A medical doctor from Nigeria and a naturalized American citizen since 2013, I completed my Master of Public Health Degree last year, 2015, with a GPA of 3.82. Now, I very much hope to be awarded the privilege of earning the DrPH Degree. I have always been a good student, which resulted in my receiving a full scholarship to medical school that covered all tuition and living expenses, awarded to only a handful. I have worked as a medical doctor for 17 years and a researcher for the past 2 years.
I earned my MPH online and very much enjoy online learning; thus, I hope to earn my doctoral degree online as well. Since April of this year, 2016, I have been serving as a Postdoctoral Research Trainee at the XXXX in Jacksonville, Florida. Previously, I completed an internship here at Mayo in clinical research, from June through December of 2015. This recent, research-intensive experience will help me to hit the ground running and distinguish myself in your doctoral program.
I could not be happier than I am at the XXXX Clinic, fully immersed in literature search methods, application for IRB approval, development of software for online surveys, data collection and export along with analysis of research data for developing a better understanding of clinical processes and health outcomes. Attending research project meetings is a special delight, as well as departmental journal club meetings where relevant medical journals in our different medical specialties are reviewed and discussed. My experience at the XXXX Clinic has included intensive training in clinical research presentation and publication, especially working with data from patients’ electronic records. Much of my time at one point, for example, was devoted to the development and maintenance of research databases for a project using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) software, working alongside the biostatistician in the analysis of the data.
While serving in the Obstetrics and gynecologic department as a resident doctor at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, I developed a special passion for caring for people living with HIV/AIDS. This motivated me to serve as a volunteer coordinator for the activities of the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in my area. I provided health care services and anti-retroviral drug treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS including pregnant women, to try and prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. I especially enjoyed providing care to people living with HIV/AIDS because I was helping them to regain productive lives and a sense of purpose despite being HIV positive.
Here at the XXXX Clinic Hospital, I have served as a volunteer with our Health Disparity Group providing outreach services to local communities, including diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of diseases for adult patients. We refer patients to hospitals for management of complex conditions and advise them on diet, physical activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.
Since I graduated from medical school in 1999 and began practicing medicine in 2000, I have learned a great deal from my professional engagement. I have contributed to society by providing public health services for the past 16 years of my life, including monitoring the health status of patients in order to identify and solve community health problems, diagnosing health problems in the community, and informing, educating, and empowering people with respect to health issues, providing them with the health education they need.
I migrated to the United States after completing my residency training in Nigeria to join my wife who had already immigrated to the US. I enrolled in the MPH Program at the University of XXXX where I graduated with distinction in 2015. My training in the MPH Program has helped me to excel at the XXXX, especially as a volunteer with our Health Disparity Group since we are constantly engaged in a search for new, especially creative insights and innovative strategies to address health care issues, particularly – but not exclusively - as concerns underserved communities.
If given the opportunity to study towards the Doctor of Public Health Degree (DrPH), I will be able to acquire a most comprehensive body of knowledge in the field of public health and develop the competencies that are necessary to optimally perform essential public health services. I hope to work as a public health leader here in the USA in an urban setting, providing direction for the improvement of public health services at the state or federal government level. It would be a special honor and the realization of my central professional dream to be selected at some point for service with an international organization such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO).
I am especially excited about the prospect of engaging in doctoral level research in maternal and infant mortality as it correlates with health disparity because I have witnessed a lot of health disparity resulting in maternal and infant mortality not only in Africa but also here in the United States. Thus, I want very much to contribute all that I can to reducing maternal and infant mortality both in the American inner city and internationally, with an eye towards eventual service in Africa. I am also keenly anxious to return to research in HIV/AIDS and STD prevention – also with an eye towards Africa, the continent of my birth which remains the epicenter of this disease.
I take immense pride in being internet savvy which helps me to excel at online study. With over 15 years of experience in public health practice, I am very committed to finishing your program and moving into a leadership position in public health. There is a special need for black professionals as role models in medicine, particularly for young Black males in our inner city raised in at-risk neighborhoods. As a Black African man and a doctor, I am quite comfortable in the ‘hood’ and I have access that not all health professionals have.
As a member of the Health Disparity Group at XXXX Hospital, I have increasingly had the opportunity to reach out for greater levels of responsibility and assume leadership roles on projects geared towards a reduction of disparities. Thus, I am confident that I will have success as a leader in public health practice. I have now finely honed my communication skills in American English, written as well as spoken, and have become an accomplished researcher in my MPH Program along with my ongoing experience with the XXXX Clinic.
Thank you for considering my application to study for the Doctorate Degree in Public Health.
DrPH Public Health Personal Purpose Statement