Why Public Health in the first place?

[TunaTunes]

So, I'm tired of getting bogged down in details about credentials and financial aid, and I want to ask a more (hopefully) uplifting question:

Why are all of you here interested in public health to begin with? What made you choose this field? What problems did/do you see that you want to be a part of solving?

I have my reasons, for sure, but I'd love to hear what others are thinking...

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[Bleeper]

So, I'm tired of getting bogged down in details about credentials and financial aid, and I want to ask a more (hopefully) uplifting question:

Why are all of you here interested in public health to begin with? What made you choose this field? What problems did/do you see that you want to be a part of solving?

I have my reasons, for sure, but I'd love to hear what others are thinking...

I was originally interested in medicine, but as my studies progressed i realised that my interests were in public health. I was taklking to one of my mates about postgraduate study as well as general healthcare realated **** and i was talking about why it was the US paid so much for sub-standard health coverage. He then asked me why don't i go and do a masters in public health and i was like "Oh". Everything just clicked. I did some reading and i decided that this was the subject for me.

 

[ucnative]

I'm not sure exactly how I want my career to look, but I want to be able to help build better systems, and I want to continue to work with underserved populations. A couple of things contribute to this theme.

I've been doing nonprofit fundraising for a number of years at a variety of agencies, so I've had to learn a little bit about a lot of fields - diversity in education, affordable housing, media geared toward California migrant populations - and my latest job, raising money for a free clinic, really hits me on a gut level. Access to basic healthcare gets me a little misty-eyed and grateful when I think of the times I was unemployed and needed someone to look at my strep throat.

Also, I trotted the globe a couple of years ago. Independent travel in developing countries led me to volunteer in Thailand after the tsunami, tour a clinic in Nairobi's Kibera slum, and see in action a traveling AIDS awareness/testing program in Uganda.

I want to be able to say to skilled, conscientious practitioners, "This is why we're deploying you this way, and this is why we think it's the most effective use." And I want to believe what I'm saying.

 

[Stories]

To do effective research in the etiology of cancer so we can create proper policy to reduce and prevent future health burdens.

 

[152364]

To do effective research in the etiology of cancer so we can create proper policy to reduce and prevent future health burdens.

Ditto. In addition to this, I would like to create communication campaigns and behavioral programs aimed at reducing people's risk for developing cancer.

 

[aphios5]

It's great if you know why you want to go into public health down to the last decimal, however, my experience was a little different. To be honest, I had no concrete reason for wanting to go into public health other than the fact that the discipline was multi-faceted: there was a lot going on at once which would make for lots to do in the future.

I always tell people that anyone who trys to peg public health into a tight little box obviously is not in the field. Public health is a multi-disciplinary discipline in an of itself. Period.

My interests were in cancer prevention and I new that public health would give me the tools to attack this issue from many different angles and serve as a complement to others, i.e. doctors, nurses, administrators, etc.

In my current position, which I absolutely love, no two days are the same: one day I might be working on a grant, another I might planning a program, or giving a presentation. Still on another day I might be attending a conference or workshop or working on a health campaign...

So many reasons. Hope this helps. ST

 

[kelwalk]

It's great if you know why you want to go into public health down to the last decimal, however, my experience was a little different. To be honest, I had no concrete reason for wanting to go into public health other than the fact that the discipline was multi-faceted: there was a lot going on at once which would make for lots to do in the future.

I always tell people that anyone who trys to peg public health into a tight little box obviously is not in the field. Public health is a multi-disciplinary discipline in an of itself. Period.

My interests were in cancer prevention and I new that public health would give me the tools to attack this issue from many different angles and serve as a complement to others, i.e. doctors, nurses, administrators, etc.

In my current position, which I absolutely love, no two days are the same: one day I might be working on a grant, another I might planning a program, or giving a presentation. Still on another day I might be attending a conference or workshop or working on a health campaign...

So many reasons. Hope this helps. ST

Just curious aphios...what kind of position do you hold right now? It sounds very much like what I hope to get out of my own PH career. Feel free to PM me if you want!

 

[Ilovecoffee]

It's great if you know why you want to go into public health down to the last decimal, however, my experience was a little different. To be honest, I had no concrete reason for wanting to go into public health other than the fact that the discipline was multi-faceted: there was a lot going on at once which would make for lots to do in the future.

I always tell people that anyone who trys to peg public health into a tight little box obviously is not in the field. Public health is a multi-disciplinary discipline in an of itself. Period.

My interests were in cancer prevention and I new that public health would give me the tools to attack this issue from many different angles and serve as a complement to others, i.e. doctors, nurses, administrators, etc.

In my current position, which I absolutely love, no two days are the same: one day I might be working on a grant, another I might planning a program, or giving a presentation. Still on another day I might be attending a conference or workshop or working on a health campaign...

