My Awakening And Public Health

During my junior year of high school, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Arthritis walk in Philadelphia. Volunteering at the event allowed me to gain deeper intellectual engagement and also influenced my future career. At the event, I had the opportunity to meet several people who suffered with Arthritis. When observing the many effects that Arthritis had on people it widened my eyes to the lack of healthcare in society. By the end of the day a lightbulb went off in my head and I knew for sure that I wanted a career in medicine. I was certain that a career in health services was for me because each person with arthritis warmed my heart and my mind began wondering about endless ways to better their situation. Since I was a young girl I was sensitive, caring, and always trying to find a way to help someone out of a bad situation. There are

On August 19, 1992, a woman named Mary Fisher spoke on a rather sensitive topic in an attempt to change the world. In an address to the Republican National Convention, Fisher lectured on a subject close to her heart, HIV and AIDS. Mary Fisher is an artist, author, and of course political activist. She contracted HIV from her second husband and has since been on a mission to educate people about prevention of the disease and the treatment of people that have HIV or AIDS. Fisher was speaking at the convention in Houston, Texas in an attempt to get people to take action. Fisher wanted people to be informed about the diseases and have a genuine care about those infected. I found her speech exceedingly compelling as well as an exceptional display

Your GP can assess whether you have incontinence, decide which type of incontinence you have, give general advice on controlling symptoms of incontinence, provide information on pelvic floor exercises and bladder retraining, and give treatment for incontinence with prescribed medicines. If lifestyle changes and treatments don't solve the problem, your GP can refer you to a continence adviser or specialist.

“Let’s create an AIDS/HIV-free generation”, which is not only a slogan that was proposed by President Obama but also a goal that I would like to achieve on my future career path. My practicum project at the Department of Health and Human Services was to generate dataset of new AIDS/HIV cases in Houston/Harris area required by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and then to use ArcGIS software to make a map describing the new diagnosed in Houston area. The final products can be spatially lined to other sources to enhance understanding of social determinants of health affecting populations impacted by HIV. This practicum experience let me realize that AIDS spreads so quickly is because most people have insufficient knowledge or misconception about the disease and prevention. Becoming a pharmacist to provide prevention service and educate people to improve their health and wellbeing is how I want to reach the goal of creating an AIDS/HIV-free generation.

This past year, my co-site-leader and I planned and lead eighteen other students on a week-long, service-learning trip to Indianapolis focusing on the issue of public health. Our group served the community for forty hours through seven different organizations in the community ranging from Gleaners Food Bank to the Julian Center, a center for victims of domestic violence. Through reflection and service, the interconnected network of social injustices soon became apparent in our discussion of public health as a major social justice focus. Through our discussions, we realized that we are capable of extending ourselves into the local community and making a significant difference. For me, leadership is not solely measured by the immediate outcome or a visible change; leadership should help others realize the untapped potentials within themselves. This goal was achieved in our lengthy service reflections in

Last May, I traveled with Alternative Breaks to New York for community service. During this service, I worked with Meals on Wheels who dedicate their time to provide food for the elderly of Manhattan. As I delivered the food to the seniors, I got a sense of fulfillment because I made them smile by providing them with food. Thus, I chose MDC’s Single Stop because I wanted to make a difference in my home campus by providing and assuring nourishment to those that do not have it just like I did in New York. As my first two years of college comes to an end, I wanted to leave a mark of my own here at home at Miami Dade College North Campus. During the month of September, I decided to partner up with a few of my peers to serve at MDC’s Single Stop.

A public health encompasses knowledge of the needs of a population. The focus can be narrowed through actions protecting the health of the population and implementing policies and structure to ensure the safety of the public (Potter, Perry, Stockert, & Hall, 2014). The following paper will examine use shadow shift experience with a public health inspector, their role within the healthcare team, the body of their knowledge, similarities and differences to nurses, interprofessional collaboration, and how nurses can work with the health care inspectors to improve patient safety. Throughout this paper the terms public health inspector and environmental health officier will be used interchangeably as the government of Canada has changed the title of this profession position.

