nayavill – Page 18 – Gillings Around the globe

Silver Linings and Working Remotely

Posted on June 8, 2021 by nayavill

A family of ducks I encountered on a recent lunch break kayaking trip!

Although I certainly did not see us doing remote practicums when I committed to come to Gillings in March 2020, I continue to try to find the silver linings in things being remote. One of my favorite silver linings is being able to prioritize being outside with family and friends, this also helps keep me motivated and energized when it comes to my practicum work.

My name is Sydney McIntire and I am a rising second year MPH Student in the Global Health Concentration. I am originally from Bradford, Vermont, where I am doing my remote practicum work this week. My background is in Community and International Development and the projects that I previously worked on have focused on nutrition and agriculture with primary school aged youth. Going into the MPH program I knew that I wanted to shift towards maternal and child health, so I am very excited to be working with UNC and Kybele on the Making Every Baby Count Initiative 2.0. MEBCI 2.0 is working towards improving advanced newborn care in four tertiary hospitals in Ghana by using quality improvement, systems thinking, and implementation strategies. These strategies are used to work on systems strengthening of healthcare facilities in which interventions to reduce neonatal mortality will eventually be implemented. During my practicum I’ll be working to create PowerPoint slides and a training manual for the quality improvement foundational training for staff at the four high referral tertiary hospitals.

The neighborhood cows and sunset after finishing up work on 6/4!

I have always wanted to work in an organization that utilizes systems thinking so I am really excited that my practicum combines this with a focus on maternal and child health, it feels like the perfect match. My preceptor is a Gillings alum and it’s great to have someone who understands that position we are in and is dedicated to making it a mutually beneficial experience. I’m also looking forward to just having the opportunity to apply the skills we have begun to learn in classroom settings to real-world settings.

Here’s to always trying to find the silver linings

–Sydney

Focusing on the bigger picture

Posted on June 7, 2021 by nayavill

My favorite walking trail (Bolin Creek Trail in Chapel Hill)

As I was searching for a practicum, I knew I would be working remotely and that my global experience would remain local this summer. Regardless, I was overjoyed and excited when I was brought on to work with a research team from Argentina. This summer, I am assisting in an ongoing research study that is supported by the Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS), an organization located in Buenos Aires that develops research, education, and technical support activities in Latin America and around the world. The IECS project I am assisting with this summer is studying the effects of calcium-fortified water and flour on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), such as preeclampsia. I will be writing concept notes promoting the fortification initiative and contributing to a literature review on the mechanisms by which calcium intake influences the development of preeclampsia. As someone with a background in nutrition science, I am thrilled to be a part of such an amazing project, while also gaining experience in the area of maternal health— another passion of mine.

From the beginning, I was so excited to start my practicum and could not wait for a summer of learning and growth. However, when my practicum began a few weeks ago, life felt very similar to my typical school routine—wake up, log on to Zoom, work, take my daily walk (see photo on the right), make dinner, watch Netflix documentaries with my roommates, and go to bed. Right away, I started to feel disconnected from my work and a bit disappointed in myself for feeling this way. I quickly realized that it was my own responsibility to change my perspective and find a way to become more engaged in my practicum experience. From then on, I have integrated daily gratitude and affirmations into my work routine. Every day, I remind myself that my practicum work is no less meaningful as a result of being remote and that I am contributing to something bigger than myself. These affirmations are so important because sometimes, they get lost in the mundane when working remotely. Since beginning this “perspective-shifting” work, I have seen a difference in my attitude and mental outlook because I am truly excited and grateful to engage in the work I am doing! In only the first few weeks, I have learned the importance of keeping a steady mindset focused on the big picture and remembering that I am responsible for my practicum experience, especially in these unprecedented times.

For anyone beginning their practicum, here are a few of my daily affirmations that you can use as you begin your practicum experience:

My work is no less meaningful as a result of being remote
I am contributing to something bigger than myself
I am grateful for this opportunity because it will help me grow professionally and personally
I accept responsibility for my own practicum experience and personal development
I am doing my best and am proud of myself!

Good luck!

-Paulina

Working from Home with the World Bank

Posted on June 1, 2021 by nayavill

My work from home setup: complete with a makeshift standing desk, breakfast, and UNC memorabilia.

As I inch towards the end of my master’s program and the real-world beckons, it’s been challenging to articulate my immediate and long-term career ambition to friends and family. I am still working on my elevator pitch, and I can’t fault those for whom the words “development,” “social determinants of health,” and “malnutrition interventions” makes them nod in vague understanding. To begin with, the world of healthcare is esoteric, and until around March 2020, few laypersons had given any thought to what public health as a discipline was all about. When I am doing a good job of describing my career interests, I say something to the effect of, I want to focus on the challenges associated with reducing global health disparities and addressing upstream determinants of poor health outcomes. To the greatest extent possible, I believe healthcare systems should promote health, rather than treat disease. That is why I’m passionate about nutrition and the potential it has to spur improvements in the quality of life for individuals, families, communities, and nations. As evidence, take the World Bank’s estimate on economic loss due to undernutrition. The cost of undernutrition (defined as stunting, wasting, underweight, and micronutrient deficiencies) is projected to be 2-3% of gross domestic product (GDP) on average and as high as 11% of GDP in some African and Asian countries each year. Likewise, the costs of overnutrition, commonly manifest as overweight and obesity, are linked to expensive health expenditures associated with chronic non-communicable diseases such as type II diabetes and hypertension. Investment in nutrition is too important for governments and nations to ignore.

Given my passion for global nutrition and global health, this spring and summer I am partnering with the World Bank as a Short-Term Nutrition Consultant. The experience will serve as my Advanced Nutrition Experience for the MPH with registered dietitian training program. I will contribute to the report Positioning Nutrition within Universal Health Coverage: Optimizing Health Financing Levers. The project seeks to provide practical knowledge for policymakers about how health financing can be used to improve nutrition service coverage and quality. I am responsible for conducting desk reviews for several low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The project’s final deliverables include a policy note and country case studies that will be presented at the 2021 Nutrition for Growth summit in Tokyo.

I’m excited by the opportunity to work with such an established and well-connected organization. During this experience, I look forward to working with highly intelligent, highly motivated people who are trying to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues around hunger, malnutrition, and overnutrition. I hope to walk away with a bird’s eye view of the nutrition situation in LMICs, and a deeper understanding of the day-to-day tasks of a nutrition specialist. Finally, I’m grateful to be working with a team of experts on the project! So much of the past year and a half has been spent in academic isolation. During my experience I will still work remotely, but I’ll get the opportunity to participate in weekly conference calls and collaborate on document drafts with the team. Hopefully by the end of the summer I will have my future plans elevator pitch perfected!

Until next time,

Ashley