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

Mid-Terms...Spring Break!

So as I googled Spring Break, this was one of the first images that popped up, oddly I can only guess this a mob in Panama City that MTV typically displays...unfortunately I will not be going south of the Iowa/Missouri border but am enjoying the warmer 50's/60s headed our way this week! ;)

In addition, if you haven't noticed I have been a little MIA lately. Mid-terms definitely stole my time away but for good reason. They are always busy no matter how much I try to prepare for them. I faired pretty well and am glad to say that we are on Spring Break, even though I am still working on some homework for after break since I will be gone at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress International Conference in Chicago. It is an exciting few days, but I will make sure to leave blogs about the experience later within that week.

Interviewing!

Some of the happenings that have been going on during mid-terms have been an MPH Seminar about improving interview skills, which came in really handy because I had an interview the day after (Wednesday) with a local hospital (St. Luke's - Cedar Rapids). Unfortunately I did not receive the interview, but was up against four of my classmates and was glad that someone from Iowa was able to be there. I am still keeping my hopes up for a couple more internship applications/interviews I have coming up and will definitely put the skills I learned in the interviewing seminar to good use, especially since I was kind of the "guinea pig" for the exercise. We used this program called "Perfect Interview," which is great online tool which video records your responses to interview questions. (1) I thought this was a great way for you to see yourself and all the little habits, whether good or bad that you do and (2) it can be sent to others for review (i.e. career counselor, practitioners in the field, etc.).

There were a couple other things that occurred but I will leave them for my next blog post tomorrow :)

Hope you all are enjoying this warmer weather, at least those of us in the Mid-West!

Ryan

Alumni, Networking and ....Mid-Terms

We all know they are coming, and yes they are stressful, but there is a certain satisfaction in accomplishing Mid-Terms. I named this post "Alumni, Networking and...Mid-Terms" and will certainly get right into the first couple titles...

Alumni/Networking:

So today the CPHSA (College of Public Health Student Association) hosted a meeting with Alumni from each of the departments with the College of Public Health. It was an eye-opening experience for me in terms of the variety of ages and paths each individual had taken in their Public Health journey. Some had been in the field and came back to get a degree (i.e. MPH) and others went right into a position (i.e. Health Analyst at Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Administrator at State Hygienic Lab, Epidemiologist and Strategic Planning at UIHC).

The one thing that I would say most important that I took away, was NETWORKING! I say this in terms of those Alumni that were there, about half obtained their positions by meeting people through their internship/practicum experiences while obtaining their degree. That is certainly how I have found and eventually obtained many of my internships and PH experiences the past few years and is something that I feel the College and personally my department of Health Management and Policy does well..

Mid-Terms

So it is Mid-Term season and things certainly are not letting up anytime soon, but I am definitely looking forward to tomorrow night for TGIT (Thank Goodness It's Thursday) because my department does not schedule classes on Friday's and it is the one night where I take a break from studying and go out and let loose a little before starting productivity for the weekend! Tomorrow a group of us have planned an unofficial St. Patty's Day outting where we will take over the down-town scene in our Green Gear and may or may not part take in some Irish traditions or at least what they have become in the U.S. of a couple drinks. It's always nice to know there is great downtown IOWA CITY to go to and get away from the academics sometimes and hang out with the family I have created with those in my department and in my terms, life-long partners in public health.

Hope you all are having a wonderful week and sending the Luck of the Shamrock with you!

Ryan

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

This was an awesome video of a family that literally creates ZERO waste!

Enjoy! ~ Ryan

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CPHSA Semi-Formal!

Friday was the College of Public Health Student Association (CPHSA) Semi-Formal. I am pretty sure this is the first one that the College of Public Health (CPH) has had. They are very popular, especially amongst graduate programs, because it's a night where everyone can dress up and try not to talk about school or homework ;)

The event was held at a restaurant downtown Iowa City, called ATLAS. There theme is a world grill with a sophisticated taste. It was nice to be able to reconnect with some other CPH students that I had class with last year when I started the MPH program and also get to know some new faces from other departments. If you remember from previous blogs, I am a Masters of Public Health (MPH) in Policy, which is under the department of Health Management and Policy (HMP), which is under the CPH. The point is, that you don't always get to know the other MPH students, along with Ph.D and other Masters students in the College and other departments. All in all, very awesome time and hope that CPHSA continues to hold the event next year.

In addition, I can't believe February is already almost over, I hope those of you that are thinking of applying to graduate school have already started, even if not to Iowa. Hit me up with questions, cause I know I had a ton when deciding where to apply.

Ryan :)

CPH Forum :)

Today I attended the CPH Forum, held once a month with Dean Curry. They are a great way to get updated on the latest happenings within the College of Public Health but also opportunities to learn more about our campus and community. Today we had the Office of the Ombudsperson and Threat Assessment Team (TAT) presenting. I'm going to focus on the Ombudsperson, because I was so intrigued by the issues they deal with on-campus!

Office of the Ombudsperson:

At first, all I could think about was what the heck is an Ombudsperson, and what does such an office do on campus. So before I tell you what I found out, I looked up the definition online:

"A public official who acts as an impartial intermediary between the public and government or bureaucracy, or an employee of an organization who mediates disputes between employees and management"

The two ladies, Susan and Cynthia, who run the office explained that they deal with disputes and issues surrounding them on-campus. They said some of the most common things they run across are "disrespect," which has a lot to do with the communication style of those in the Midwest (Indirect) and Outside the Midwest (Direct). These are generalizations, but on average those from the Midwest tend to be more indirect in their communication and can become offended when someone is more direct, and vice versa. One way is not better over the other, it is just the way it is and the root of some of the issues on-campus. On another note, they also talked about the issues surrounding email (i.e. forwarding messages that shouldn't be, CCing people on issues they don't need to be, saying things in email you would normally not say face-to-face). I'm sure as our lives become more digital, this will become more of an issue, but it was nice to know there is such an office that deals with such a topic of our social lives.

Well I hope you learned something new, as I did this afternoon, haha. Hope you all have a great weekend! Will blog about TAT next time :)

Ryan

PS - I included the header photo from the Office of the Ombudsperson because it reminded me of Spring and it's supposed to warm up in the 40's this week!

Snow Snow and yes SNOW!

So if you haven't heard already, there is snow covering a majority of the country, including right here in Iowa City! It has been a blizzard to remember. Even though, yes it was a lot of snow and classes were cancelled and airports came to a stand still, how come every seems to be so hyper about weather? Is it the news, fear of loss of control, etc.?

I always figure, if you live in the Midwest, you need to expect tornados, thunderstorms, ice, snow, rain and sleet....basically all types! The local and state government definitely have a handle to a certain degree on how to manage such an event, but the community also knows it will need to pitch in and cannot rely on somebody else to do everything for them. Emergency Preparedness is just one of the focus areas in Public Health and happens to be a passion of mine. In any event, most people have enough groceries to last them at least a week, board games and communications to keep busy and as a personal note, enough reading to catch up on to last for a Snow Day! ;)

I hope you all are safe, warm and survived this epic snow storm because one only knows there will always be more weather ahead and another day tomorrow :)

Ryan

PS - I thought the picture on the Iowa Homepage (www.uiowa.edu) was interesting because transportation is a major part of public health and was certainly shut down for the day, including the person's bike pictured.