public health

I’m currently in San Diego for the American Public Health Association Annual meeting. Learning about my new professional field – public health. I know it has been confusing to those who read the blog – I left UF and the International Center to come to New Orleans to be a teacher – and instead, took a job at a wealthy, private university as the manager of a leadership training program. Seemingly bizarre – I know.

Here’s the background – a year ago, I read a book “Mountains beyond mountains: The story of Paul Farmer – a man who could cure the world.” (title may not be exact) - the book opened my eyes to a world of public health inequities that I had never wrapped my mind around before. I was overwhelmed and inspired by Farmer, a doctor who focuses his work on curing infectious diseases in populations of the extremely poor – predominantly Haitian peoples. I started to investigate the organization, Partners in Health, that he founded.

I began taking Spanish classes (though still struggling with this) and reading more about public health both in the United States and abroad – with the idea that my interest in international studies, education, management, and even the arts could somehow fit together to lead me in the right direction.

I didn’t imagine that I would be a health professional, but possibly an administrator or educator for public health programming. When James and I decided to look into moving to New Orleans – I am interested in teaching in public school at some level, but I believe that I can have a larger impact by using the skills that I have outside of a typical school setting.

When applying for a variety of teaching positions, I also looked into the university setting and, on a whim, applied for a job that I in no way thought I was qualified for – a program manager for a graduate-level leadership training program in Tulane’s school of public health and tropical medicine. I went on the interview and took one look around and asked myself “what am I doing here? I didn’t come to New Orleans to work in a university,” and turned around to leave - at the same moment that the director walked out to greet me. Exactly two hours after the completion of our interview - she called to offer me the job.

Three months later, I am sitting in the San Diego airport waiting for my flight back to New Orleans. I’ve spent five days being filled with new information about public health in the US and abroad – meeting doctors, administrators, and educators. Learning how health policy is made and how public health initiatives are funded (or not) by the government and private organizations. Again, I’m overwhelmed and inspired.

My job has been a roller coaster of meeting new people, learning new terminology, revitalizing a program that was withering away due to nearly a half year of neglect, teaching a graduate level course, identifying and managing scholarships and their recipients. So much has been happening that I was wondering if I was working in public health or in just another office environment.

This trip and my regular interaction with my students over the past couple of weeks, have helped me to begin to ground myself in the reality that is my current career. I do not know where it will lead me, but I know I’m on the right path. You'll hear more about this as I weave my way through this new endeavor.