Back in Action!

So Spring Break is over and got back from a conference in Chicago, titled the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress. It is an annual conference held every year and I think booked pretty much 10 years out! It is "the event of the year" in terms of the health management world and is the best place to network!

I attend Congress last year and reconnected with those I met and also gained valuable contacts for potential fellowships and jobs after I graduate in Spring 2012. I was actually able to gain a couple more leads for internships for the summer and added some more professionals in my Linked In account and also some informal ones too on Facebook, it's inevitable, at least those that have it (cough cough Maureen, my other counter part in crime for the MPH). Networking is key in the field I am going into with Policy and Health Management and it was definitely the best fit for me. I would never push this program on anyone, but you definitely have to think about what is best for you and how you operate.

I just did a student panel with other graduate students in the College of Public Health on the University of Iowa's campus for undergrads. It was exciting to see and listen to their enthusiasm for what their next steps in life will be and their journey trying to figure it out, which don't get me wrong I am still on that path, which I would beg to differ that most people, no matter how old, are always working toward some goal.

If you ever have questions about the programs in the College of Public Health, or grad school in general, definitely hit me up on email: ryan-landi@uiowa.edu

Hope you all are enjoying this warmer Hump Day!

Ryan

Decisions, Family and Homecoming!

Hi all!

Hope you all had a marvelous last week and are enjoying this change in fall weather, which is probably my favorite season because of change in colors and premieres in TV shows, which I only have time for a couple to take a break from studying and daily life.

Decisions:

What are you going to do after you graduate? The question that I think a majority of you reading this and I know I get most often that always has a different answer most of the time depending on where I am on my career soul search. I obviously want to go into a career that will be health administration and policy focused but the exact agency or job is another story. Even as a graduate student, there are unknowns and uncertainty to what exactly you might end up doing someday, but the constant that holds everything together in your program.

I am in the Health Management and Policy (HMP) department. The HMP department is within the College of Public Health (CPH) and houses me because I am pursing my Masters of Public Health (MPH) in Policy and Masters of Health Administration (MHA). The HMP department provides us with networking opportunities with a variety of professionals to be exposed and follow-up with alumni that spark our interests. I can't say enough or give any better advice then to follow something you love or that energizes you. Everyone in the program has different interests, you have to choose for yourself, what route you want to take and organization that best fits your needs and culture.

I have been dealing with this ever since I started last Fall 2009, but each semester have been narrowing my interests and specialities to two main areas: Program Operations (Health Administration) and Policy work at the State level (MPH in Policy). Each of these can provide me with two vary different careers but as the ear goes on, I hope to have a more narrow focused answer to the question I first posed and even if I don't, I know things will be okay because the drive and motivation are there, which is half of what is needed to take you to where you want to be!

Family:

My family was in Iowa City this past weekend to visit and celebrate my 23rd birthday! My brother, Dad, Cody and I all went to the "Vine" in Coralville to watch the Ball State vs. Iowa game, to which we dominated and gave everyone across campus the boost we needed going into Homecoming week! In addition, my Mom and sister-in-law went shopping at the outlet mall just 20 minutes west of Iowa City in Williamsburg. The whole family gathered back together for a night downtown to where we had a fabulous meal at "Givanni's" and indulged in some pumpkin pie back at the apartment. It was a great relaxing weekend with the family which ended with some more eating ;) at Iowa River Power (converted restaurant) that has probably one of the best brunches in Iowa City with complimentary Mimosas!

Homecoming:

The homecoming game is on October 2 @ 7PM again Penn State and the College of Public Health has a couple events that are always a must when it comes to Homecoming!

There is a full week of activities for Homecoming Week, September 25 - October 2. Most everyone across campus participates and the CPH is holding some of it's own events that I will be looking forward to attending, given two mid-term exams I have this week.

HOMECOMING PARADE - FRIDAY, OCT. 1

Come cheer for the College of Public Health Student Association's entry in the homecoming parade! The parade starts at 5:45 p.m. in downtown Iowa City and will feature student and alumni floats, the Hawkeye Marching Band, and the Hawkeye Spirit Squad. View map of the parade route.

CPH HOMECOMING TAILGATE - SATURDAY, OCT. 2

Before the game, stop by the College of Public Health Tailgate from 4-6 p.m. on the patio area directly outside the CPH administrative offices in General Hospital (view map). Hot dogs, cookies, and soft drinks will be provided.

