Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
PH SPOT
Sujani Sivanantharajah, the founder of PHSPOT.org sits down with public health heroes of our time to share career stories, inspiration, and guidance for building public health careers.
The message she hopes to share through these conversations is that building a career is not only about climbing up the ranks, but about crafting a life that you want, around your unique needs, and one that gives importance to your mental health, wellbeing, and building relationships and friendships: you can only do good in the world if you take care of yourself.
Through PH SPOTlight, you will connect with peers you have never met before, and build relationships in a deep and meaningful way.
All episodes
Best episodes
Top 10 Public Health SPOTlight Podcast Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Public Health SPOTlight Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Public Health SPOTlight Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Public Health SPOTlight Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
A conversation on the MD/MPH career journey, the case for more public-private partnerships in public health, and entrepreneurship, with Dr. Nitin Mohan
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
04/20/22 • 39 min
In this episode, Sujani sits down with Dr. Nitin Mohan who holds both an MD and MPH. They discuss how Nitin’s work experience in medicine led him to pursuing an MPH and talk about ETIO Public Health Consultants, a company co-founded by Nitin that works to bring evidence-based public health information and solutions to businesses.
You’ll Learn
- Nitin’s path from completing his MD to pursuing an MPH
- How training as an MD strengthened Nitin’s ability to be a public health professional and vice versa
- What ETIO is including:
- Company goals
- What kind of projects ETIO takes on
- What kind of backgrounds team members come from
- Nitin’s keys to success for entrepreneurship in the public health world
- What holding a faculty position and mentoring students has taught Nitin
- What lessons Nitin has learned about science communication working through the COVID pandemic
- Advice from Nitin for public health students and early career professionals
Today’s Guest
Dr. Nitin Mohan is an assistant professor who teaches courses in the Master of Management and Applied Sciences and Master of Public Health programs. He is also a partner and physician epidemiologist at a private public health consultancy firm and research think tank called ETIO which is based in Toronto, Ontario. He obtained his Medical Doctorate in 2015 and his Master of Public Health in 2017.
He specializes in infectious disease surveillance and preventive medicine. He has experience coordinating national surveillance activities ensuring optimal data practices across multiple sectors. Through his role at ETIO he works with private and public sectors and Non-Governmental Organizations on various projects ranging from knowledge translation, data management, research design and clinical guideline development, software development and program development.
His interests include preventive medicine, global health, public health, health equity, health economics and population health.
Resources
- Read ETIO’s anti-black racism in Ontario report and other reports
- Learn more about ETIO’s RMP2 tool and the P3 dashboard
Other PH SPOT resources:
- Share ideas for the podcast: Fill out this form
- Never heard of a podcast before? Read this guide we put together to help you get set up.
- Be notified when new episodes come out, and receive hand-picked public health opportunities every week by joining the PH SPOT community.
- Contribute to the public health career blog: www.phspot.ca/contribute
- Upcoming course on infographics: phspot.ca/infographics
- Learn
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
Public Health Resources Series: Public Health Insight Podcast, with Leshawn Benedict
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
03/16/22 • 49 min
In this episode, Sujani sits with Leshawn Benedict, a cofounder of Public Health Insight. They talk about Leshawn’s story of his involvements in different public health fields as well as what Public Health Insight is and how they're achieving their mission.
You’ll Learn
- How Leshawn became interested and involved in the field of public health
- Advice for students thinking about applying for grad school and planning for future career prospects
- Leshawn’s experiences learning about the public health environment of Thailand
- Leshawn and his co-founders’ motivations for starting Public Health Insight
- How Public Health Insight has evolved and grown
- What the benefits of engaging in extracurricular public health endeavors and personal initiatives on top of “formal” work are
- Findings from Leshawn’s article “Podcasting as a Tool for Health Communication? The Public Health Insight Podcast and Emergent Opportunities”
- How podcasting can be used as an effective form of communicating public health information
- Leshawn’s biggest learnings, surprises, and challenges when starting a podcast
Today’s Guest
Leshawn Benedict is a Community Manager for a Global Health Community of Practice with over 250 members across 35 countries, focusing on addressing implementation gaps and current issues facing Neglected Tropical Disease programs. He received his Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, majoring in Biochemistry and Biology, and completed his Master of Public Health and Master of Science (Global Health Management) degrees at Western University and McMaster University. Leshawn has a keen interest in project management and student mentorship. He is also the Founder of Public Health Insight, a public health organization committed to leading and innovating modern solutions to support evidence-informed public health communication, education, and knowledge translation.
Resources
- An interview with Leshawn about the MSc. Global Health Management program at McMaster University
- Read “Podcasting as a Tool for Health Communication? The Public Health Insight Podcast and Emergent Opportunities”
- The Public Health Insight website
- Listen to the Public Health Insight podcast
Other PH SPOT resources:
- Share ideas for the podcast: Fill out this form
- Never heard of a podcast before? Read this guide we put together to help you get set up.
