For Logan Hospital Nurse Practitioner Jaze Wang research and patient care go hand-in-hand.
Alongside caring for people living with diabetes through Logan Endocrine and Diabetes Services (LEADS), he is also working to improve diabetes care through research.
"I wanted to make a meaningful difference in people's lives through clinical care, education, research and advocacy," he said.
Jaze is currently completing a PhD at the University of Queensland, where he is researching how digital technology can improve outpatient diabetes care.
His project, Digital Solutions in Outpatient Diabetes Care, looks at patient experiences, clinician perspectives, research evidence and clinical data to better understand how technology can support diabetes services.
Jaze said research was about finding practical ways to improve care for more people.
"Research helps improve systems of care, not just care for individual patients," he said. "It helps us understand what works in real-world settings and how we can improve patient experiences, clinician experiences, population health, health equity, and cost-effectiveness."
His work has already gained recognition. Over the past two years, he has published eight articles in leading international journals and won the University of Queensland School Three-Minute Thesis competition in 2025.
He was also recently awarded funding through the 2026 Metro South Health Research Support Scheme as Principal Investigator for a project exploring a co-designed digital intake tool for diabetes outpatient services.
His contribution to nursing research has also been recognised nationally through the 2026 ‘Babe’ Norman Scholarship. Awarded by the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre, the scholarship supports one nurse undertaking higher degree research and professional development.
Jaze said while the awards were encouraging, his focus remained on improving care for patients.
One of his recent studies explored patient experiences in a fully digital diabetes clinic.
“Patients reported benefits such as not having to repeat their medical history and improved access to information through electronic medical records,” he said.
The study also highlighted the importance of maintaining strong personal connections during consultations.
“The findings are helping guide future improvements, including the use of AI scribe tools to reduce documentation burden and support more patient-focused consultations.
"Diabetes is an area where nurses can make a strong and practical impact. It's not only about medications. It's about supporting people to manage a long-term condition in their everyday lives."