Friday, December 5, 2008

Attracting a Younger Workforce

I recently received the following email from a colleague, whom I had asked to write something for me:


i did a ppt for a buncha reporters a week or so ago. gives you some idea of the ground i would cover in the piece. I think the dec deadline is prolly doable but when is the deadline for the NEXT edition, btw?

My first thought on receiving this email was, Will I have to ask him to write “probably” instead of “prolly” in his article? My second thought was, Boy, I’m getting old!

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had the problem of too many young people entering the public health workforce? As you may know – by looking around and by reading the literature – our workforce is aging. Many of us are merely a bit too old to take easily to writing that looks like a phone-text message. Others are actually aging out – retiring – and leaving the workforce depleted. It behooves us all to think about ways to bring more young people into the profession. Positive benefits of this might be a workforce that is

- open to (and full of) new ideas
- more technologically savvy
- energetic and idealistic
- more in touch with the population we serve

So, how do we get people interested? One way might be to reach out to high schools, colleges, and universities to inform students about what public health is and how they might make a difference with a career in this field. A great way to do this might be through a public health business plan!

Some Dare County, NC grads started a great plan that involved middle school students teaching elementary school students about healthy living. Students took their involvement much further than the original plan required, and ended up getting involved in other local programs around addressing teen smoking and drinking. A team from Wilmington partnered with veterinary students and introduced them to population-level pet concerns while training them and tapping into their enthusiasm and budding expertise; a South Carolina team worked with a university partner to plan a women’s health clinic on campus. A team this year is planning a summer program for children that will provide intern possibilities to local college students.

Other teams over the years have planned programs at schools, or for young people, but not necessarily getting young people involved. A small tweak to their plan might add a component that ensures at least some kids say, “Hey, that might be something I want to do” (or, more likely, “i wanna do”) long-term!

AJM

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This topic is very near and dear to me because of my work with public health professionals across the country.
Last year, I was invited to an event for students from across North Carolina. The group aims to increase awareness of career opportunities in the health professions and cultivate interests in pursuit of various health professions.

The invitation displayed a road leading to great opportunities in the field of health. Along the road were pictures of small buildings labeled Nursing, Dental, Medical, Pharmacy, etc. I immediately noticed that there was no building labeled Public Health. Following the ceremony, I spoke with the Program Director in reference to
Where is Public Health?

Within a few weeks, we began to plan an event to expose UNC students who are interested in working in a health-related field to the area of public health. The event included the Emerging Leaders in Public Health (ELPH) participants representing a variety of career choices in public health. The ELPH participants were divided into groups based on their areas of expertise. Then, presentations were made to the UNC undergraduates who attended the evening session after a long day of classes. Following the session, email addresses and other contact information were provided in case the students had follow-up questions.

It was a successful event with 50-60 UNC-Chapel Hill students learning more about the fabulous opportunities that await them in the field of public health. Our plan is to do more each year and plan several events with area high school students. Do you, as a public health professional, reach out to expose others to a career in public health? Do you have any suggestions for those of us that are interested in working with students?

Anonymous said...

Last night I read the book "Sway". I was reminded of this discussion. The authors were writing about how something is perceived and the importance/ value placed/ ultimate effect of that perception. An example (and forgive me for "spoiling" the book for anyone) was one of the best violinists in the world was playing his Stradivarius in a NYC subway, dressed down with a cap. People walked by. They saw a street performer and heard a street performer.

Language and communication are art forms that, in my opinion, should be adaptable to our audiences. If we are speaking to students who "wanna do" public health, I think there are those of us who can "prolly" do that. If I were to do a "ppt for a buncha" Board of Health members, however, I don't know that I would have a job the next day. I would hold my employees to that standard as well. Shirin Scotten