Learning from experience — tips for early career public health professionals from a Master of Public Health student placement
For the first semester of 2021, Beacon Strategies was pleased to continue our strong relationship with the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland, as we hosted two students on placement in the final year of completing their Masters of Public Health (MPH).
Carla and Emily (below) spent 13 weeks with us, which involved undertaking a mini consultancy project to gather findings through research and provide advice back to our team to address a public health issue in an applied context.
In their final week of placement, we asked Carla and Emily to share some insights on what it was like to complete their MPH student placement.
Carla (left) and Emily (right)
Tell us a little bit about you… your previous experience, what you’re interested in, and any career aspirations you have
Emily - As a result of my background working as a Neurological Medical Assistant, transitioning into a community-based consultant role was definitely new but exciting. My passions within public health are anything to do with water, including ocean health and conservation, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and working/safe water infrastructure. Following my Master of Public Health student placement, I hope to take the new skills I’ve learnt at Beacon Strategies and delve into project management at an NGO working to solve the water crisis, conduct research around ocean health and human health, or improve water infrastructure nationally and internationally.
Carla - Being a medical professional, my working environments were private clinics and hospitals, meaning I have been seeing patients since I graduated from medical school. Whilst I have enjoyed engaging with patients, my interests in health equity and social justice led me to pursue a career in Public Health with a goal to become a Public Health Physician. I am interested in working on projects that advocate for mental health wellbeing and awareness of the human health effects of climate change in our societies.
What kind of topic areas were you working on? What sort of work did you have to complete?
Both - The topic area that we worked on surrounded community-based suicide prevention strategies for a current project being worked on by the Beacon Strategies team with one of the Queensland Primary Health Networks. We conducted a scoping review of two strategies that were identified to reduce deaths by suicide; suicide prevention networks and suicide prevention training. We utilised our skills in analysis and synthesis to translate insights gathered from research, service mapping and stakeholder engagement to present a final report delivered via two presentations.
How did you find applying your public health skills and knowledge to a real-world project? What skills were you able to use?
Emily - Applying knowledge around stakeholder engagement plans and various frameworks were the things that really stuck out to me. We learn about stakeholders and stakeholder engagement plans in the MPH program, which forms a solid foundation of knowledge. However, going into practice, writing a plan and reaching out to speak with the selected stakeholders allowed me to strengthen the necessary skills. I’ve noticed how much learning and growth can come from actually doing things in practice and applying various frameworks.
Carla - Observing the application of health promotion theories, models and frameworks in a consultancy setting helped me gain insight into the mechanisms by which implementation is more likely to succeed. As a future public health practitioner, engaging in learning opportunities to build capacity has assisted me in improving my skills to support effective health promotion practice, including developing appropriate interventions and evaluating their effectiveness.
What was the best part about your placement?
Emily - The people! Working with the Beacon Strategies team was nothing short of a great experience. I learnt so much from all of them and had a great time doing it. It was also nice seeing what we learn in class being used in the real world and being able to build on those skills. It was such a great and enjoyable learning experience.
Carla - Attending workshops that the Beacon Strategies team delivered was something I really enjoyed as it allowed me to gain insight into what work in public health looks like in the real world. Also the opportunity to talk to stakeholders and gather insights that contributed to our research, enabling me to strengthen my communication and interpersonal relationships skills. Overall, my favourite part was sharing this experience with a teammate from my Masters’ of Public Health program. Although we had not met previously, we developed a bond quickly and worked effectively; each one of us brought unique skills that enhanced our placement experience.
What were the most challenging aspects of your placement? How did you overcome them?
Emily - I think they’re the same challenges of working in any new environment; figuring out the specifics of the workplace and being presented with so much new information. It was really helpful having the team support me and answer questions along the way. While desktop research was also a challenge — doing desktop research for a few days can take it out of you — it turns out to be a very rewarding part of the learning process.
Carla - Part of the challenges I faced during my MPH placement was getting comfortable in a different environment and learning new, unfamiliar project management terms. Many of these challenges were overcome through the support of our placement supervisors, Elliot and Sarah. They designed the process in a manageable way, were accessible whenever we needed and always had a respectful and kind supervising approach throughout the placement.
If you could provide one piece of advice to students or early career professionals in the health and social services sector, what would it be?
Emily - Ask questions, follow your passions and recognise what you can learn in every situation. You’re not expected to know everything and others have so much to contribute with an alternative perspective. Have discussions around what you think is the “right” way to do something. It allows for better teams, better collaborations and a better end product. Finally, don’t dismiss situations you think may have nothing to do with what you really want to do, there’s so much to learn from the experience even if it isn’t your “dream job” - it can help you form cross-disciplinary skills and help you realise and reach goals.
Carla - Be brave, be passionate and allow yourself to embrace new opportunities. Don’t listen if people say your career field is idealistic or even utopic. You are not expected to be an expert and not knowing about some things does not make you a failure, you will meet people that will help you to navigate through processes. Be proactive by setting your goals and don’t dwell on mistakes you make, but instead, learn from them.
While Carla and Emily have now completed their placement with us, it was a pleasure to have them working alongside our project teams. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours and can’t wait to see where their careers in Public Health take them.
