Back home in India, I was a root canal specialist and aesthetic dentist. During the pandemic, I observed how bad some public health policy decisions had been. This got me interested in Global Health and Public Policy. I decided to pursue the Master’s programme from the University of Bath, the U.K. I didn’t have much time to shift and settle but the student support team helped me find permanent accommodation.
When I first arrived, I was a bit overwhelmed but, within a few weeks, I had made friends and began to explore the city. The diverse mix of students offered incredible experiences and created some wonderful memories.
The best thing about the M.Sc. Global Public Health and Policy course at Bath was the range of exciting topics covered. It started with the basic determinants of health and how they impact lives across the globe. Then comes improving health outcomes for marginalised groups and communities across the world and promoting research and interventions to foster health and equality. We also learned how to use different types of analytical software and analyse charts and data. Moving through the course, one learns how to put all this into practice through sustainable policies. Our lecturers were very supportive, and we also had regular guest lecturers to get a broader perspective on current issues in public health and policymaking.
As everyone came from different backgrounds, there were many interesting perspectives on what we were learning and people had different views about public health systems in their countries, their functioning and how it could be better. We had a lot of first-hand stories to tell in between lectures that were related to the topics we were studying. For example, if we were talking about COVID-19, everyone shared how their home country dealt with it and compared what was successful and what was not.
In this programme, instead of a final dissertation, there was an option of a Practice Track, where you get to work virtually or in person with an external organisation and apply what we had learned. I worked with a company called Healthwatch. I studied the experiences of refugees and immigrants in accessing and using healthcare services in Swindon and Bath and Northeast Somerset and the barriers they face.
When I started the course, I wasn’t sure where I wanted it to take me. After speaking with my tutor, I realised I could still combine dentistry with global public health and make a real difference.
The writer finished the M.Sc. Global Health and Policy at the University of Bath, the U.K., earlier in 2023.
