The Public Health Workforce is Not OK

The Public Health Workforce is Not OK

Home
Notes
Chat
Writing
Speaking
Archive
Leaderboard
About
When the Work Gets Heavy: How to Keep Going in Tough Times - Voices 9
A public health professional from a State health department writes candidly about the emotional cost of working under a hostile political climate, and…
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk
Empty Offices, Full Hearts: Survivor’s Guilt in Public Health - Voices 8
In this moving reflection, a public health scientist grapples with grief, survivor’s guilt, and gratitude in the wake of mass layoffs.
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk

June 2025

When Silence Is Not an Option: A Public Health Resignation Letter - Voices #7
A CDC public health scientist resigns from his dream job, citing censorship, political interference, and the erosion of scientific integrity under the…
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk
3
This is What Public Health Sounds Like: A Season 4 Recap
Real voices from the field during a season shaped by resilience, grief, and grit
Telling It Like It Is: You Can’t Build Trust Without Communication - Voices #6
A public health communications professional shares her decade of experience in the federal government and reflects upon the essential role of…
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk
 and 
Ellen (Langhans) Mills
Public Health, It's Complicated - Love Letter #4
A public health official reflects on a lifetime in public health, and the heartbreak, disillusionment, and lingering hope that come with loving a field…
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk
 and 
Jason Tiller
Commuter Without a Colleague: The Absurdity of the Return to Office Mandate - Voices #5
A health scientist at CDC describes what the realities of the Return to Office mandate for federal workers actually look like.
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk
2

May 2025

In the Meantime: Unemployment in Global Health - Voices #4
A global health leader whose career managing large HIV prevention and treatment programs was abruptly upended shares what he has been learning about…
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk
From Employee of the Month to Reduction in Force: Voices #3
A skilled behavioral scientist shares the impacts of being laid off during the recent RIF* and offers hard-won insights for navigating unexpected…
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk
Between telling the story and being the story: Voices #2
A public health professional shares the emotional aftermath of job loss and reflects upon the deeper search for purpose, creativity, and alignment in…
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk
 and 
Ashley Strawbridge
How to Help a Laid Off Federal Worker: Voices #1
A public health communicator shares the lessons that she has learned from her first month of unemployment since being laid off from her federal public…
 • 
Dr. Katie Schenk

April 2025

© 2025 Dr Katie Schenk
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture