Career Development Series: Global Health and International Careers

Course Information:

This course contains a description of global health, personal career journeys, advice, information regarding all things international careers, and the work of a non-profit organization called Future Kind. In this webinar the Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno, Muge Akpinar-Elci, M.D., MPH shares her journey from working in multiple different countries, to becoming a dean. Gerold Dermid, MBA explains the importance of the work that him and the Trudy Larson MD Institute for Health Impact and Equity do, their goals, and his personal journey to becoming a director, as well as a professor. Baldo Bobadilla, the Founder and President of Future Kind describes the work the non-profit does in developing countries, how their work impacts the health of the communities, ways to become involved, and their goals for the future. 

The objective of the Career Development Series is to expose students to various career paths and skills to help them be successful as a public health professional once they graduate. Specifically, this course contains recorded content from the Careers in Public Health series where public health professionals from Northern Nevada speak about the vast world of public health. 

This series is aimed to help students identify careers in public health, learn how to apply, interview, and ultimately gain insight to what careers in public health look like. Students will learn special tips and tricks to get their foot in the door to land their dream career!  

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to: 

  1. Identify different careers in public health. 
  2. Understand the complexity of global health.
  3. Understand the career path to global health and international careers through obtaining an internship, fellowship, or moving to different countries.
  4. Describe the characteristics one must have to work and thrive in an international career.

Target Audience: 

  • Undergraduate and graduate public health students

Duration: ~1.5 hours

Continuing Education: N/A

Format: Web-based, asynchronous

Author/speaker(s): Muge Akpinar-Elci, MD, MPH, Gerold Dermid, MBA & Baldo Bobadilla

About the Speakers

Dr. Akpinar-Elci has been building a research portfolio on global environmental and occupational health and its impacts among vulnerable communities. Examples of these research efforts include:

  • Evaluating occupational respiratory diseases among hairdressers in Turkey
  • Investigating occupational health and safety problems of microwave popcorn production workers and agricultural workers throughout the Midwestern United States
  • Developing solutions for environmental and occupational health problems of nutmeg production workers in Grenada
  • Implementing a World Health Organization (WHO)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Needle-stick Injury Prevention Program throughout the Caribbean
  • Focusing on pressing climate change issues in global health

All of these research projects focused on community-oriented problems and producing sustainable solutions for vulnerable communities globally. Dr. Akpinar-Elci conducted and participated in several research projects on occupational health with various institutions, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and CDC/National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Previously Dr. Akpinar-Elci was the director of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Collaborating Center for Environmental and Occupational Health in Grenada, which focused on the impact of climate change in the Caribbean.

Gerold Dermid, MBA is the Director of the Trudy Larson MD Institute for Health Impact and Equity, housed within the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno. Mr. Dermid has worked in the field of public health for the past 22 years, focused on accreditation, quality improvement, workforce development, social marketing and community engagement. Mr. Dermid has provided leadership and strategic direction to communities throughout the world in communicable disease prevention, with a special focus on HIV/AIDS, chronic disease prevention, substance use services, health equity, social justice, and international development. He currently manages workforce and student training programs locally, nationally, and internationally, with a special focus on the development of trainings within traditionally underserved communities.

Mr. Bobadilla is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno College of Civil Engineering and is the Founder and President of Future Kind, an international non-profit dedicated to promoting diversity and equality around the world. Mr. Bobadilla's passion about public health lead him to develop and execute programs in various countries in South America and in the United States: Serving diverse and underserved native and regional communities. Mr. Bobadilla is pursuing his Master in Public Health and joined the Larson Institute in August 2019 as a Public Health Diversity Advisor.

Course curriculum

  1. 01

    • Introduction to the Career Development Series

    • Demographic Survey
  2. 02

    • Global Health and International Careers

    • Feedback Survey

    • Feedback Survey

    • Links to Resources and Career Sites