I will definitely be attending the tailgate for sure! So if your in town or want to join, just follow the map directions. Until next time, Good Morning Good Morning!

Ryan

Birthdays, Forums and again Lunch!

Hello all!

So this past week (4 out of 15) for the semester was yet another busy and amazing week! I learned that Biostats, which is one of the core classes for the MPH is going to be a lot more time intensive than I originally thought, but with only one previous stats class I guess I could have seen it coming, haha. I was able to attend a lunch presentation by Chris Atchison, one of the Associate Deans of the CPH, clinical professor and director of the State Hygienic Lab in Iowa. The week then ended with a Birthday bash for my boyfriend Cody and his friends!

Lunch:

Chris Atchison, one of my favorite professors who also teaches "Intro to Public Health Practice" gave a lecture over the lunch hour related to Iowa policies that have been and are working towards meeting the goals of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). It was interesting and very informative to learn some of the laws and bills that are in action within the Iowa legislature and to learn about programs that have been successful in providing more coverage and better quality to Iowans. It also got me thinking of my future career after my degree programs here at Iowa. More and more I have been leaning towards state and local policy instead of at the national level, but I know my overall passion is obviously for public health and health administration. Even as graduate students, we are still indecisive about specifics of where in the country we want to end up and what exactly we want to do (i.e. policy for a private, local, state or federal agency...which one, etc.)

Forum:

At the end of the week there was a CPH forum with Dean Curry, which included all staff, faculty and students. It was a great time to get an update of the building which is still scheduled to be moved in during November 2011! Hopefully I will be able to experience some of the newness my last semester. In addition, she mentioned the "Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)" which is the accrediting body that is coming this fall to reaccredit our college. This is a very big deal for any college of public health and involves many hours of preparation and the support of faculty, staff and students, including yours truly.

CEPH is definitely a factor that made me choose Iowa and is something if you are a prospective student reading this that you should check into when searching for College's of Public Health. In addition of course to tuition, social life and overall experience :)

Birthdays:

The week ended on a Birthday Bash with my boyfriend Cody and his friends with the theme being "What's your Sign?" in terms of your zodiac sign, which his was Virgo's and mine is Libra. It was a great time and fun to see everyone trying to match their individual zodiac signs, there was everything from mother earth, feathers of phenix and madonna!

I can't believe it will already be week 5 coming up tomorrow...hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have a Great Morning!

Ryan

First Couple Weeks!

Hi All,

I hope you all read a little bit of my bio before reading this post, but just in case I am entering my 2nd year as a dual degree MPH in Policy and MHA candidate within the College of Public Health (CPH) at Iowa! I'm starting the third week of classes and so much has happened that I think I would need a couple book chapters just to fill you in on my life. For tidbit of my summer, I interned at TRICARE Management Activity in San Diego, CA which if you would like to know more, just write a comment on the blog and I'll make it my next entry :)

In the meantime, here are some of the highlights that have gone on:

CPH Picnic/Brothers:

This was my first year attending the picnic in which all of CPH is invited to lower city park for brats, burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers too! It was great to see all the professors and deans in their picnic gear and to be able to meet some of their family members. Also, I always like going to these events because everyone is out of the classroom setting and everyone can kick back and have a good time. I took a lot of pics, which can been seen on our MPH Facebook Page

After the picnic, a lot of us that are in the College of Public Health Student Association (CPHSA) went downtown to a bar called "Brothers" for some drinks and to meet others who couldn't make it to the picnic. It was great to reconnect with friends that I hadn't had time to catch up with since we all got back and Brothers is probably one of my favorite bars downtown when I want to go out for the night.

Football:

So this past weekend was the first Home football game, which was against Eastern Illinois. We dominated them and I forgot how much fun a big-ten football game can feel. I celebrated with others in the program, which I am specifically from the Health Management and Policy (HMP) department within the CPH, but I found myself running into others as the game went on. I will try and post pictures up soon, but for now imagine a sea of gold t-shirts, 10's of thousands of fans all breathing and yelling for the Hawkeyes! I never was a huge football fan until I experienced the magnitude of how serious they take football here, it is definitely a culture ;)

I am looking forward to more fall like weather coming up so I can hit up the apple orchard and enjoy the season in which my birthday falls! I can't wait for this Friday, for the annual Iowa Student Association of Healthcare Leaders (ISAHL) Golf Outing at Brown Deer, which I will blog about in my next entry...until then Good Morning Good Morning, because there's always someone waking up around the world!

Ryan