- Be notified when new episodes come out, and receive hand-picked public health opportunities every week by joining the PH SPOT community.
- Contribute to the public health career blog: www.phspot.ca/contribute
- Upcoming course on infographics: phspot.ca/infograph
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
New year. New you. New job? Introducing a new mini series & Career Workshop.
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
01/05/22 • 21 min
This year, January 14th to be exact, PH SPOT celebrates 5 years. It’s unbelievable that 5 years have gone by already. Sujani created PH SPOT in 2017 after seeing a gap online for a career development resource dedicated specifically for public health professionals. Since graduating from her public health degree, Sujani spent countless hours between 2013 – 2016 guiding public health students and new grads one-on-one with their careers. As this was not a scalable solution, nor a sustainable one she decided to create PH SPOT to reach, inspire and support a larger number of public health professionals. The platform also ensured that a more diverse set of experiences and advice was being shared. In today's episode Sujani tells you about the different programs and products PH SPOT has built over the years, and on a more exciting note, introduces the new mini-series on the podcast that will run throughout January and a bit into February, called NewYear. New You. New Job?, as well as a Career Workshop!
What You'll Learn from this Episode:
- Three pillars that PH SPOT's products and programs are focused on: studying public health, getting hired in public health, upskilling for a competitive edge (mainly focused on health communications)
- The types of content found on the Blog and the Podcast, the downloadable tools and resources available for each of the three pillars, and the virtual programming (courses and workshops offered)
- And update on the podcast and how we will have a weekly release in 2022
- The new mini-series in January focused on getting you hired in public health. Topics of discussion will include informational Interviews, setting yourself up with LinkedIn for job success, and resumes/CVs.
- One of the most exciting launches of 2022: Jumpstart your public health career Workshop.
Featured on the Show:
- The PH SPOT Career Blog
- The Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
- PH SPOT Resource Page
- Infographics 101 Self-Paced Course and Live Workshop (request a quote)
- Beginner's only: Build a public health website course
- Jumpstart your public health career Workshop - join the waitlist for the next cohort.
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
Launching the public health book reviews blog series, with Tasha McAbey
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
03/03/21 • 26 min
Show Notes
In today’s episode, Sujani sits down with a fellow public health professional, Tasha McAbey, to announce the collaboration on a new series for the PH SPOT blog! Sujani met Tasha on Instagram through her page @Public.Health.Bookmark where she shares reviews on public health books she’s read. Knowing that the PH SPOT community would love this, Sujani and Tasha are launching monthly public health reviews on the blog! Before the launch of this series next week, Sujani sits down with Tasha to get to know her better and to let you know what you can expect in this series.
You’ll Learn
- Get to know Tasha: her public health journey, her role at Boston Children’s Hospital as a professional medical illustrator/animator, and her interest in books (her love language is book recommendations!)
- What got Tasha into reading so many public health books; and how she reads any book with a public health lens, thinking about how public health shapes the characters and the events
- Reading!
- How reading reminds yourself why you are interested in public health
- How when course readings and writing assignments became hard to get through, reading kept Tasha’s energy level up!
- Tasha and PH SPOT’s collaboration for the book reviews – what to expect!
- These book reviews will serve as an inspiration for those in school and for professionals in public health
- To highlight important public health topic areas; and if nothing is being done in these areas, how we hope these reviews encourage the PH SPOT community to take action
- To provide insights beyond what one can look up online – commenting on the writing format and style for example, and going beyond summary and plot points
- Suggested further readings to dive deeper into the subject matter; will be sharing other mediums (not just readings), such as videos and podcast episodes
- How to get in touch with Tasha and provide book recommendations
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
Where will your MPH degree take you? Two lessons to mentally prepare for your MPH degree in the time of COVID-19, with Sujani Siva
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
05/19/20 • 14 min
Show Notes
In this episode, we’re talking about preparing for your MPH degree in the time of COVID-19. Some of you may be feeling unsure about how things are going to be when classes start. Perhaps you’re feeling some anxiety, or have many questions around whether your experience is going to be valuable. We’re here to tell you that these feelings you are experiencing are valid. This episode is to give you a bit of comfort and to convince you that despite the changes we must face, you can still have a good experience.
In 2017, Sujani wrote a two-part blog post titled “Where will your MPH degree take you?”. She wrote this piece to reflect on her journey into public health. As Sujani reflects on the current situation we are in due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she couldn’t help but think about the new set of MPH students who will be embarking on their graduate program this fall. She was compelled to revisit this reflection to see if the same lessons still apply. (Spoiler alert: they do still apply!)
