Global Women’s Health from Home

Posted on by nayavill

On the backend of my internship, I can now look back with an awareness of how much the projects I am working on have evolved since the beginning. I cannot believe that we are reaching the end of the practicum this week, it has flown by. I am truly grateful for the team I have been able to work with throughout this experience. It has been so helpful for my future career planning to interact with others in the field of global women’s health.

Work from Home Set-up

In the second half of the internship, I have spent the bulk of my time working on the division of Global Women’s Health website content and restructuring to convey the current research to wide audiences. I have particularly focused on producing written content for the page detailing the prevention of adverse birth outcomes. At first it was overwhelming to effectively summarize the work of so many different projects in various countries. But as I continued, I found greater focus and clarity as I emphasized the population impact that these projects carried. This reflective reminder came at an important time for me. I was feeling burdened down by the extensive complex problems, especially on a global scale (as that was the context I was working in). I was doubting the change I could affect on systematic and widespread issues. However, as I drafted material about the big picture, the why, and the goals of the division, it reemphasized to me the importance of individual contributions as a piece of the united effort.

Nightly walks at Lake Crabtree

As I conclude this internship I am grateful for the glimpse it gave me into the responsibilities of program managers, with an emphasis in communications. It was informative for me to see how a team of researchers, local and abroad interact to complete translational research for improved practice. This internship taught me the importance of not only performing research but also telling the story to a larger audience: funders, potential fellows, and the general public. I gained an understanding of the value in uniting teams towards a common vision while each person is focused on a unique aspect of the overall mission. I hope to transfer these skills into positions I will hold in the future.

-Renee

Time Flies When You’re Having Fun!

Posted on by nayavill

It is pretty unbelievable to think that this summer has almost come to an end, but you know what they say: time flies when you’re having fun! Since my last blog post, I have worked diligently to create my practicum products. I have spent many hours playing with PowerPoint formatting on provider training materials and editing down my very long manuscript to a manageable length for submission. Entering the last week of my practicum, all that is left to do is cross T-s and dot I-s on the training materials and then present them on Thursday to Beacon Program staff. I am excited to share the work I have been doing all summer with them and also to use it as an opportunity to practice presenting the training module before I give my final presentation to a much larger group of hospital staff at a lunch-and-learn on August 10th.

In the short two-month duration of my practicum, I feel that I have learned an incredible amount about patient privacy and safety in the context of OpenNotes and my preferred work style, and my own strengths and weaknesses in a professional setting. This experience has solidified my desire to work in public health policy and has also demonstrated how policy work can be difficult and frustrating. Dealing with bureaucratic restrictions and relying on others to implement changes that you have deemed necessary and pressing can be stressful. Despite this, I have found this stress an incentive rather than a deterrent to my conviction to treat public health issues with policy solutions.

This summer has been one of growth and learning, and I am very grateful for the experience I have gained through this practicum. I thoroughly my work, but this summer has come to an end in the blink of an eye. I look forward to a short break in early August before things really ramp back up with the beginning of classes, preparing for MPH Comp Exams, and studying to take the LSAT (wish me luck!). I can’t wait to meet you all in person this Fall and hear about your practicums.

– Gabbi

Bittersweet endings, new beginnings

Posted on by nayavill

I cannot fathom how it is already almost August 2021. Nearly a year ago to the day, I moved to Chapel Hill, and somehow, I’m already wrapping up two months of work with the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) and preparing for year two at Gillings.

It has been a wonderful, albeit very fast, two months of learning about alcohol harm and significant gaps in research regarding various issues in alcohol (I think this is a result of the industry’s influence and attempt to keep negative press away from their products). When I last wrote, I had just completed a briefing and was transitioning into work on a rapid review of calorie labelling for a parliamentary consultation— my work was going to potentially be shared with parliamentary members (how cool!) and I was going to have the opportunity to listen in on some of the discussions to gain a better understanding of how NGO’s initiate the policy-making process through the power of persuasion (backed, of course, with plenty of good old-fashioned evidence-based research). But things have taken a shift, and now I will be producing an interim report that will help IAS’ head of policy and the UK’s Alcohol Health Alliance to prepare for the consultation later in the year. Still pretty cool, and something I’ve worked hard on and will be proud of, but not as fast-paced, exciting, and in-the-moment as I was hoping to end my practicum.

Of course, I began my practicum very interested in alcohol issues, but as the summer has progressed, I’ve realized how very little I know about the world of alcohol and the alcohol industry. I’ve experienced a lot of anger and wonder (an interesting combination) about the relative dearth of research regarding the subjects I’ve been collating information on—but I’ve also experienced hope for a future that offers more transparency and publicly available information so people can make the healthiest decisions for themselves. Regardless of what my post-grad career may be (I can definitely see myself continuing work with an alcohol research organization, but I’m passionate about a number of subjects), I look forward to seeing research expand and alcohol knowledge and policies improve.

Beyond what I’ve learned in my literature reviews, I’ve learned a lot about myself. For the past year, I’ve been saying that I would love to work remotely from the comfort of my home for the flexibility, the lack of a commute, etc., but working remotely has proven to be an immense challenge in the second half of this experience. It is hard for me to find motivation from the place where I also relax and sleep, and it’s hard to find productivity without the buzzing energy of colleagues focusing alongside me. I have at times felt pretty disconnected from the larger picture, but at Tuesday meetings I am reminded of the impact IAS has in the sphere of alcohol policy and research and how my practicum products are meant to feed into that puzzle. While I usually pride myself on my writing skills, I have been fighting away feelings of self-doubt in the past few weeks. I need balance. I need people. I’ve loved the detailed learning that this position has given me, but I think I’m better suited for a community-facing role. This has been invaluable insight for someone who considers herself an introvert and a homebody, who finds herself content in a variety of situations.

All that being said, I am proud of the work I have done and I’m still confident that my report will turn out well. I’m incredibly grateful for this two-month peek into policy research and advocacy, and for the connections I’ve made with such wonderful people halfway across the world.

This past weekend, I escaped to Asheville to enjoy the summer for a brief moment as it was meant to be enjoyed; roadtrips full of music (a given), a day hike and swim, ice cream, good meals with loved ones—refreshing the mind to end my practicum strongly and start the new semester just as bright-eyed as when we began a full year ago.

Here’s to the incredible work we’ve all completed this summer and to a rewarding upcoming year full of learning and human connection.

– Keely