Cultural Competency: More than a Checklist

When I arrived at our MCH program’s cultural competency training. I didn’t quite know what to expect. In the program description there were terms that piqued my interest such as “ghost busting”, “time spirits” and “cultural transformation”. It seemed quite hyperbolic to describe a training to increase organizational effectiveness. But, one of my core values [...]

Time Spirits and Cultural Transformation

On Friday, October 14, 2011 the UIC MCH Program in collaboration with the UIC LEND program, the Mid-America Public Health Training Center (MAPHTC), and the Wisconsin Pediatric Pulmonary Center (UW PPC) sponsored a day-long Cultural Diversity training at the UIC School of Public Health.  Typically, I do not participate in events that I am involved [...]

January 2012 UIC MCH Leadership Development and Coaching Program

The UIC MCH Program is currently accepting applications for the UIC MCH Leadership Development and Coaching Program which will begin in January 2012.  This is a 6-month, distance-based program that includes 6-monthly, 1-hour calls focused on Authentic Leadership Development:  Strengths Based Leadership, Values-Based Leadership and Decision-Making, Self-Awareness, Emotional-Intelligence, Ideal-Self, Work-Life Balance, Self-Care, and Whole Life [...]

2011 Practicum Experiences

My Journey through India and Bangladesh On my fifteen hour plane ride to India this summer, I reviewed numerous articles about menstrual regulation, abortion and mid-level health providers in Bangladesh and around the world. Menstrual regulation is legal in Bangladesh and is used to empty the uterus when a woman’s menses has been delayed up [...]

A Space for Learning, Growing, and Feeling Inspired

As a volunteer, I had the opportunity to participate in the Maternal and Child Health National Leadership Retreat this summer.  The theme was “Leadership, Legacy, and Community” and throughout the three-day retreat, it became very clear how this truly prospers.  There was an intentional focus on intergenerational connections, especially in learning from one another in [...]

Top Ten List: Ten Most Significant Achievements in Maternal and Child Health, 2001-2010

Number 10 Newborn Screening Expansion of blood-sample based newborn screening from a handful to more than 29 conditions in almost every state. Development of universal newborn hearing screening with diagnosis and intervention.  This is not a job completely done, but a dramatic change from beginning to end of the decade.   Number 9 Folic Acid-Preventable [...]