Chloe Bangs

“For most of my childhood, I wanted to be an author, but I fell in love with medicine later. I completed my medical degree at the University of Auckland, so it was the obvious choice for my Master of Public Health.

“When I started the programme, I’d been working as a doctor for five years in hospital medicine and palliative care. Although it’s a privilege to work directly with patients, much of what affects health happens outside the hospital. Public health helps us understand complex factors and to create population-level change."

"I work in a unique role at a hospice that applies public health to a palliative care setting. I work alongside communities to support people facing the universal experiences of caring, loss, dying and grief. There is so much strength and knowledge in our communities, and I am always humbled by this work. Palliative care and public health are remarkably similar. Both are holistic and about helping people live as well as they can, at all stages of life.

“I’m doing a taught masters, but my dissertation explores community approaches to palliative care, a combination of both my fields of interest. True collaborative approaches often happen within communities, not institutions. Public health shows that complex systems change can happen when passionate people work together, and this programme has given me space to explore systems-based thinking and address complexity in a constructive way.

“Learning and debating with like-minded students has been a highlight of the programme. My biggest advice is to attend lectures and seminars in person wherever you can. Collaboration is key in public health.

“I’ve had an incredible breadth of experience in my career, and I’m excited to continue weaving public health with clinical medicine. My Master of Public Health has made me a better doctor, and I’ll carry this knowledge with me throughout my career.”