Guest Post - “So what are you going to do when you graduate with a MSW/MPH?” by Amber Hill (Dec '16)

Amber Hill (Dec '16)

At least once per day I am introduced to someone I have not met before or someone I have not seen in an extended period of time. The first few minutes of the conversation that takes place with these individuals always mimics the same dialogue:

“How are you?”

“How have you been?”

“The weather is nice today.”

“So what are you doing these days?”

 “I am still personal training at the gym and I am also pursuing a dual degree in public health and social work.”

“Oh…What is that?”

This last question is always asked with a hint of skepticism and undertones of pity. When I first knew that I would be pursuing the MSW/MPH, I was a little skeptical. Sure, the two disciplines seem like a perfect match. Both strive to help others by minimizing disparities and maximizing quality of life. However, there are very few job postings that are looking to hire an individual that has Master’s degrees in both public health and social work. Will I be able to find a career where I will be able to utilize the double degrees that cost me a couple of extra semesters of tuition?

Several factors influenced my realization of what it means to be a dual professional. First, I began to notice other interdisciplinary professionals: journalists, advertising agents, lawyers, professors. This awareness was comforting because it showed that multidisciplinary careers exist outside the field that is printed on a degree/diploma. One specific individual that I spoke with, Ms. Ilana Olin, conveyed some helpful insight when I asked her to elaborate on her career as a dual professional. Ms. Olin was a member of the first class to graduate from UGA’s dual MSW/MPH degree program in 2013. She now works as a Health Programs Specialist for Healthways. She states that even though her job deals almost exclusively with health promotion, she still considers herself a dual professional because of the theoretical knowledge and interprofessional collaboration capabilities that she learned in her graduate program. Her perspective was eye-opening for me because I realized that, while many careers exclusively identify with one field, every job has the potential to benefit from defining problems, finding resources, eliminating barriers, and recognizing strengths – the skills that I am learning in my graduate program.

                A second factor that impacted my definition of a dual professional stems from the published research regarding interprofessional collaboration. Or rather, it is a lack of published material regarding specifically the MSW/MPH dual professional that I find intriguing. There are countless publications that address the importance of being able to work with individuals from other disciplines (Brownson, 2013). Also, there are just as many that highlight the effectiveness of successful collaboration (Kreuter & Pfeiffer, 2013). These two publications, like many others, acknowledge the importance of being able to apply the quantitative, action-oriented mindset of health promotion with the qualitative, social-ecological frameworks of social work. The positive outcomes of these facets are widely accepted but have not been addressed in the context of public health social work. It seems like the research highlights the need for an individual who is capable of recognizing where social services should influence the health of communities and individuals but rather than creating a single individual to fit this need, society is relying on pre-established norms and boundaries to define where one profession stops and another picks up.  This highlights the appeal of MSW/MPH professionals and exemplifies their potential usefulness.

                I was also able to shape my idea of what it means to be a dual professional by juxtaposing the course content from both my public health and social work classes. The goal of graduate education programs is to prepare individuals to be professionals. The curriculum of the programs reflects what is considered required knowledge for individuals getting into the profession. After only two semesters in the program, I have encountered multiple situations where social work classes have emphasized the importance of public health influences and vice versa. For example, in order for a change in social policy to occur there must first be a demonstrated need for that change which is often shown through a community needs assessment. Another example occurs when health specialists need to find the best method to distribute resources equally amongst various demographics and exploit social and cultural differences to decide on the most effective intervention. These examples demonstrate just a few of many instances that suggests these particular fields are naturally intertwined and a dual professional competent in both would be able to most effectively combine the aspects of each.

                The last large influence on my perspective of what it means to be a dual professional occurred in my foundation placement. I am placed at Goodwill Career Services where I provide job readiness training, personal social adjustment training, and various other tasks that address unemployment in the community.  Every individual working in the career center has a background in social work but there has not been a single day where I did not encounter a public health issue. Specifically when dealing with unemployment, disabilities and weaknesses must be addressed and while this appears to be a social work type of problem, most of the solutions lie in public health policy. For example, many participants in the program are concerned that their social security benefits will be effected if they are employed. Additionally, there is a lack of resources and jobs available for individuals with learning disabilities. While health issues often cause unemployment, the reverse is also true: unemployment leads to multiple health-related side effects. This internship made me question how social work and public health could ever be effective without relying on each other and also made me aware of the need for dual professionals.

I am now in my second semester of the program and most of my concerns have dissipated. The most valuable lesson that I have learned is that a dual professional is not someone who has both the words “public health” and “social worker” in his or her job title. It is not a career where 20 hours a week are spent in health promotion and 20 hours are spent leading therapy sessions. It does not mean that for every needs assessment there will be both chronic illness prevention and social policy changes. A dual professional is an individual that is qualified through degrees, experiences, and licensures to utilize the strengths of two fields in order to maximize the effectiveness of both fields in specific situations. In this case, a public health and social work dual professional is an individual who has obtained degrees in both fields, interned in positions that incorporate aspects of both professions, and perhaps passed the Certified in Public Health and Licensed Master Social Worker exams and draws from these qualifications to advocate for a better quality of life for both communities and individuals.

Learn more about Amber Hill.

