices, to improve the quality of care throughout British Columbia.

Project manager, Geriatric Emergency Medicine Initiative – Allie Piatkowski

After completing her degree at Waterloo, Allie completed a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at the University of Toronto. Now, she is a project manager with the Geriatric Emergency Medicine Initiative at University Health Network (UHN).

She is leading this initiative, which seeks to improve care, experiences, and outcomes for older adults in UHN's Emergency Departments through design, best practices, quality improvement, education, research, and community outreach.

Prior to that, she was an Epidemiologist and Project Manager at the Health Commons Solutions Lab, a health and social innovation startup hosted out of Sinai Health in Toronto.

Pharmacist and designated pharmacy manager – Nathan Realubit

Nathan’s Health Studies courses in disease prevention, nutrition, and gerontology provided him with knowledge that he applied during pharmacy school and in his practice today.

After completing the Health Studies program, Nathan graduated from Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy and completed additional courses to become a certified diabetes educator and specialist in opioid use disorders.

Nathan recommends that students become involved in leadership positions on campus and gain pharmacy experience to build skills that can be applied in a future career.

Physician – Dr. Candi Flynn

After graduation, Candi completed a Master of Science Degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University (2010), followed by a medical degree at the University of Toronto (2014). She presently practices as a rural generalist physician in Clinton, Ontario, her home town.

Midwife – Gaby Sabados

Gaby is a registered midwife at St. Jacobs Midwives, with admitting privileges at Grand River Hospital. She provides comprehensive prenatal care to healthy low-risk women, conducts the birth, and provides follow-up care for both mom and baby for six weeks after delivery.

She is also an emergency skills instructor, creates and reviews the National Registration exam, and has provided an expert opinion to the College of Midwives.

Associate director (acting), health promotion – Yuna Chen

During her time at Waterloo as a first generation student, Yuna discovered a passion for working with students through her roles in orientation and residence life.

After graduation Yuna completed a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Simon Fraser University, where she is now the associate director (acting), health promotion.

There, Yuna and her team develop and implement institution-wide, systemic health promotion initiatives to support student learning, individual capacity for health and well-being, and the creation of supportive campus settings.

Speech language pathologist – Vibhuti Bhatt

During her co-op work term at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Vibhuti met with a speech-language pathologist to learn more about the career and was inspired to learn that the profession required both a knowledge of science, as well as creativity, to support people with their communication skills.

After graduation, Vibhuti completed a Master of Health Science in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Toronto and now identifies and treats the speech and language needs of children/youth with mental health diagnoses.

Statistics data analyst – Palvasha Thayani

Palvasha knew she wanted to work in health care because she loved helping people.

Through her co-op experiences, she realized the importance of health care sector data in making meaningful change, which motivated her to enrol in Waterloo’s Master of Health Informatics program after completing the Health Studies program.

Now, as a statistics data analyst for York Region Public Health, Palvasha analyzes Covid-19 data and provides public policy recommendations for the region.

Physiotherapy resident – Vishnee Visagan

After completing aging-specific courses as part of her Option in Aging Studies and volunteering with on- and off-campus rehabilitation programs, Vishnee chose to pursue a Master of Physical Therapy, which she completed at Western University.

She recommends getting involved in health care areas you are truly interested in, whether it’s through volunteering or co-op, as these experiences are invaluable in understanding the roles of different health professionals.