You’ll Learn
- The training you are embarking on is extremely important
- There are things you can’t control in this pandemic that will be affecting your MPH program/training
- Two important lessons that Sujani learnt during her MPH degree, and a reflection on whether they still apply in the current context
- These two lessons are: seeking your own opportunities and going above and beyond the bare minimum
- Examples on how to seek your own opportunities (lesson #1)
- Example of how Sujani went above and beyond the bare minimum (lesson #2)
- An invitation to talk about/reflect on your current feelings as you prepare for your MPH program
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
How to use the right key terms in your public health job application, with Zoila Reyna
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
03/20/24 • 22 min
Unlock the code to public health job success with Zoila Reina of Public Health Hired, who graces our podcast with expert tips on mastering the language of the sector. If you've ever felt lost in a sea of job applications, Zoila's creation, the Public Health Key Terms Guide, is your beacon. We zero in on the power of terms and how they're not just buzzwords but keys to your next career move. From decoding job descriptions to enhancing your resume and shining in interviews, our conversation is the guiding light for public health hopefuls ready to make their mark.
You’ll Learn
- What the Key Terms in Public Health Guide is and how it came to be
- How understanding terms can help you envision yourself in certain jobs and reflect on your skills
- Understanding key terms to show off your public health knowledge in job applications and interviews
- Elevating your language in everyday work to advance your career
- Using key terms to expand your job search beyond traditional public health roles
Today’s Guest
The founder of Public Health Hired, Zoila Reyna MPH, has single-handedly, with no outsourcing, helped secure over 240 public health job offers and internships through her virtual presentations, online masterclass, tailored mentorships, and social media content. Zoila's unwavering dedication to the diverse public health workforce is evident through the Public Health Hired's mission to demystify the public health employment process and help others master best practices and proven techniques to be successful in the job search. She has a full-time job in healthcare as a consultant for community health and loves spending time in her Los Angeles home with her baby girl Jhara, her son Giovanni, dog Lulu, and spouse Jimmy.
Resources
- Connect with Zoila on LinkedIn
- Get the Key Terms in Public Health guide and check out what else Public Health Hired has to offer
- Listen to the previous episode on personal branding
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
Threading the pearls of your necklace: how every experience builds your public health career, with Dr. Vinu Ilakkuvan, DrPH, MPH
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
03/27/24 • 42 min
Have you ever found yourself at a career crossroads, contemplating a leap into uncharted territory? Join us as we navigate the captivating realm of public health careers with Dr. Vinu Ilakkuvan. She shares her remarkable shift from engineering to public health, shedding light on the serendipitous ways that one's professional journey can unfold. We discuss the strategic reframing of skills that allow for such shifts, and the interplay between work experience and academic learning. Our dialogue unveils the empowering process of aligning personal values with professional ambitions, leading to a career that's not just a job but a calling.
You’ll Learn
- Vinu’s experience transitioning from biomedical engineering to public health early in her career vs. pivoting from one role to another later on
- Vinu’s various job roles and what she learned from each one
- How Vinu’s passion for working in an interconnected public health environment and bridging policy and ground work led to the creation of PoP Health
- What PoP Health is and how they improve public health by collaborating with coalitions to facilitate community access
- Reflecting on your own career experiences and gaining confidence to form your own story and work towards your dream job
Today’s Guest
Vinu Ilakkuvan, DrPH, MSPH, is passionate about strengthening community-driven efforts to address the upstream, root drivers of health (pophealthllc.com/tedx). She is Founder and Principal Consultant of PoP Health, a public health consulting practice that partners with community coalitions and collaboratives to transform health in their communities through policy and systems change (pophealthllc.com). PoP Health helps coalitions engage in community collaboration, action planning, participatory evaluation, and effective storytelling. PoP Health also issues a biweekly newsletter, Community Threads, with tools and strategies for anyone seeking to improve community health (pophealthllc.com/newsletter).
Vinu received her DrPH in Health Behavior from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health as a Milken Scholar, a Master’s degree with a concentration in Health Communication from the Harvard School of Public Health, and Bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Economics from the University of Virginia. She currently serves as a Professorial Lecturer at George Washington University. Vinu began her public health career coordinating the Virginia Department of Health's bullying and youth violence prevention program and later, evaluating the national truth antismoking campaign and managing policy and communications projects at Trust for America’s Health.
Resources
- Connect with Vinu on LinkedIn
- Learn more about the Truth Initiative
- Learn more about Trust for America's Health
- Learn more about PoP Health
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
Networking is everywhere, with Sujani
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
04/03/24 • 12 min
This week Sujani unveils the transformative power of weaving relationship-building into the very fabric of your daily life. From striking up a conversation with a colleague to reaching out to a professional you admire online, I'll demonstrate the omnipresence of networking opportunities. Whether you're taking your first steps in public health or you're a seasoned expert, this episode promises to revolutionize your approach to building relationships and expand your professional network in ways you never imagined. Let's get ready to transform the way you think about networking in public health.
