Safeguarding 'life and dignity' in public health

For students looking to help others while working with contraceptives, vaccinations and diseases, yesterday's Public Health in Philadelphia panel set them on track for success.

As part of National Public Health Week, the event hosted a panel of five distinguished members of various local public health organizations. Panelists discussed their careers and talked about opportunities available to interested individuals.

The panelists emphasized the public health sector's relative obscurity, but encouraged students to get involved and spread the word about its unique offerings.

Janice Lewis from the Environmental Protection Agency said, "Last spring, I was sitting your seats, and now I'm on the other side. I didn't know how vast and how beautiful the public health sector was until I started working with the EPA."

According to physician Giang Nguyen, the public health sector currently offers many job positions. He said, "You can go into government, or academia, or a clinical setting or the pharmaceutical industry. There are a lot of nonprofit opportunities out there as well."

The panelists also mentioned numerous nonprofit organizations in Philadelphia, like the Public Health Management Corporation, that provide health care data analysis, interact with communities and offer basic services.

Carol Rogers from the Philadelphia Health Department commented on recent developments. She said lack of health care and hunger are major problems in public health.

"One in five Philadelphians skipped a meal last year because they couldn't pay for it," she said.

Nguyen said he agreed, adding, "In terms of the economic situation, not only are many people losing access to health insurance, but those who still have it are seeing theirs downgraded."

Given the current challenges, Nguyen encouraged people who are passionate about health care, hard working, energetic, smart and willing to adapt to pursue careers in the public health sector.

Rogers said she has used her 35 years of experience in public health as a way to promote social change. "Health care is an essential safeguard for human life and dignity," she remarked.

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