Several of our students attended, and presented at, the annual meeting of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), held this year May 24 – 27, online. What follows is a post from one of the attendees.
By Natalie Hudanick, MPH
It was only last summer when I was introduced to the Association for Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP). During this time, I was completing a remote internship with the Wyoming Department of Health, and part of this internship allowed me to sit in the bi-weekly Covid-19 calls that AMCHP hosted, and my preceptor suggested I sit in on. Almost a year later, I authored a poster (about my internship) for the 2021 AMCHP conference and attended what I hope to be the first of many AMCHP conferences.
One of my main takeaways from the conference was that there were many opportunities to network or build your MCH network. There were sessions each day dedicated to networking, and one of my favorites was one for MCH students and emerging professionals. This session had attendees answer questions about themselves related to their interests, passions for MCH, and what their future goals in MCH were and how to achieve those goals. These talking points made it easy to connect with the other students and MCH professionals, helping me to lose any nervousness I may have had before the session.
This networking session provided me with more confidence in connecting with other MCH professionals, especially when I attended and networked in one of the regional meetings, specifically Region 8, which is comprised of the following states: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. (I recently accepted a job with the Wyoming Department of Health.) The regional meetings focused on the recent anti-racism declaration from AMCHP, but within these meetings were opportunities to connect and create a dialogue on the declaration. Ultimately this meeting provided me a place to learn, observe, and network with potential colleagues and collaborators that I may meet or work with as part of my new position (Women and Infant Health Program Coordinator).
This was my first virtual conference that I have ever attended, and I really enjoyed the format that being virtual brought. I felt like I never had to choose between sessions, that I could always go back to see presentations that I missed, and that networking was made easy and stress-free. While virtual conferences may not be ideal, I found that I was still able to have the space to network and learn, hopefully creating lasting connections.
Natalie Hudanick, MPH, is a recent graduate of the MPH in Maternal and Child Health Program at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She graduated in May 2021 and is now set to be the Women and Infant Health Program Coordinator in the MCH Unit at the Wyoming Department of Health. Her interests include reproductive health and health communication. She also loves to try new restaurants, watch Netflix, and read.
