Table 2.
Themes and Quotes Representing How Living Through the Pandemic Impacted the Students’ Public Health Career Goals (N = 47).
| Theme | Representative quotes abstracted from reflection # 4 (April 2021) | n (%)a |
|---|---|---|
| More committed to public health goals | I think living through this pandemic has only further motivated me to pursue a career in public health. I knew this field was important before the pandemic, but now the whole world knows how important public health is, and why public health professionals are needed. The pandemic highlighted issues that already exist in our healthcare system: access issues, inequities, improper incentivizing, etc. I’m more motivated to work toward better solutions to these issues after seeing how deeply they impact the lives of patients. It has made more committed to the field while instilling in me a desire to expand beyond my particular MPH focus to include public health communication and infectious disease. However, simultaneously, it has been daunting and at times I feel burned out from the feeling of needing to be an expert in everything. It seems like being concerned with public health matters has overwhelmed both my school life, work life, and personal life, which has made me less enthusiastic about a public health career. It reinforced my decision and commitment to join the public health workforce and has made me think about work I might be able to get involved in in my future career to support public health efforts to prevent/anticipate future pandemics. |
12 (25.5) |
| Halted goals | It has ultimately halted them. It is hard to deal with a pandemic, classes, and applying for jobs. More so, it is discouraging read job descriptions that I am not qualified for as a result of an online university. It is has impacted my mental health, therefore I am taking a step back from my career goals. It has negatively impacted my career goals because sometimes the amount of pushback from people about something as simple as mask wearing makes me feel despondent about this work. Why should I pursue a field that a large majority of the United States thinks is fake? That has made me question my career goals and reevaluate what I want to do with my degree. I am disappointed to admit that it’s made me consider going into industry over public service. After seeing how leaders in my field were disrespected and even threatened (such as Drs. Anthony Fauci and Amy Acton) by people who have no background in the field, it has made me think, well what does this mean for my future? |
6 (12.8) |
| More prepared for reaching goals | I don’t think the pandemic has hindered my career goals in any way. If anything, I gained great insight and experience during a pressing global pandemic which is an asset. Living through a pandemic has given me insight in what steps the public health community should take during a public health crisis. I think that receiving my schooling during a pandemic has given me a unique learning opportunity, that will help me with my future career as an infection preventionist. It’s opened the opportunity to engage with people virtually on a larger scale, which makes collaboration much easier, so I’m excited to use that expansion to my benefit. It’s also given me a healthy dose of awareness of how limiting people’s resources can be which has made me more motivated on changing the system, rather than helping individuals, to be more healthy. I think living through this pandemic has given me perspective and provided adversity that made me more equipped to adapt to different circumstances in my career. This will prepare me well for a career in the field of public health despite how tough it has been mentally and collectively as a population. |
11 (23.4) |
| No change in goals | Still want to be a public health hero. That does not changed and will not change. I do not feel like the pandemic has impacted my career goals, as my desired career path is the same as it was before the pandemic. It has not. My career goals have not changed and I am not worried about opportunities being limited in that due to the pandemic. I don’t think it’s changed my career goals but has definitely made me proud and excited to be in this field to make real change in the world and I hope that people realize how important public health professionals are. |
18 (38.3) |
a
Themes are not mutually exclusive and may therefore not total 100%.