My City. My Health. Health Equity Conference and Student Experiential Learning.
“My favorite part of this experience was being able to see how some of the health equity issues I have been learning about in other classes affect my own community, while also collaborating with my peers and healthcare professionals to raise awareness about these issues,” said Sophie Woodley. Sophie is one of 18 students involved in the Community Guided Wellness Practicum, a course offered through the department of Health and Human Physiology at the University of Iowa. Here at Iowa, we as students are encouraged to discover new ways to see the world and make it better. The university’s core values are creativity, community, excellence, inclusion, and integrity; qualities that we have learned throughout the practicum and our work on the My City My Health conference. Through the guided Community Guided Wellness Practicum, we have learned technical skills to apply to future health careers, had important conversations with local health professionals through a health equity conference, and emphasized the importance of equitable healthcare in the greater Iowa City community and beyond.
Betterment starts with learning, and that is what this course has accomplished for us as future health leaders. This class allowed us to take the concepts we have been learning in the Health and Human Physiology Department and apply them in a way we could expect to experience after graduation. It also allowed us to see the skills we have gained being used in a meaningful way. We dove into event planning and marketing, networking, communication and collaboration, and podcasting. We interviewed local experts working to improve health equity outcomes. These interviews were done via podcast, where each of us produced a podcast episode from start to finish, with final cuts of the interviews being uploaded to the nationally recognized podcast The Healthy Project, hosted by Corey Lewis. The podcasts offered a way to spread awareness of the work being done in the Iowa City community on a digital platform as well as encourage community members to register for the My City. My Health. Iowa City Health Equity conference on Friday, April 28th, 2023.
After a successful conference in Des Moines in 2022, The Healthy Project, University of Iowa Health and Human Physiology, and Carver College of Medicine are bringing the My City. My Health conference to Iowa City. The health equity conference brings community members together to engage in conversations about health equity, including topics on culture in healthcare, research in health equity, community wellbeing, and community engagement. This conference offers the chance to connect, engage, and build understanding from those doing amazing things in the Iowa City area to enhance health equity for all. Health is an essential human right, and health equity is accomplished when everyone can achieve their maximum potential for health and overall well-being.
If you are interested in registering or learning more, go to https://mycity.health/.
“As someone interested and invested in improving health outcomes, but also have been pursuing a more “traditional” marketing career, finding ways to use what I have learned in an ethical and positive way can feel challenging. This practicum allowed the space to explore ways in which different skill sets and backgrounds can play a role in creating impactful change across an entire community.” - Elizabeth Dix
“My favorite part of this experience was collaborating with peers, community members and health professions in order to hold an impactful discussion surrounding health equity in our community.” - Ellery Winterbottom
“My favorite part of this experience was the improvement of my ability to adapt to change and uncertainty!” - Rimmy Nemickas
