Sonja has a diverse background in emergency healthcare after working in ambulance services both nationally and internationally including various roles as a critical care paramedic and within senior management. Sonja’s main area of interests are in policy development and evidence based guidelines for clinicians in the health field.

Sonja has proven skills in project management, research and leadership. Over the past ten years she has held several leadership roles within academia.  Her current role is the Associate Head of School for Paramedicine.

Sonja completed a PhD which investigated guideline use by paramedics. Sonja has also led several large-scale research projects over recent years. These notably included:

• Leading a research team to research and establish additional placements for health science students through a NSW Interdisciplinary Clinical Training Networks and winning a grant for $100,000
• Publications on paramedic practice in peer-reviewed journals see ResearchGate for specifics.
• Investigations into clinical placements and the use of new technologies (Comptracker) with fellow colleague Adam Diamond (CSU).
• An Australian-wide research project with colleague Mark Colbeck (ACU) into the establishment of the Australasian Paramedic Practice Guidelines.
• Creating and establishing the Australasian Paramedic Pharmacology Project which aims to bring academics and paramedic educators together to create a united pharmacology resource for paramedics.

Sonja is a reviewer for several journals, including the Irish Journal of Paramedicine, the Australasian Journal of Paramedicine, the Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services, and the Australian Journal of Rural Health. She is also a member of the SNPHS Research Committee, Regional Work and Organisational Resilience, the Paramedicine Council of Deans, the Australian College of Paramedicine Paramedics Australasia. She jointly hosts TRIP Podcasts on Paramedicine.com with colleague Marc Colbeck.

Sonja supervises students at all levels of study. Her current students' topics include reviewing guidelines and evidence for the following topics: Cardiogenic shock, cardiogenic pulmonary oedema, acute coronary syndrome, thrombolytics in paramedicine, palliative care guidelines and first nation peoples' health and wellness. She is also interested in gender and feminist studies and has students researching: Gender diversity in students, workplace sexual harassment, and women in leadership positions in paramedicine.

Sonja has a keen interest in curriculum development and course structure management. At CSU, she redesigned the undergraduate paramedic course, added an online version, and created the Masters of Paramedicine articulated degree. Both of these courses are extremely innovative and offer a new dimension to the ability of paramedics to complete their education. It's also these changes in education that then go on to drive industry change. With the registration of paramedics now compulsory in Australia, these programs will become intrinsically essential to advancing the profession.

Sonja's teaching passion is cardiology, and her teaching style is fun, personable and interactive; she is keen to use new technologies to assist students learning. Sonja has over 100K subscribers to her YouTube channel that hosts simulations of learning and videos that Sonja has made to demonstrate paramedic skills. Many of these subscribers work in environments with limited access to paramedic education, and Sonja is a firm believer in open access and global mentorship.

Sonja also mentors international students in cardiology and has several currently in the UK working through her online programs within social media.