make sure the have a job realth to public health
The purpose of this experience trip and interview report assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to view your community through a “public health” lens and understand the importance for listening to the voice of healthcare and public health professionals who promote and support health in your community. Through an in-person visit with a professional person who works at a public health- or healthcare-related organization, you may find yourself being required to get out of your “comfort zone,” and talk to a person you have never met before. In addition, you will get a first-hand, up-close look at real-world public health!
This assignment requires to you schedule a VIRTUAL or IN-PERSON APPOINTMENT and conduct a VIRTUAL or IN-PERSON FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW in order to talk with and interview a professional individual employed in a public health-related or healthcare-related capacity with the organization. (Core Objectives: Critical Thinking, Communication, Empirical and Quantitative, Social Responsibility and Teamwork Skills.)
Pre-brief for Your Interview
Conduct a pre-brief, thinking about an organization where you can see yourself working in the future. Then, identify a person(s) you would like to interview. Ideally, this person should be working in a capacity related to the health topic or issue you have researched and presented on in this course. However, it may be challenging to gain an interview with a person related to your health issue. This is your opportunity to learn about “real-world” public health or healthcare and gain information about how related organizations work to promote and support health in your community.
You will need to familiarize yourself with services the organization provides and how those impact the community. In addition, you will be more knowledgeable about the organization and its’ purpose so that you can ask pertinent questions during the interview.
Schedule Your Experience Trip/Interview
Communicate with your selected interviewee in a professional manner, via email to schedule your interview. Then, send a follow-up email to confirm the scheduled date/time of your meeting.
Final Reminder/Check Details
During the days prior to your visit, send a follow-up email to remind your interviewee you will be coming to visit. This is the communication in which you confirm time, communication link/platform and any other important details. (I suggest one final follow-up email the day before, just as an added step to make sure there are no communication issues.)
During the Interview
While you are at the meeting, you will follow the experience trip report prompts, making notes as you conduct the interview. Dress is business casual. Think of this opportunity as a class assignment AND a potential interview for an internship or possible job!
Post-Interview
On either the same day, or no later than the day after, email the person you interviewed to thank him/her for taking time to spend with you and to help you fulfill your academic requirements for the class. NOTE: You will complete this via Assignment 5.3: Experience Trip/Interview Report Follow-up.
INSTRUCTIONS
Assignment Template
Open a MSWord document. Copy and paste the template below as it guides you through the assignment in a step-by-step manner. Complete each section prior to moving to the next. Address each of the prompts below:
Community Organization or Agency: What is the organization your interviewee works for?
Describe the selected community organization or agency in terms of area, location, geographic boundaries, etc.
Describe the services or impact provided by the selected community organization or agency.
Physical Environment: Describe the area/community around the community organization or agency
Describe indicators of growth or decline (i.e., is this a “thriving” community or does it feel “run-down” and what evidence supports this? Is there new or ongoing construction? Are buildings, roadways, and public areas clean and well-maintained, or do you see dirt, trash and debris or graffiti?
What are the places for employment in the community?
People: Describe the following people that you see in the community
Describe community members including demographic information: age, gender, race, and ethnicity (i.e., what sorts of people do you see: young, old, male, female, single families, multiple families, generational families, etc.? Estimate % for each group you see)
Does the population in the surrounding community seem to be homogeneous or diverse (as evidenced by—for example—hair styles, clothing, signs in languages other than Spanish, restaurants, festivals, etc.)?
Describe healthy lifestyle behaviors observed (i.e., exercise, relaxation, healthy eating, wearing helmets while biking, seat belt usage, availability of fresh produce in grocery stores, etc.) Note the age, ethnicity, and race of persons (estimate %) observed participating in healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Describe any health and/or safety risk behaviors observed (i.e., what are the lifestyle risk behaviors of people). Do you see people drinking, smoking, fighting, etc.? Do you see overweight/underweight people?
Are there indications of safety concerns including: signs of violence, gang, graffiti, drug, and/or criminal activities? Do you see bars on windows, etc.? Note the age, ethnicity, and race of persons observed (estimate %).
Describe any indicators of people living in poverty
Interviewee Profile: Describe the person you interviewed and his/her role in the community organization or agency
Name and position of person
Primary job description and main responsibilities
How what he/she does relates to the mission of the community organization or agency
His/her vision for the future as that relates to either the community organization or agency and/or to his/her particular position (i.e., top three goals for the organization)
How he/she got to this particular position
Advice for undergraduate students seeking careers in Public Health
BE SURE TO TAKE A PHOTO OF YOURSELF WITH YOUR INTERVIEWEE SO THAT YOU HAVE DOCUMENTATION TO SUBMIT WITH THIS TEMPLATE.
Submit your photo here:
Analysis and Summary: In this final section, you will analyze and summarize the information you observed during the assignment, including a brief summary of how the community organization or agency is related to your particular health issue or topic.
First, address the three core functions and 10 Essential Services of public health as those apply to the services provided by the community organization or agency. List one service or program provided by the organization and describe how that service or program is a component of the three core functions and 10 Essential Services of public health. (Must be at least two well-developed paragraphs, with 3 sentences each.)
Second, focus on the key community-related issues associated with your health issue or topic and how the community organization or agency is serving those needs to improve health for the community. (Must be at least two well-developed paragraphs, with 3 sentences each..)
References—in this section list any references that you included (i.e., cited sources in APA format)
Appendices—in this section include any artifacts that you collected during your assessment that better provides a picture of the community (i.e., community map, photos, etc.)