Throughout my high school years, I have been apart of the Interact Club run by Rotary International. Several volunteer opportunities transpired from this experience, but I discovered a newfound interest in one of the encounters. Volunteering at the local Richmond Bethel Church for the organization Food4life, I was ecstatic once I began serving food, not only were there many familiar faces that came weekly, but there were much more that were in need of these charitable acts than I had anticipated. Having lived in Richmond my whole life, I was truly oblivious to the reality of poverty within it. Joining Interact Club was truly both uplifting and humbling and was a stark reminder of how vulnerable we all are to circumstances that can affect our

As a coordinator, I help to facilitate monthly workshops which center around academic advisement, health disparities and the development of community-based projects in which our students could provide a service to our neighborhood. Partnerships for Progress reminds me that in order to increase the standards of living in underserved areas, it requires the work of many and continual encouragement. If accepted into the PCLP program, I will gain insight into the challenges associated with lack of healthcare access, but I will also receive tools that will allow me to join in the removal of these

This establishment provides at least 65% of permanent housing for families affected by the disease. Not only do they provide housing but jobs, educational programs and other implementations that allow residents to cope with integrating back into their community. Atlanta in the past few years HIV rates have been compared to those of Africa. According to the CDC, 1 in 51 Georgians will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. The target population I would like to work with at the Jerusalem House would be the children that might become affected by HIV/AIDS. Before working at Emory, I worked at a children’s hospital firsthand how kids directly or indirectly were affected by HIV/AIDS. Being able to spend time with the youth in this type of establishment to educate them on certain coping skills and other educational information or just be someone to listen to. Research has shown children that are directly affected by HIV/AIDS, can cause emotional, behavioral and development issues. Other studies also reported that children may suffer from depression, learn how to cope by externalizing problems, and may not be as social those who’s families aren’t effected by the disease (Chi & Li,

I also have an extensive training in working with local agencies. The spring semester of my sophomore year, I began volunteering at the Cedar Valley Hospice for approximately 20 hours a month. I was trained in the following areas: Patient/Family, Grief, and Cedar AIDS Support System (CASS) services. Through my work at the CASS, I was responsible for making contacts with a variety of other agencies on the behalf of my clients, such as the Black Hawk County Health Department, Operation Threshold, and the Cedar Valley NAMES Project. In this capacity, I did office work, I was a buddy to an HIV positive individual, and I did face-to-face education panels in local school and community settings. I was also extensively involved in training future buddies. It was during this time period that I completed the American Red Cross course work for certification as an HIV/AIDS educator. In this capacity, I have been a guest speaker in several elementary school and college courses about HIV/AIDS. The

For the charity assignment, my group and I decided that we wanted our charity to be focused on children because we individually had a love for children in need. We chose to represent Bryan’s House, which is a nonprofit organization located in North Texas. The mission statement for Bryan’s House states, “To serve children with medical or developmental needs and their families by providing specialized care.” Bryan’s House was initially developed after Lydia Allen discovered that she had received a tainted HIV blood transfusion during delivery, which ultimately claimed her life as well as the lives of her two sons Mathew, and Bryan. The organization was primarily focused on caring for children and families that have been affected with HIV, but now it is expanding their services for children and families infected with any disease. They provide medical services as well as emotional support. Bryan’s House has become very active in the DFW area because of its affiliation with ChildCareGroup and Wisdoms Hope.

I worked directly with the HIV/AIDS population as well as individuals whose behaviors place them at high risk for becoming infected. I am currently the Supervisor for the AIDS Institute Linkage and Navigation Program where I am responsible for overseeing the delivery of services. These services encompass but are not limited to entitlements, referral to agencies that assist with identifying appropriate housing, referral to medical, mental health and substance use services. I also, oversee treatment adherence services which support clients in their readiness to begin (ARV) antiretroviral therapy and maintain adherence to their prescribed medication for treatment for HIV/AIDS.

During high school, I was actively involved in my local AHEC, which offered a program for high school students in the area to learn more about the health field through various camps and programs. One of the programs that I attended was at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the focus of the program was to expose first generation college students to the various allied health programs at UNC. Throughout the program professors and admission representatives from various departments gave a short presentation to the attendees, but the presentation from the Gillings School of Global Public Health was the one that resonated with me the most. That day I was introduced to a

One of the most appealing aspects of becoming a public health professional is the wide range of careers available to choose from. My career goals coincide with the range of opportunities; however, ultimately I want to work with an organization similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. I want to focus on the social and medical aspects of disease, and examine the disproportionate rates of disease and disability among minorities. I also want to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS that is rapidly destroying so many countries. My passion to help others around me has sparked a desire to work with clinics around the world in order to promote change in the treatment and prevention of devastating diseases like HIV/AIDS.