Casie DeCuir

As someone looking to go into the public health field the opportunities are practically
endless. Whether its epidemiology, policy making, advocating for health for all, clinical practice,
physical therapy or so many other things, there are so many options. Personally, I am interested
in working with special populations. I love the idea of being able to help someone move past a
difficult situation or get them back on their feet, or even making them feel better when they are
sick. This is something that I love because it is an amazing feeling to be able to ease someone’s
worries and help them figure out what’s going on.
I’ve always had a passion for helping people. Starting from a young age, I’ve wanted to
go into some form of healthcare, whether that means becoming a doctor, physical therapist,
psychologist or physician’s assistant. Most of this passion comes from my family and growing
up in a household with exposure to the medical field. With a pharmacy technician and
transcriptionist for a mother and a firefighter/paramedic for a father, I’ve had plenty of time to
learn about healthcare and treatment and it’s developed into a dream of mine. My parents have
been a huge influence in my life and have always encouraged me to explore my options. Now
that I’m figuring out what I love, they are even more supportive of that.
When it came time to choose a major in college, it was a difficult process for me because
I knew my end goal but wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to get there. I decided on Public Health
because I liked that there were so many different parts to the major. From environmental health
to research, from science classes to physical health, there are so many different paths and
specialties to choose from. This is important to me because I think health is multi-dimensional.
Wellness as a concept includes equal opportunities for care, spiritual and emotional elements,
physical health (in terms of chronic disease, etc.), and so much more that all come together to
make up someone’s health and wellness. More than this, though, health is a basic human right.
Everyone should have the right to a healthy life, and part of public health is advocating for better
care and equality for all. If I’m able to make a change for the better in even one- or two-people’s
lives, that would make it all worth it for me.
In a field as broad as healthcare, there are so many possibilities in terms of what you can
do and where you can work. After getting a job in the Emergency Room, I fell in love with the
hospital setting. There is always so much to learn, and it is an amazing opportunity to grow as a
student and as a healthcare practitioner. Every experience I have had with other hospital and ER
staff members has been a pleasant one, and everyone there is always willing to help. Through my
experience scribing in the ER, I have even been able to find interests that I was not aware of
before, such as working with special populations. It has taught me a lot about keeping an open
mind and that every story is different. Working with so many different kinds of people with a
variety of problems is something that I enjoy because it provides a continuous learning
experience, no matter how much you think you know.
I need a career that will continuously present new challenges and opportunities for
growth while still focusing on the core concepts of public health. Pursuing a career in Public
Health and eventually clinical medicine will do this for me by giving me the chance to help
people focus on their health and wellness by giving them the tools necessary to make better and
more educated decisions about their lives. Health extends beyond just the doctor’s office to long
term behavior change and decision making, and being able to help someone change their lives
for the better would make the challenges I am facing now in college all worth it someday.