Research output per year
Research output per year
Ms
Research activity per year
Sonja has a diverse background in emergency healthcare after working in ambulance services both nationally and internationally including various roles as a paramedic and an education manager. 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. During the past four years Sonja was the lead of the paramedic team as Discipline Leader at Charles Sturt University and has been very busy with building the course which has gone through a recent review and subsequent successful re-accreditation with the Council of Ambulance Authorities.
In 2016 Sonja and her team won the Faculty of Science team teaching award for Paramedicine, in 2017 she won the Faculty of Science Leadership Award for her abilities to lead her team through several successful endeavours, and in 2018, she won the SBMS award for excellence for the new course, the Masters of Paramedicine.
Her current projects include the development of the Australasian Paramedic Clinical Guidelines, the Australasian Paramedic Pharmacology Project and completing her PhD
Sonja is currently completing a PhD which investigates guideline use by paramedics. She is due for completion in 2019. Alongside study, Sonja has also led several large scale research projects over recent years. These notably included:
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 Biomedical Sciences Research Committee, Workforce Wellness Research Unit, the Network of Australasian Paramedic Academics (NAPA), Australian and New Zealand College of Paramedicine (ANZCP), Paramedics Australasia (PA) and also jointly hosts TRIP Podcasts on Paramedicine.com with fellow colleague Marc Colbeck.
From a clinical perspective, Sonja’s research passion is in two main areas of Clinical Decision Making and Paramedic Cardiology. Additionally she is currently supervising honours students with research into cardiovascular disease and decision making in cardiac arrest.
Sonja has a keen interest in curriculum development and course structure management. Whilst at CSU she has redesigned the undergraduate paramedic course and added an additional online version, as well as 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 education. It's also these changes in education that then go on to drive industry change. With registration of paramedics now compulsory in Australia, these programs will become intrinsically essential to advancing the profession.
Sonja currently teaches into both the undergraduate and postgraduate courses at CSU. Her passion is cardiology and she has a special interest two subjects CLS300 – Advance Cardiology for Paramedics & APS501 – Advanced Cardiac Care. Both of these subjects use inventive and original curriculum design to engage students via online and on-campus. Sonja’s teaching style is fun, personable and interactive, she is very 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 that have limited access to paramedic education and Sonja is a firm believer of open access and global mentor-ship.
Sonja also mentors international students on cardiology and has several currently in the UK who are working through her online programs within social media.
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Book chapter/Published conference paper › Chapter in textbook/reference book › peer-review
Research output: Book/Report › Textbook/Reference book › peer-review
Research output: Other contribution to conference › Presentation only › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Sonja Maria (Participant)
Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Conference/Symposium › Academic
Sonja Maria (Participant)
Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Workshop/course/forum › Academic
Sonja Maria (Participant) & Lyle Brewster (Participant)
Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Conference/Symposium › Industry
Sonja Maria (Speaker)
Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Conference/Symposium › Industry
Sonja Maria (Speaker)
Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Public lecture/debate/seminar/presentation › Industry
Clare Sutton, Ruth Townsend, Natalia Bilton, Sonja Maria & Phillip Ebbs
09/09/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
28/09/15 → 30/03/16
2 items of Media coverage, 2 Media contributions
Press/Media: Press / Media
25/09/15
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
24/01/13
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
Sonja Maria (Creator)
Impact: Public policy Impact, Other Impact
Sonja Maria (Creator), Norm Wilkinson (Participant), George Cliquot (Participant), Ashley Denham (Participant), Laura Triffett (Participant), Kristy Shearer (Participant), Andrew Hodgett (Participant), Joelen Gott (Participant), Riosie McEachern (Participant), Ricardo Galeano (Participant), James Thompson (Participant), Emma-Cate Thornley (Participant), Tony Ward (Participant), Jeremy Taylor (Participant), Steve Whitfield (Participant), Marc Colbeck (Creator), Lyle Brewster (Participant) & Brian Sengstock (Participant)
Impact: Other Impact
Sonja Maria (Creator)
Impact: Other Impact, Public policy Impact
Sonja Maria (Creator) & Marc Colbeck (Creator)
Impact: Cultural Impact