Guest Blog Post by Caitlin Moore - (Dec 20')

"(I am large, I contain multitudes.)"– Walt Whitman, Song of Myself  

 

This line has become the mantra I often find floating into my head when I am thinking about being a dual Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health student. It reminds me that I am complex and multidimensional. Then it takes me out of myself to realize that everyone contains multitudes. More than that, when you combine the multitudes within me, everyone, and the world, it grows infinite. And I feel like that is what social work public health is - it is taking into account all the multitudes of what this life means. We are all complex beings and deserve to be seen accordingly.   

Social work and public health aim to grapple with some of life’s most difficult struggles. They look at the world through the lens of the individual, community, and society. 

Caitlin Moore, MSW/MPH (Dec '20)

Social work and public health work with all walks of life from every culture, age, race, religion, sexuality, socioeconomic status, gender, ability status, and so on. When overly simplified, both are grounded in the common goal of making this life as enjoyable as possible where each person on this earth can thrive. However, rooted in more of the technical jargon, Dr. Bachman (2017) said it best - that the shared common goals are “addressing social determinants of health, promoting population health, and advancing social justice”. In progressing these common goals, the social work perspective lays the foundation using the socioecological approach while the public health perspective examines the social determinants of health to assess well-being, health, and equity. Both lenses are needed to get a well-rounded understanding and, ultimately, intervention or policy. One thing I have found with social work and public health professionals is we do not look away. We sit with the things that are hard and uncomfortable with the goal of figuring out how to make it better.  

 

To me, being a social work and public health student makes me feel empowered. I feel like I can do anything! But truly, I feel I have the skills to engage delicately with an individual in crisis, to research the empirical evidence of an intervention, and to advocate effectively for human rights, health equity, and social justice. 

 

Early on in my dual degree career I heard the phrase ‘jack of all trades, but master of none’, and I became weary that would be my fate. However, after my first year as a dual degree student, I see that as a false dichotomy. Being a student of two professions allows me to walk into most environments with the confidence that I will be able to find my niche. Then, once in my niche, I know I will contribute significantly to the concerns at hand. I feel like being a dual social work and public health professional allows me to be both a jack of all trades and a master of my choosing!  

 

It seems like every day the social, political, scientific, and economic dynamics are constantly readjusting in this turbulent world. There does not appear to be a lot of stability, but a silver lining is that I feel prepared to take this turbulence on. Ruth et al. (2008) confirms, “in a society of rapid changes and pressing new realities, public health social work is the profession’s best transdisciplinary response to improving the health and well-being of society” (p.483). Being a dual social work and public health student gives me the competence and flexibility that provides me an edge in this dynamic world. I have the tools from my profession and the passion from my being where I feel perfectly equipped to try to create the best possible future for all the multitudes. 

 

Caitlin Moore graduated from the MSW/MPH program in December 2020. Caitlin is currently working as a Training Associate for the National Network of Public Health Institutes in New Orleans, LA.  

View Caitlin's LinkedIn profile.

 

References 

Bachman, S. S. (2017). Social work and public health: charting the course for innovation.  American Journal of Public Health. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304209  

Ruth, B. J., Sisco, S., & Marshall, J. W. (2008). Public health social work. Encyclopedia of social  work, 3, 476-483. 

Whitman, W. (2002). Leaves of grass and other writings. Moon, M. (Ed.) New York: Norton