Public Health Guidance U Receive by URL (“GURU”) Program
(Public Health Professional Mentor Program)
What is a Public Health “GURU?”
A Public Health “GURU” is a public health or other health professional who is interested in being a mentor or resource for
students and young professionals.
Date submitted
Name
Credentials
Title
Organization
Address
City, State, Zip
Phone
Fax
E-mail
County
Organization web site
Job category (you may
indicate more than one.
Please offer further
explanation in the
“professional background”
section below.):
Contact Information
March 12, 2007
BJ (Barbara Jean) Mattson
MAEd, MSTE
Epidemiology Investigator IIi
Ohio Department of Health
246 N High St (c/o 7th fl 35 bldg)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 466-0287
(614) 644-1909
bj.mattson@odh.ohio.gov
Franklin
http://www.odh.ohio.gov
Administrator
Academician
Bioterrorism coordinator
Counselor
Dentist
Dietician/nutritionist
X Epidemiologist
Health economist
Health educator
Informatics specialist
Laboratory worker
Lawyer
Mental health specialist
Nurse
Physician
Program coordinator
X Researcher
Sanitarian
Social worker
Veterinarian
Vital statistician
Background Information
When started in public
health (or # years in public
health)
Educational background
June 1989
Professional background
Employed at the Ohio Department of Health as an Epidemiology Investigator in the
Division of Prevention.
As needed, provide research and SAS training and support to CDC Epidemiology
Intelligence Officers assigned to ODH.
Consult with other epidemiology and research staff as requested.
Monitor staff IT needs and provide recommendations to supervisor as requested.
Clean and prepare data for geocoding.
none
Association memberships
MA Education – College and Community Counseling
MS Technical Education – Teaching of Research Methods and Statistics
Professional Information
Top three tips—if you are
looking for a job in my field
1. Whenever possible, describe your job-related experiences, both paid and unpaid,
using the same terminology on any job applications.
2. Create a personal database of your job-related experiences, publications, etc, both
paid and unpaid, and update it regularly. You might use the categories from the Federal
job application form to organize the data. This database will be useful whenever you
apply for jobs in the future – it is difficult to remember everything after you’ve been doing
this for several years! A database will let you abstract the pertinent elements for specific
jobs.
3. Know what you are good at doing and aim for a good fit of your skills to a job’s
requirements. There is nothing more stressful than a job which isn’t a good fit (been
Top three tips—if you are
already in my field (from
my experience)
Top three tips—if you are
looking for great resources
(web sites, book, journals,
etc.)
My expertise is in the
following areas:
there, done that!).
4. Versatility makes you more employable:
• know more than one software program to analyze data (SAS, Epi Info, Excel,
etc.) ... and be willing to learn another if the employer doesn’t have what you
know.
• learn enough about GIS that you can use it correctly (Columbus State
Community College offers an Intro to GIS course online – if nothing else,
purchase the textbook(s) and work through them)
• c. Practice translating technical/medical jargon into English – you may need to
talk to lay public as part of your job and they must be able to understand easily
what you mean.
1. Continuing education – Stay on top of news in your health specialty
2. Figure ways to finagle - If you can’t accomplish something one way, what’s another
way to get there? In government agencies, you may lack staff and/or money; being
creative can be necessary to accomplish your objectives.
3. Interpersonal diplomacy – we all have unique gifts and talents:
• When you are frustrated with someone else, remind yourself of the other
person’s good points.
• Spend some time learning and practicing good communication skills, especially
those for working with difficult people.
• Be aware of office and/or group politics and avoid adding to any conflicts.
• d. Share your knowledge with those who are interested.
1. http://www.medscape.com - Daily news in various medical fields, free, requires
registration. Has a specific section to group Public Health news
2. http://www.phii.org/default.html - Informatics is about optimizing the use of technology
in your progam; learn as much as you can about the informatics applications in your
program area.
SAS, statistics, research methods, ways NOT to do a survey (especially if you’re going to
ask me to analyze it!), survey design, public speaking, stress management,
communication skills (Hey, the counseling degree was good for something.)
Mentor Contact Information
I would be willing to do the
following (you may indicate
more than one):
How to contact me (you
may indicate more than
one):
X
X
X
X
X
X
Meet with you
Talk with you on the phone
Correspond with you via e-mail
Have you “shadow” me for a day
Be a preceptor for you on a project
I do not wish to be contacted but just wanted to offer the useful tips above
Other (indicate)
Phone
E-mail
Fax
Mail
Please do not contact me
Other (indicate)