Stella Owen-Brown - Clinical Sleep Physiologist Trainee
Stella Owen-Brown is a Clinical Sleep Physiologist Trainee at Palmerston North Regional Hospital. Her role involves accurately diagnosing and treating our patients suffering from various sleep disorders.
“Sleep makes up a very large portion of your life - about 1/3rd. There are so many different disorders that can occur while someone is in a blissful state of unconsciousness! I enjoy seeing how people can truly be positively affected when their sleep disorder is properly treated.”
Stella grew up in Tauranga and moved to Palmerston North in 2018 for her Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Biological Sciences. She started working with Te Whatu Ora MidCentral in 2022 and has always looked for opportunities to hone her knowledge in her role. Her constant drive to learn new things and passion for helping people within her community were recently recognised when she was nominated for Ngā Tohu Whakamānawa Pou Toiora |The Allied Health Awards held at Te Pae Hauora o Ruahine o Tararua | MidCentral.
“I am very lucky to work with supportive senior physiologists who have worked in New Zealand and around the world. They teach me so many things! It’s so awesome working in a multidisciplinary team including doctors and nurses who have a lot of clinical knowledge.”
Stella is absolutely enjoying her role and advises those interested in the field to give it a try.
“This line of work would suit someone who loves data, biology or human sciences, physics, medicine, chemistry - basically all of the sciences. If you like getting accurate data, have a keen eye for detail and like patient interaction, you should consider physiology. There are so many pathways, clinical research, working in a hospital, working in a sleep laboratory, reviewing sleep studies, teaching, the list goes on and on.”
Stella currently has her hands full with her full-time job and part-time studies. In her spare time, she enjoys having an active lifestyle and never misses a good workout at the gym. She has worked as a barista before and enjoys having a good cup of coffee. She also loves heading up to Tauranga to see her whānau and friends.
Thank you for all your mahi Stella - we’re so happy to have you on our team!