References

Brownson, R. C. (2013). Evidence-based decision making: transdisciplinary problem solving to improve the health of the public.  In Haire-Joshu, D. & McBride, T. E., Transdisciplinary Public Heath (249-263). New Jersey: Jossey-Bass.

Kreuter, M.W., & Pfeiffer, D. (2013). Transdisciplinary problem solving for integrating public health and social service systems to address health disparities. In Haire-Joshu, D. & McBride, T. E., Transdisciplinary Public Heath (154-184) New Jersey: Jossey-Bass.

Meet Our Students – Breanna Miller (May ’16)

Breanna Miller (May '16) and her dog, Harbor.

Breanna Miller is pursuing an MSW (Clinical Concentration) and MPH (Health Promotion and Behavior) with a Certificate in Non-Profit Management.  Ms. Miller earned her Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed) with a major in health and physical education from Valdosta State University.

Her decision to enter graduate school is in pursuit of eliminating barriers that inhibit young people in reaching their full potential.  Her long-term goal is to work with children in multiple capacities.

She will be completing the integrated field placement at Mercy Health Center this fall where she will serve as a whole person care consultant.  She will have the opportunity to integrate all aspects of health care including mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.  Additional tasks Ms. Miller will be engaged in at Mercy include consulting on the research Hepatitis C team, assisting with the volunteer coordination program, and conducting patient intake assessments.

Ms. Miller was awarded the Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation research assistantship where she works with Dr. Carol Cotton.  She manages and analyzes a traffic fatality database, evaluates grants, conducts research, and coordinates public outreach events.  She was invited to present her research on bicycle safety at the 2014 Lifesavers Conference.  Her current project is an observational study on bicycle safety in Athens. 

Ms. Miller shares her journey to pursue the MSW MPH Dual Degree:

“A Superhero, Not a Teacher”

I grew up in a household with three wonderful older sisters! My parents were both teachers in the local school system. Throughout my childhood, my sisters and I frequently played “teacher”. Well, mostly I played “student” because after all, I am the youngest. My passion for teaching only grew through my childhood and adolescent years. I found myself increasingly intrigued by the lasting impressions several of my teachers and coaches made throughout my adolescence. At times, I felt as though I owed unconditional gratitude to several of my idols who made my teenage years tolerable. I knew one day I wanted to be that positive influential individual that was able to be a breath of fresh air for a child who was in need. What would be a better way to accomplish that mission other than to become an educator? So, I graduated college with a Bachelor’s of Science in Education, took the state certification exam, became board certified in the state of Georgia, and started my profession, that I was sure, would help me be all of the children’s superhero! Of course, it wasn’t that simple. The geographical area I began teaching in turned out to be a “Title 1” area which basically is a government classification meaning the average income in the district is low. I would soon begin to notice missing pieces in “the system.” By “the system” I mean we seemed to be intervening on levels that were above the initial needs of the children. In simple terms, I felt as though my students couldn’t learn long division when they were worried about more pressing issues such as stable housing, food, income, etc. I was torn. After all, I had entered this profession to be a superhero, not a teacher.  My next step was to attempt mentoring one student at a time and bettering their chances to meet and succeed at their goals. I would soon realize that one student at a time wasn’t going to change the world and I was going to change the world. I spoke with my other superhero buddy (my boss at the time) and decided that I needed more experience and knowledge about the system before I could change anything. Graduate school it was. Social work seemed like the best fit to be able to learn the system and the environment in which these problems existed. Next came my decision to enter the Public Health program. Public health seemed to align with the person in environment thinking I realized was so crucial, but to also compliment that thinking with problem identification and solving. Social work alone was going to allow me to continue being that superhero, just in a larger capacity, but public health would help me identify the problems in the system and develop programs to help alleviate them! So in my last year of graduate school, in addition to my school work, I’ll also be working on sewing my cape. :)

Visit Ms. Miller’s LinkedIn Profile.

Meet Our Students – Amber Hill (Dec ’16)

Amber Hill (Dec '16)

Amber Hill (Dec ’16) is pursuing an MSW (Clinical concentration) and MPH (Health Promotion and Behavior concentration).  She earned a Bachelors in Psychology from The University of Georgia in August 2013. 

Ms. Hill is interested in the effects of physical activity on mental health, specifically mood disorders.  Upon graduation, she plans to pursue clinical licensure so that she can practice counseling.  Her ultimate goal is to expand on her current personal training career to include mental health counseling in order to practice a more thorough approach to holistic health.  “You cannot have a healthy body without a healthy mind, and vice versa.”

Ms. Hill completed her foundation social work placement with Goodwill of North Georgia Career Services where she assisted case managers in constructing employment plans, provided personal social adjustment training, conducted job readiness training, and taught classes regarding obtaining jobs and work-appropriate behavior.

Ms. Hill says that she chose the dual MSW MPH program because, “Although I knew that I wanted to work in the mental health field, I did not feel as if I fit into any predefined professions. I want to be able to take the growing body of research concerning physical activity as a viable, effective, and affordable treatment and put it into practice. Public health contributes to the mental health treatment knowledge obtained in social work by scientifically assessing needs and providing methods to implement and monitor new treatments.”

Visit Ms. Hill’s LinkedIn Profile.