So many reasons. Hope this helps. ST

I'd be interested as well to know more about your position/ organization. also if you'd prefer, you can PM me. Cancer prevention is something i stumbled upon, and hope that my job after post-grad is working in the area....

 

[Ilovecoffee]

For me, with a concentration in HPM, I hope to work in better access to healthcare issues. or just working towards efficient health systems - whether its in the public or private domain - with the given resources, the most number of people should benefit.

initially, i had considered best-practice consulting. thats still a far off goal. after working in a health system/ and or provider set-up, maybe thats what i'll end up doing.

right now, i'm working in health policy. its exciting stuff - alot of report writing and grant writing. we put out a journal in medical ethics every 2 months, that is indexed in pubmed. i'll be working here until july, until i leave for grad school....

 

[aphios5]

...sorry, I've been a bit preoccupied with life. I'll PM you both. Glad I could help.

 

[Davis Vickers]

Recently, through involvement with a club at my school I have a new interest in Public Health. I don't know much yet, but I do know that I want to work with the underserved communities (specifically in the Latino population), whether in Orange County or in a different part of the country/world, the opportunities seem endless, and the need great. So if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can continue to get involved, inform myself through books/magazines, or any other avenues, please reply to this post or send me a message. Thanks!

Davis

 

[Vayu]

I'm interested in Community and Family Health. Most all of personal health practice begins at the family level. My undergraduate Anthropology work has led me to the field of Public Health.

 

[xscpx]

I was originally interested in medicine, or so I thought. Then after working in health care I realized as a doctor I would have to actually touch people....ew....people are gross and it doesn't sit well with my misanthropia and social anxiety. I prefer being alone in a lab or behind a computer than actually having to come into contact with a person. Yay Public Health!

 

[alicecalifornia]

I'm not in a program yet. I started off with an interest in health policy. Worked for a hospital trade association in sacramento for a couple years and realized politics and me aren't a good fit. I took a job with the UCDavis Dept. of public health to see if the research side of things would be a good fit and it was. The current study I work for researches environmental exposures as risk factors for autism and developmental delays. This is a fascinating area of research but I'm also interested in psychiatric epidemiology -- risk factors for depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse, etc. I suppose I decided my personality was better suited to rooting out risk factors for illnesses rather than trying to "fix the health care delivery system." I know research like the one I do now is very incremental and contributes small bits of information each year but hopefully one day, enough knowledge into these devastating illnesses will help us prevent them.

 

[KeatingR]

I find myself in the situations that many of you have also noted, most specifically: wanted to go into medicine but found a breath of fresh air in the multidisciplined approach to disease and health. That being said, I really have no reason for why I wanted to pursue medicine in the first place other than "it seemed like the right thing to do",

 

[adiarycapt]

I was originally interested in medicine, or so I thought. Then after working in health care I realized as a doctor I would have to actually touch people....ew....people are gross and it doesn't sit well with my misanthropia and social anxiety. I prefer being alone in a lab or behind a computer than actually having to come into contact with a person. Yay Public Health!

It appears we'r medical brothers. Only, I'm a bit different for still wanting to touch more lives positively.

 

[DeeLovely79]

I have a similar story. I was premed but majoring in social sciences. I studied abroad in Latin America and learned about public health while working in a clinic in an impoverished neighborhood. The scale of poverty and large disparities that exist in many developing nations is just mind blowing! When I came back I realized that I wanted to work in public health. I entered my masters program in DC a few weeks before 9-11 making the value of the field much more real. I've been creating programs, doing research and working collaborating with non profits, coalitions, academic institutions, healthcare providers for years. I witnessed the huge gaps in knowledge, resources and health outcomes that different populations experience and I want to be the one developing programs to eliminate those gaps.

 

[Borks]

Why are all of you here interested in public health to begin with? What made you choose this field? What problems did/do you see that you want to be a part of solving?

I have my reasons, for sure, but I'd love to hear what others are thinking...

Some people go into public health because they are drawn towards the field itself, which is relatively new, exciting, and has the potential to improve the lives of millions.

For me, it started with wanting to work on a malaria health prevention program, to gaining experience abroad educating pregnant women about the importance of nutrition, to finding a niche for myself at the intersection of epidemiology of malaria and health policy in a handful of countries. I'm considering going back to school to complete a PhD so that I can work on the academic side of these issues.

If you don't have a specific "problem" that you are interested before starting the MPH, it can be pretty easy to find one that inspires and motivates you to change the world!

 

[jaishrikrishna]

are all of you involved with dental public health ...? what are you upto? i am planning for my masters in dental public health this summer end...so would like to know about how has been the ride for you guys so far...

thnx..!