For the last few weeks I have been disheartened by some of the interactions I have had in my new sphere, the academic public health space. While the experience has been more than 90% positive, it has sometimes left me concerned on a couple different fronts, so last night came right on time. I needed my faith restored, my system rebooted.
APHA provides a great opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, friends, and to check the pulse on the future of public health practice. I am still on the lookout for the talented, innovative professionals who will take us to the next level as we work to promote health. Running into former employees, fellow faculty, mentors, etc. is always something I look forward to. What I got yesterday was a blend of affirmation and inspiration, and the affirmation was not all good.
Our colleagues in law and business seem to do a better job at embracing diversity. In public health, we would do well to work on this, because if last night was an indication of progress, we have a long way to go. I know some people and institutions are doing it better than others, but our diversity "game" is weak, and there is a wealth of technical, cultural, linguistic, and interpersonal talent for us to tap into. That is, if we choose to.
Just like a smart-phone app, embracing diversity is a concept that we have to download in order to use . Trouble is, I do not see it on everyone's device. Downloading diversity as an app isn't enough though. It has to become part of the operating system, a file without which the enterprise does not work, or keeps crashing. Diversity as I define it here is beyond race, gender, and ethnicity. It is about inter-disciplinary collectives which are born from a clear understanding that we cannot do this "health thing" alone. We have to be open to creating the proper partnerships at every level. Public:private, interagency, inter-discipline, trans-race / gender / ethnicity / community, you name it.
The inspiration part of the equation is in the realization that there is room for improvement. It all starts with dialogue, and with my system rebooted by a combination of colleagues, friends, (and others who don't even know that they influence me), I'm ready to fire-up the latest version of this "diversity in public health" app. Stay tuned for more on this at www.PHVenturesGroup.com, coming soon.
Be well.
PV
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