I am currently working towards completing my MPH Degree with a focus on Global Health at XXXX University, and it is my sincere hope to continue as a graduate student at XXU at the doctoral level. I completed an internship for which I assisted my advisor with a research project in Botswana. I have worked alongside him in the research that serves as a foundation for several public health projects focused on sexual and reproductive health. The pilot project for our research for Botswana is due next summer, and we are already planning how we will conduct the implementation and final evaluation. Dr. XXXX has been very encouraging concerning my application to continue my studies in Global Public Health at the Ph.D. level.
I have been involved with this research in Botswana from the beginning, and I am well-versed in the flow of the project, the progress that has been made, and that which remains to be accomplished. I have also developed a perfect relationship with the local people in the area we have been operating (Muratalla village, Botswana). This will be especially helpful for training the key people in the community, and when it comes time for the final collection of data. Part of the first phase of this project involved negotiations and collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture. I especially enjoyed accompanying my mentor to all the relevant offices. The plan is to develop an SRH program and train the key stakeholders in the community. In this remaining year of my MPH Program at OSU, I plan to search extensively for new ways of making a positive difference in the communities we are engaged in in Botswana.
Having earned my medical degree studying Ayurvedic Medicine in 2006 in India, I was pleased to spend my internship year in a major hospital and then gain my first master's degree in health information administration in 2008. I am grateful for the 5+ years of clinical experience I acquired working at the community level in India. My medical background will benefit my career as a Public Health professional. After completing graduate school here in the USA, my central goal is to work for an organization such as the WHO or UNESCO, focused on the challenges facing developing countries where most people have, at best, only minimal access to health services. I would also like to work towards women's empowerment, helping them achieve greater independence from male family members and more direct access to health services. As a clinician with 5+ years of experience in counseling women concerning their issues in the workplace, raising their children, women and families will always be at the center of my consciousness as I proceed throughout the balance of my career.
While completing my internship in Botswana, I realized that there are many similarities between Botswana and India in terms of public health challenges, underscoring for me the way that many issues are global. Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and diphtheria, reports of drug-resistant pathogens, growing rates of obesity and physical inactivity, and what can be done about it, especially the health impact of environmental pollution and climate change – all stand at the very center of my world. I am learning a great deal from my graduate studies and professional experience that is preparing me well for someday making essential contributions to the health and well-being of some of our most vulnerable societies, helping to protect them from everything from Malaria to HIV, most of all, with a focus on the empowerment of women.
I look forward to building many long-lasting ties with organizations and government entities, helping them devise and implement progressive and sustainable policies that improve the health of popular sectors of the population with a focus on women and children, most of all reproductive health. Alcohol-related harm, HIV, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, etc., are global problems that call for solutions. What is of central importance for me is to connect directly with the victims to best understand the conditions to which they are subject and how to best help them by partnering with a variety of stakeholders: governmental organizations, NGOs, health institutions, fundraising players, all in search of effective and sustainable solutions to very entrenched and complex problems.
Women's empowerment is especially central to my focus on public health, and I anticipate this will be the case throughout my career. Firstly, I would like to stay engaged with research that addresses the most fundamental and urgent public health issues in underdeveloped countries, taking full advantage of opportunities to work in the field, interacting with people, collecting data, brainstorming, and producing ideas, designing practical programs by partnering with a variety of organizations. My dream position would be to serve as a chief advisor for a health ministry and lead sustainable public health development programs, providing direction for teams to explore, analyze, understand, devise, and implement highly effective programs that protect women's and children's lives. I want to implement ideas backed up by solid research and capable of tackling and solving chronic and entrenched public health issues.
Thank you for considering my application for the Ph.D. Program in the Department of Global Health at the College of Public Health and Human Services at XXXX University.
PHD Global Public Health Services Personal Purpose