This is such an exciting time in your life!
I’ve heard this phrase many times when describing my current situation. I’ve just graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with my Masters degrees in Social Work and Maternal and Child Health. I’m finishing up my internship at the UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health, and am in the process of house hunting, job buy turinabol uk hunting, and moving out of state. While this time in my life is certainly exciting, it’s also mildly terrifying. The job search is currently occupying most of my thoughts. News outlets have been warning me for years now that my generation will have more trouble gaining employment than any previous generation. They assure me that my competition is expertly qualified and that there are simply not enough jobs to go around. If this is true, what does it mean for my job search? I’ve been listening to any and all the advice people have to give about getting a job—and there’s a lot of it out there. I’ve found information that ranges from completely obvious to totally ludicrous. One website warns interviewees not to show up with a drink in hand because, amongst other things, you could spill your drink on your interviewer. There seems to be a business in this kind of interview-related anxiety. There are books published on how to dress and sit, how much to smile and how to talk about yourself (a recent study shows that people with narcissistic personality disorder are disproportionately hired over those without the diagnosis, so apparently you’re supposed to speak pretty highly of yourself). I wish I could roll my eyes at all of it, but I understand the worry. Job interviews are one of the few interactions in which both parties involved openly admit that one is judging the others' abilities, intelligence, and likability. If having these tips makes people feel more confident in job interviews, then they’ve done their job. Many professionals agree that confidence is the most important quality in an interview. Most people encourage me to network, network, network. So far, this has been pretty successful. For the most part, people in my field are eager to help in any way they can, especially if we have a personal connection in common. I’m thrilled to be making connections with professionals that are doing amazing work, but I can’t help but be reminded of how privilege plays into every aspect of our lives, and the job search is no exception. Many of my connections have come through my parents’ friends (or my friends’ parents). Networking within my social network has allowed me access to a unique group of people, many of who are quite successful in their field. It is a constant reminder that becoming successful in this country is so much more complicated than simply “working hard,” it is inextricably linked to do with who you know, and what those people have access to. The past few months have felt like a lot of “hurry up and wait.” Possible future rental properties and employers have told me that I should just wait a bit and be in touch soon. While waiting patiently has never been my forte, I’m vilafinil review glad to have the opportunity to slow down and enjoy this time of exceptional change. There are certainly lessons to be learned from experiencing and reflecting on this transition and the new situations I’m finding myself in. After all, it’s such an exciting time.
The Every Woman Southeast Initiative was started with the goal of developing a multi-state, multi-level partnership to share and develop expertise on preconception / interconception health care, policies, research, programs, social marketing, and evaluation in order to improve the health of women and infants in our region of the United States. The Southeastern Region of the United States (Department of Health and Human Services Region IV) including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, historically has had high rates of infant mortality and morbidity, chronic disease, sexually transmitted infections, obesity, unplanned pregnancy, and poverty. Minority women in the South, particularly African American women, suffer disproportionately from these conditions. Over the years, progress has been made, yet the South continues to lag behind the nation in the health and well-being of its women and children. Data analysis and scientific study have demonstrated that additional progress in infant mortality and morbidity prevention demands an expanded approach to include women’s health before, during, and after pregnancy. This paradigm shift puts preventive health for woman of childbearing age in the forefront. Every Woman Southeast is not only interested in helping women only to improve birth outcomes. We aspire to improving the wellness of all women of reproductive age in recognition of the fact that healthy women are the foundation of a healthy family, community, and region. We know that investing in the health of young women will reap many rewards – for women, their families and our shared future. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our efforts. We invite you to join us in our collective journey. Our History The Every Woman Southeast Initiative was conceived in June 2009 out of a shared interest in creating more opportunities for colleagues throughout the eight Southern states of DHHS Region IV to work together in improving women’s health and birth outcomes. The concept quickly caught the interest of many partners and, with seed money from the March of Dimes the initiative was officially begun in November 2009. Louisiana joined the coalition in 2011. The first part of this initiative took place from November 2009 through April 2010. The first step was to develop an online survey to try to collect information about preconception health related activities from across the region. Many different state and regional partners were asked to share the survey link with their members. Over 300 people responded to the survey. Next, a series of planning calls were held to solicit ideas and input from representatives from all of the eight states. Call participants were asked to promote the online survey as well as to send in information about preconception related activities underway in their organization and/or state. This group also helped plan the agenda and focus for the initiative’s first meeting. The first in person meeting of Every Women Southeast partners was held on March 2nd, 2010 in Atlanta. The meeting was well attended and progress was made in shaping and framing this movement. To learn more about the meeting, you can review the meeting’s executive summary or the meeting’s full report. The final product of phase one of this work was the development of the Every Woman Southeast, Region IV vemox 500 Compendium of Preconception Activities and Resources. This compendium provides an overview of preconception and women’s wellness activities in the south. It also includes a summary of the online survey. We have convened a leadership team, which has been meeting via conference call every other week during the summer. Notes are taken and shared for each meeting with the state team representatives channeling the information back to their colleagues. The team has focused their work and decision-making on efforts that meet the needs expressed by our partners. Our first activity was to develop the outline and content for this website. Our goal for the website was to allow us to provide a direct service to partners and organizations across our states by sharing resources and ideas. Our website was launched in October 2010. The initiative also presented two webinars on topics that were expressed by colleagues as being of great interest. The first webinar took place on November 4, 2010 and focused on how to build a strong, multi-agency, interdisciplinary women’s wellness / preconception health council. The second webinar took place in February 2010 and highlighted interconception health projects for high-risk mothers across the region. We continued our webinar series in 2011 along with regular conference calls among partners. In January 2012 we applied to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for a grant to help us move our coalition forward. We received this grant in April 2012. This led to an in person strategic planning session in Chapel Hill in May 2012 and a flurry of activities. We launched a pilot project grant program, supported a meeting dutahair in Atlanta for the National Preconception Health Consumer Workgroup, began supporting the development of a Preconception Health Toolkit for Clinicians, and a special report on Preconception Health and Policy. We are working to increase our linkages among states, in spreading the word about the life course approach and health equity, and coming up with some very exciting ideas for 2013.
