How do we attract a new generation of health leaders?
Top officials from nearly one third of Kansas health departments have quit their jobs as a result of the pandemic, (“After brutal year, Kansas public health officials consider their future,” June 1 Eagle) and local governments are now facing a critical question: How do we attract a new generation of health leaders? The answer, I believe, lies with today’s middle school and high school students.
Throughout the past year, middle school and high school students have been molded by both the good and bad experiences of this pandemic. The pandemic has fostered among young people a newfound passion to create lasting change for the future, and that includes changes in all aspects of health sciences: health, disease, healthcare and their effects on public health. Now we need parents, teachers and school administrators to nurture this passion and encourage students to consider careers in health sciences.
I understand firsthand how the pandemic can shape a career trajectory. I’m one of those public health professionals who walked away from a position as county health officer — something I’d loved doing for seven years. The pandemic may have been the tipping point, but it is clear to me that education for future public health professionals – especially those in rural areas – must include a better understanding of the healthcare system and societal influences, including social and behavioral determinants of health, public health policy and how it can shape the health of a population.
Now I serve as executive director of McPherson College’s Healthcare Initiatives, whose curriculum integrates all these variables through course work and experiential field placements. Students are grounded in the concept of providing a holistic, patient-and-community-centered approach to healthcare and public health policy. This concept is especially critical for some of Kansas’ most rural areas, where healthcare often constitutes the economic backbone of the community.
Let’s be clear: Public health is far more than trying to stop people from smoking, or encouraging them to eat right, or protecting the population from the next infectious disease (although it certainly works toward these goals). Today’s broader view of public health focuses on improving long-term health outcomes by addressing their root causes before they stem into acute care requirements.
Public health includes ensuring appropriate transportation and ample access to food and health services and addressing how we build neighborhoods to encourage physical activity and connectivity. It’s about working side by side with local chambers of commerce to be the voice of health in economic development initiatives. Most importantly, it’s about developing partnerships and coalitions to mobilize community engagement and work for where we eat, work, learn and play.
Nationally, applications to graduate programs in public health have surged 40% since last year. But we need to work even harder in our schools to promote health sciences as a desired career path, primed with opportunity to create lasting, transformational change.
2020 and the pandemic has readily showcased a new way of thinking about public health. The brain drain on our public health system has been immense, but the gap can – and should – be filled by young people who have lived through the crisis, understood its impacts, and are determined to make things better. Focusing middle school and high school students on this path and mentoring them along the way not only ensures the future of public health, but the future of healthcare and the vitality of our rural communities.