A season of celebration is upon us as soon-to-be graduates prepare to walk the stage and receive their diplomas. A culmination of many years of reading, writing, studying, and most likely stressing has led our graduates to this moment. Are they fully prepared now to enter the workforce?
More and more, new graduates are faced with a landscape shaped by global health crises, environmental threats, and socio-economic disparities. With the added pressures of securing employment, it may seem like the cards are stacked against our new graduates. It doesn’t need to be all doom and gloom. What we need is a resilient workforce that can anticipate and respond effectively to society’s challenges.
I believe the following three principles will help prepare our workforce, and its future leaders, to be resilient, nimble, and ready to address the challenges ahead:
- Operating through a trauma-informed care lens. It must feel like every time you open your preferred news app, there is a new crisis to process. A new emerging disease, social injustice, natural disasters, wars and civil unrest, and individual life stressors such as conflict in the home, job loss, social isolation, or economic hardships. It will be important to have managers, directors, and top executives trained to understand how various trauma manifests, how to respond to external crisis, how to foster resilience in their employees, and most importantly, create an environment to support their workforce.
- Addressing a changing climate and harmful environment. Climate change is one of humanity’s biggest threats – if not the biggest. Equipped with this unwavering truth, impacted communities can build resiliency by keeping those in power accountable to protecting all regardless of income, race, or citizenship status.
- Health equity leaders and policies across the nation. Resilient workforces are characterized not only by their ability to adapt to change but also by their capacity to lead, to partner, and to inspire others. Whether it is as doctors, lawyers, cops, or teachers, having public health advocates in those spaces means they practice with a health equity perspective. Our community needs health equity leaders now more than ever as minority groups face health and economic disparities.
I may be biased given my role and background, but the Master of Public Health degree is a smart option for any level of professional, especially in the healthcare and health sciences sector, looking to prepare themselves for an ever-changing world.
The MPH degree is designed to emphasize critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy ensuring they can meet current industry needs but also anticipate and respond to future shifts. The degree empowers students to tackle complex health issues with creativity and resourcefulness. Whether it’s devising strategies to combat infectious diseases, promoting healthy behaviors, or advocating for health equity, MPH graduates possess the acumen to navigate uncertain terrain and drive meaningful change. Interdisciplinary in nature, MPH students engage with diverse perspectives from fields such as medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, nursing, and even law and business, gaining insights into the interconnected nature of health and its intersection with various sectors.
I am hopeful that our future leaders will thrive in our society and in business – given we continue to foster a culture of learning and resilience.