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Ethics & Leadership BDP Alumna Plans Career in Public Health Policy

Erin Schwartz graduated in December 2014 with a B.S. in Nursing and an Ethics & Leadership BDP certificate. She currently works as a critical care nurse and a research assistant at UT’s School of Nursing.

Discovering a New Direction

Erin Schwartz at BDP poster sessionErin came to The University of Texas at Austin with five years of experience in the health care sector. She planned to study nursing and become a nurse anesthetist. However, in her first semester, Erin took two courses that reshaped her career plans.

Dr. Carole Taxis’ N 311: Ethics of Health Care showed Erin that her passions lie at the intersection of law, policy, and health care. At the time, she lacked the confidence to believe a career in public health policy could be a real possibility, but Dr. Taxis’ class challenged this notion. Erin remembers Dr. Taxis’ encouraging feedback on a paper as a pivotal moment that confirmed she belonged at UT, surrounded by smart and accomplished peers.

Erin was also enrolled in UGS 303: Abuse of Science in Public Policy Debates, a Signature Course taught by Dr. Patricia Roberts-Miller. Erin recalls that this class “broke” her before it made her, challenging her in sometimes painful, but ultimately rewarding ways. Above all, Erin learned how to defend and reframe arguments, skills she now employs on a regular basis. She submitted her first major academic research paper at the end of the semester.

This budding interdisciplinary interest in law and health care policy, and in the process of writing and conducting research, led Erin to the Ethics & Leadership BDP.

Engaging in Research

Photo of Erin and Wendy Davis with Texas Tribune BackgroundErin investigated the role of political partisanship in Texas women’s health for her first Connecting Experience. She followed the developments of SB 5, a bill designed to alter regulations for abortion practices in Texas, and provided testimony at hearings on the bill at the Texas state capitol. With Dr. Taxis as her faculty mentor, Erin studied the impact this bill is having on women’s access to health care, with some women traveling large distances—and even crossing state lines—to receive services. Erin is currently revising her paper, with guidance from Dr. Karen Johnson, for submission to an academic journal.

Erin’s second Connecting Experience took her to Costa Rica where she examined their universal health care system. She heard Costa Ricans speak positively about their health care, despite longer wait times and a relative scarcity of hospitals. Erin suggested these high levels of satisfaction may be attributed, in part, to cultural values that place community needs over the individual. She surmises that larger countries with more individualistic values may find it challenging to enact universal health care.

Erin’s trip to Costa Rica was her first outside the United States. She credits this experience, along with mentoring from program leaders Dr. Alexandra Garcia and Dr. Jane Champion, with helping her develop a global perspective. A BDP scholarship provided much-needed funds for the trip; Erin states unequivocally that she “could never have studied abroad if not for this financial assistance.”

Forging a Career Path

Erin is currently applying for a Public Health Associate position with the Centers for Disease Control. If selected, she will begin a two-year placement with a public health agency this fall. She is also applying to interdisciplinary dual degree programs in law and public health and knows either path will help her use policy and medical ethics to advance “utilitarian and beneficent ideals.” Eventually, Erin sees herself working for the World Health Organization as a legislative advisor or public health analyst.

Reflecting on her BDP experience, she said, “The world is always in need of leaders: individuals who are fearless, with infectious enthusiasm, an ability to incite, and a healthy disregard for the status quo. My experiences and successes in this program have allowed me to acknowledge these traits within myself, and I know I will go on to do great things.”