Professional Identity Reflections as Procrastination (The Art of Navel Gazing)
I have been mulling over how to approach writing a "professional" blog during my time in Uganda for quite a while now. Part of the reason for the delay my long-held professional identity that leans away from traditional, more biomedical approaches to "public health". This has been the case for much of my nearly 25-year career (What??? How can it be that long?). My first professional experience post-MPH was working in Uganda on health in the context of international development. Then, I eventually landed on an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program as opposed to public health. However, as I have had the great privilege of engaging in interdisciplinary research with a political scientist and IR expert over the past decade, my focus on delving more deeply into the social, cultural, and political aspects affecting public health has sharpened substantially. Additionally, as I have honed love, commitment to, and experience with community-centered, qualitative research that I s...