Written by Julia Day
Erin Nunan graduated from her Juris Doctorate at #UNELaw last year. Before starting her JD, Erin completed her undergraduate Pharmacy Degree at Monash University.
Several years ago as a result of circumstance and passion, Erin found herself working overseas with her now husband. Mike started the journey working in Vanuatu, and then they both worked in Solomon Islands as pharmacists. Whilst in the Solomon Islands, Erin decided she wanted to diversify her career trajectory by enrolling in a Juris Doctorate at the #UNELaw School. UNE was the ideal choice for Erin as she could complete the degree online whilst living in the island nation.
When Erin first enrolled in her #UNELaw degree she realised she had never written an essay in a tertiary setting before. Luckily after some practice, Erin learnt the skills of legal writing effectively. Interestingly these skills have come in very handy in terms of writing government reports for her current position.
Whilst studying at UNE her favourite subjects were The Law of Torts (1 and 2) and Medico-Legal Issues with Michelle de Souza, Professor Mark Lunney and Aileen Kennedy. She liked these units as some of the material was directly relevant to her past degree and experience as a pharmacist. Overall she enjoyed studying law as it helped her understand current societal issues. For example, she completed the Family Law unit whilst legalising gay marriage was being debated in parliament.
It is fair to say that Erin had some eventful experiences whilst completing her degree. For example, during her Criminal Law exam, Erin witnessed a riot taking place outside her exam room!! During another exam, she remembers a crab scurrying past her toes even though she was on Level One of the building!
Erin Micro Lighting over Victoria Falls in Zambia
In recent years Erin and her husband Mike have started a company named Beyond Essential Systems. This company works on a number of data management and analysis projects relating to health care. These projects are generally undertaken in countries where the health care data management system is not as sophisticated as it is in Australia. For example, if governments and relevant entities have information regarding medication use in specific areas, they are able to make decisions which promote better health care outcomes for all.
The ramifications of not having effective data management systems was observed by both Erin and Mike when a tsunami hit the Solomon Islands in 2013. They noted how little information there was relating to the local health care system. This lack of information made it difficult to effectively help people and rebuild the community, as it was unknown what facilities and supplies were available.
Erin’s son Will drinking a coconut in East Timor
After successfully applying for a government grant, Erin’s company now has funding to complete this important mapping work. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) supports this project for a variety of reasons. One is altruistic in nature- this project helps facilitate good healthcare outcomes for our neighbouring countries. The other reason is- this project helps protect the wellbeing of the Australian community. You see if health challenges such as the Corona Virus can be contained and dealt with before they come onto Australian shores, this will have obvious positive impacts for the wellbeing of Australian citizens. It is very important to have effective processes and detection systems in our neighbouring countries, as they may have less sophisticated healthcare systems than Australia. This will help avoid problems such as anti-microbial resistance which could prove devastating to the Australian community. 
Erin’s law degree has come in handy in her role. She is able to consider issues in a wider context because of her legal knowledge. In fact even the process of learning how to use Learning Management Systems such as moodle has proved useful to Erin’s understanding of her company’s stakeholders. You see, the fact she felt challenged using a new system such as moodle at the beginning of the degree, allows her to understand and feel empathy for people overseas who may feel overwhelmed by new technical systems.
Erin is one of those lucky people who is able to derive an income from undertaking useful work she is passionate about. Erin notes ‘I never would have expected I would be undertaking this work after completing a pharmacy degree. Now I am excited to see how I can use my law degree to best help others!’
Thank you for sharing your story Erin!
