Show Notes
At some point in time we have all been in a position where we ponder on what our next step is going to be in our career journey. Sophiya Garasia faced a similar inflection point where she was trying to identify her next step after her degree in public health.
In her search through self reflection, she discovered that medical school was not for her. She shared this introspection via the post “Why I will not be applying for medical school” that she wrote for the PH SPOT blog a few years ago. We wanted to bring her on the podcast to dig more into this reflection she had and the framework she used to make her decision, so that we can use the same framework when we come to a similar point in our journey where we need to decide our next step.
You’ll Learn
- About Sophiya’s journey and her decision to not go to med school
- How introspection after each experience is key in helping you build your career
- Why changing your career plan is okay
- Advice for those who think they may like medicine (how they should go about this)
- Importance of finding a mentor to discuss the different options in your career
- What to keep an eye out for when looking for experiences (i.e. do meaningful volunteer to understand what you like and dislike)
- How to get public health volunteer experiences
- The popularity of public health and how that’s changing
Today’s Guest
Sophiya Garasia
Sophiya is a PhD candidate in the Health Policy program at McMaster University, specializing in Health Economics. Prior to commencing her PhD studies, Sophiya obtained her Master’s of Public Health degree and Honours Bachelor of Science degree and worked professionally in public health at both a national and international level. Sophiya is interested in areas of health equity and data analytics. Her thesis focuses on the health and health care use of immigrants in Canada. Outside of her work, Sophiya enjoys Zumba, experiencing different cultures through travel and food, and spending time with her loved ones. To learn more about her work and experiences, you can find her through Twitter (@sophiyagarasia) or her personal blog. Sophiya also has a new podcast series called The Health Briefs in which she and her team discuss current relevant health issues.
Resources
- Read the “Why I will not be applying to medical school” reflection Sophiya wrote for the PH SPOT blog
- Other blog posts written by Sophiya:
- Sophiya mentions a podcast that she is hosting – The Health Briefs: A podcast on health news using health economics & policy lenses. Take a listen!
Other PH SPOT resources:
- Never heard of a podcast before? Read this guide we put together to help you get set up.
- Interested in knowing how PH SPOT came to be? Read about the Accidental birth of PH SPOT.
- Be notified when new episodes come out, and receive hand-picked public health opportunities every week by joining the PH SPOT community.
Before you go…
- Do you have a topic that you would like us to cover or a guest we should sit down with? Tell us using this form.
