On This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
Dr. Drewette-Card is the President of Public Health Partners, which is a woman-owned consulting firm based in Maine and serving clients throughout the United States. She was also one of the cohosts of my first Public Health Consulting and Entrepreneurship Expo held back in March of 2019.
Previously, Dr. Drewette-Card worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Public Health Prevention Service. She has also worked in state health departments in New Mexico, Oregon, North Carolina and Maine. Additionally, she has worked at a small college and a large university.
Her career has given her both breadth and depth of experience, which has provided her with opportunities to develop a wide-range of public health skills including social marketing, report-writing, intervention development, coalition-building, program planning, evaluation, conference and training development, and public speaking.
In this episode, Dr. Drewette-Card joins me to share her journey into public health, and shares some tips and advice for students, graduates, job-seekers, and advice for anyone thinking about building a business in public health.
Listen to the episode
Advice for students and graduates
Your first job doesn’t have to be your dream job. Look for opportunities that will allow you to grow your skills. Even if you won’t be working on the health issue you may be most passionate about, you will be gaining skills that are transferrable to other content areas.
Seek out mentors. Many of us who have been in the field are happy to assist young professionals; I actually just submitted a proposal that included a former student of mine. You can repay such assistance by keeping in touch and lifting up the work of your mentors. For those of us who are consultants, that means you may be in a position in the future to recommend us to an employer!
Work/Life balance is really important. Make sure you are carving out time to take care of yourself during your job search and when you are employed.
Advice to business builders
Clearly articulate who you are and what you do.
Don’t undervalue yourself. Your hourly or project-based rate needs to account not only for your education and experience, but also your business costs. You need to be able to cover your business expenses, in addition to paying yourself a living wage.
Find others who are also business owners and seek out opportunities to learn from each other.
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