![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/dan_lucey-360x360.jpg\")
In his 90-minute talk, entitled \u201cPeople, Policies, and PanEpidemics,\u201d Lucey shared reflections from fighting epidemics over his 40-plus year career\u2014which has included responding to outbreaks overseas involving Ebola, MERS, SARS, HIV, H5N1, Zika, Yellow Fever, and pneumonic plague. He urged the students to \u201cstay humble but be skeptical,\u201d emphasizing that, \u201cWhat\u2019s coming next is already here, we just haven\u2019t recognized it yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s been very important to go to the outbreaks, to work with colleagues on the ground, and talk and share information with the people who are there,\u201d said Lucey, who is a clinical professor of medicine at Geisel, anthropology research associate at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Global Health Committee. \u201cRemember, if you want to receive something of value, be ready to offer something of value.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to their curriculum sessions and coursework, many students participated in social activities throughout the week\u2014including S\u2019mores and a fire on the Life Sciences lawn and tours of the Baker Library Bell Tower, which offers breathtaking views of the Dartmouth campus\u2014with several reflecting on their on-campus experiences.<\/p>\n \u201cIn two years, we have 24 days to build connections with our cohort in person,\u201d said first-year student Brieanna Gerner. \u201cIn just eight days, I have built relationships with people who inspire and challenge me to grow. I am eagerly awaiting the next time I get to see everyone and share special moments like making S\u2019mores by the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo be able to take the experiences from these intensive weeks back home to Virginia to impact the patients for whom I care is just remarkable,\u201d said Marie Skoczlas, a member of the first-year cohort. \u201cEqually important are the social activities\u2014having the opportunity to share our personal and professional experiences in an informal setting set the landscape for developing lifelong friendships with some of the most caring people I have ever had the privilege of meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis intense, in-person week left me feeling greatly energized and further connected to colleagues and new friends,\u201d said first-year student Jan Castilhos Franca. \u201cI think it\u2019s important that the program includes these weeks, bringing different expertise, experience, and backgrounds together to exchange on today\u2019s many devastating health inequities. It makes such a difference to discuss these challenges in person, during class and outside the classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday evening, in one of the highlights of the week, the program\u2019s cohort of 42 second-year students got to share the Applied Practice Experience (APE) component of their coursework with peers, faculty, and staff\u2014presenting their research projects at a poster fair and reception held at the Class of 1953 Commons.<\/p>\n For Amy Bianco, whose project was focused on creating a pragmatic path towards primary care sustainability, the APE experience has allowed her to apply what\u2019s she learning in the MPH program to her daily work as director of health policy and strategic initiatives at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes all of the conversations we have in the program so much richer because we\u2019re folding in our professional experiences with the experiences in the classroom,\u201d Bianco said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s already made me better at what I do\u2014I now have the tools I need to contribute more within my workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n For his APE project, Jay Campisi spent five months developing quality improvement initiatives for Tepeyac Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center in Denver, CO.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the most rewarding things I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d said Campisi, a professor of biology at Regis University in Denver. \u201cI got into the community, met people, and did the work\u2014and it was Dartmouth that provided the pathway and the push I needed to do it. It\u2019s not only been really impactful for me, I think it\u2019s going to provide some great opportunities for my students, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about the powerful impact that the APE component provides to students, Megan Longacre, PhD, who serves as co-course director for the practicum series of courses in the Hybrid MPH program, said, \u201cI think it gives students an opportunity to get that professional experience of presenting their work\u2014from an academic perspective, it\u2019s important to impart that skill to them.<\/p>\n \u201cI also think that because they\u2019re working on their projects at a slow and steady pace over six to ten months, they often don\u2019t really see how much they\u2019ve accomplished until they put it all on a poster,\u201d said Longacre. \u201cIt\u2019s a self-reflective moment for them. And it\u2019s a very well-rounded experience because it has both an academic component and a practical, real-world component to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Check out more photos from the December Intensive Sessions (all photos by Rob Strong):<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Hybrid](\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/20231204-smores-409-1920-640x360.jpg\")
![\"Wide](\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/20231206-mphposters-261-1920-640x360.jpg\")