Life changing experiences can happen in a heartbeat, just ask the participants of last summer’s inaugural ‘Rx One Health’ course. During this four week cross-cultural immersion course, graduate students and early career professionals work together to apply the principles of One Health (OH) in a developing country setting. 

Last summer, 21 participants in the RxOH course were immersed with indigenous communities, livestock, and wildlife in Tanzania and Rwanda. To understand the true value of this field experience, participants were asked to reflect on their experience six months after they completed the course. They were asked how RxOH influenced their professional goals in the OH and Planetary Health (PH) disciplines, whether the experience altered the trajectory of their career paths and how participation in the program enhanced their understanding of OH and PH.

The responses were positive and inspiring. Participants applied to the program for a variety of reasons but the most common was the desire to better understand the scope of OH. Applicants were eager to learn how their current career goals could be linked to the OH paradigm of working at the human-animal-environment health juncture. The enrollees hailed from diverse countries and varied disciplines that ranged from veterinary and human medicine, to molecular science, poultry science, wildlife biology, and social sciences. Students also sought to interact with peers and professionals from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds who work on finding solutions to OH and PH problems.

One of the participants reflected that, “No amount of reading or passive learning can come close to the impact a field immersion course of this kind has on one’s understanding of OH concepts. The field exercises and the experience of the instructors leading them, were incredibly impactful and will forever stay with me.”    

Most of the participants were in a professional, graduate or postdoctoral program and strived to better understand how they could apply their current knowledge and skills to work in OH given their diverse career interests. The program’s multi-faceted learning methodology – including didactic sessions, an emphasis on interdisciplinary training and field work sessions – expanded the breadth of participants’ learning and lead them to ideas about the future of OH problem solving. 

Some of the participants did not have a clear vision of how the program would impact them, but as one student shared “…Before the course, the uncertainty of my post-veterinary school pathway was a cause of worry, but now that I have seen the many non-linear [career] trajectories that other have taken, I am ready to embrace whichever opportunities come my way…I am now [more comfortable] that there is more than one right (path to OH).” 

Another student stated that during the course they “…Noticed that people in remote and rural areas [living] adjacent to wildlife reserves are exposed to many threats to their health and well-being which could be the source of zoonotic and infectious diseases. The RxOH program exposed us to [these] situations, so we could [consider OH] solutions and this helped me feel engaged [in] this cross-disciplinary effort that promotes the health of humans, animals and environment.” 

Ultimately, the RxOH program helped participants clarify how they can use their individual training to work collaboratively and promote OH solutions to PH problems. Participants gained the confidence and conviction to continue on their path and pursue work in OH and PH. One student felt very encouraged that positions in wildlife agencies exist and are attainable. Some students felt more confident in their skills after completing the course and another student expressed that the course “…Reinforced my passion to pursue a global health career.”