While completing her MPH at the University of South Carolina in the spring of 2017, Megan Surles joined the Pathways to Practice Field Placement Program hoping to put knowledge she gained at school into practice. Megan was placed at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) in Columbia, where she was not only able to achieve this goal, but she was also able to broaden her skillset by assisting with the public health accreditation process.
In 2016, SC DHEC began to prepare for public health accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). As SC DHEC developed processes and plans to prepare for accreditation and ensure compliance with PHAB’s quality and performance standards, Megan relied on her classroom experiences to support SC DHEC on their journey to accreditation.
Under the guidance of the SC DHEC Accreditation Coordinator, Megan drafted a subsection of the workforce development plan, highlighting yearly goals, objectives, and recommendations, to describe the agency’s current workforce opportunities. To complete this section, Megan performed a gap analysis review, researched current academic practicum opportunities in which DHEC was involved with, developed an interview guide, and conducted key informant interviews with stakeholders collaborating with DHEC.
Megan said opportunities were “endless” during her field placement. She explained, “The projects I was involved in allowed me to utilize techniques I have learned throughout my years in academia.” Megan concluded that her placement with SC DHEC placement was “nothing short of a success.”