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
Using life circumstances to guide your public health journey, with McKenzie Schrank
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
11/29/23 • 49 min
In this episode, Sujani sits down with McKenzie Schrank to discuss how her experience with leishmaniasis influenced her path, incorporating personal interests into public health and vice versa, and using every little experience to shape your journey.
You’ll Learn
- How McKenzie first discovered the field of public health
- McKenzie’s experience contracting leishmaniasis on a study abroad trip and how this experience shaped her education and career path
- Health communication is the cornerstone of public health
- How snowboarding has made McKenzie a better public health professional
- Integrating your passions with public health and how McKenzie is incorporating public health into snowboarding and vice versa
- Making your own space in public health
Today’s Guest
I earned my Master of Public Health at the Colorado School of Public Health in community and behavioral health and global health. I believe in strengthening communities by engaging community members with clear communication and connection and I hope to continue to foster positive change in health communication.
I have previously worked with the Peruvian population during a study abroad to the Madre de Dios region in 2017. From this experience I found a passion for working with and providing information to under resourced communities after contracting leishmaniasis during this trip. I took the experience of being infected as an opportunity to share my experience and educate future travelers about the difficulty of treating a neglected tropical disease and the risk of infection. Additionally, I used this opportunity to highlight inequalities in the healthcare system in regard to cost and access. My published manuscript entitled "Leishmaniasis Through the Lens of the Host" won a King Award of Academic Excellence for its innovative and creative additions to the existing body of knowledge on leishmaniasis. The insight I gained from these experiences prepared me with compassion and enthusiasm for the communications work I am currently doing.
Resources
- Connect with McKenzie on LinkedIn
- Buy the book "The Story of the Human Body"
- Learn more about leishmaniasis
- Learn more about the Center for Creative Leadership
- Read the blog post mentioned on today’s episode
- Learn more about the Snow Pool project
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
A Day in the Life of a Public Health Attorney, with Joanna Suder
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast
05/04/22 • 30 min
In this episode, Sujani sits down with Joanna Suder, a deputy attorney general representing the Division of Public Health for the state of Delaware. They chat about what tasks public health attorneys may be responsible for, how it was like working through the pandemic, and Joanna’s experiences writing “Pandemic for Babies”.
You’ll Learn
- How Joanna entered the field of public health law
- How health specialized law programs differ from regular law programs
- What public health law entails and what a typical day may look like for a public health attorney
- How Joanna’s workload and the cases she works on have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
- What other professionals Joanna collaborate with in her work
- Other paths that people specialized in health law may go on to do
- Joanna’s experience co-authoring the book “Pandemics for Babies” and how she balanced writing a book along with her regular workload
- The importance of understanding tech in public health law
- What advice Joanna has for others who are interested in following a similar path
Today’s Guest
Joanna Suder is a Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Division of the Delaware Department of Justice. She is currently the Unit Head for the Health Law Unit and supervises a team in addition to her work representing the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services as well as the Division of Public Health. Joanna was the lead health attorney responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her ample free time, Joanna co-authors articles and children's books with her husband, an infectious disease epidemiologist. A true lawyer, Joanna wants you to know that nothing she says necessarily represents the views of the Delaware Department of Justice of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.
Resources
- Listen to the previous episode with Neal Goldstein, the co-author (and Joanna’s husband!) of “Pandemic for Babies”
- Purchase “Pandemics for Babies” from the publisher or from Amazon
Other PH SPOT resources:
- Share ideas for the podcast: Fill out this form
- Never heard of a podcast before? Read this guide we put together to help you get set up.
- Be notified when new episodes come out, and receive hand-picked public health opportunities every week by joining the PH SPOT community.
- Contribute to the public health career blog: www.phspot.ca/contribute
- Upcoming course on infographics: phspot.ca/infographics
- Learn more about PH Spot's 6-week training program
Join The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Public Health SPOTlight Podcast have?
Public Health SPOTlight Podcast currently has 164 episodes available.
What topics does Public Health SPOTlight Podcast cover?
The podcast is about Career, School, Community, Wellness, Podcasts, Self-Improvement, Education, Job, Health, Business, Higher Ed and Careers.
What is the most popular episode on Public Health SPOTlight Podcast?
The episode title 'Can your strengths change?' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Public Health SPOTlight Podcast?
The average episode length on Public Health SPOTlight Podcast is 37 minutes.
How often are episodes of Public Health SPOTlight Podcast released?
Episodes of Public Health SPOTlight Podcast are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Public Health SPOTlight Podcast?
The first episode of Public Health SPOTlight Podcast was released on Jan 26, 2020.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