Carla Horn, a master's degree student in nursing sciences at the North-West University (NWU), stood out in the FameLab competition held on 21 September at the National Research Foundation Auditorium in Pretoria.
Securing her a spot among the top 10 participants, Carla’s presentation focused on how our government healthcare system can prepare itself to deliver effective patient care and save lives in the event of disasters, specifically based in obstetric wards or maternal wards.
Her research proposes a straightforward, yet effective four-step approach dubbed OREO. It emphasises opportunities for training, rehearsals and drill scenarios, evaluations and opportunities for communication.
She says being one of the top 10 was absolutely exhilarating. “It was such an amazing privilege and experience to be able to represent the NWU in the FameLab Finals.
During our institutional heats we were more than 30 participants from all three NWU campuses – Vanderbijlpark, Mahikeng and Potchefstroom.”
“I was surrounded by super smart engineering, chemistry and mathematics scientists, among others. But being the only nursing scientist in the national finals was a win for me,” she said.
Carla says she was inspired by her supervisors who suggested that she participate in the FameLab competition.
“When they announced my name as one of the semi-finalists going through to the next round of the NWU, I was jumping up and down!
“Following the win during the NWU semi-finals, I intensely researched my topic to present the best of the best info. The brilliant Prof Sanette Brits from physiology supported me and I also attended masterclasses presented by excellent trainers."
Carla says the biggest challenge for her was to prioritise what the most exciting parts of her research was and to convey as much information about it in only three minutes.
She says FameLab made her realise that you don’t have to choose between science and communications. “You can also choose a career in science communication, which represents the best of both worlds.”
Carla says she is definitely going to engage science communication more often via social media in the future, as it is a simple and fun way of doing it. “If you can learn some awesome science hacks from a 15-second Insta reel or 30-second TikTok video, why not?” she added.
About FameLab
FameLab was created by Cheltenham Festivals and has grown to become largest, public-facing, science communication competition and training program in the world. FameLab discovers, trains and promotes the best new voices in science, technology, engineering and maths. FameLab has been hosted in 35 countries.
Carla Horn
