Tackling health inequalities and improving lives for young people through public health

Have you ever wondered what it's like to work in public health? Meet Chloë...

Dr Chloë Rogers, an ST2 public health registrar, currently working in the West Midlands local authority talks about their time in training, representing colleagues through regional committees and undergoing assessment work to better the health and social outcomes of children and young people in Worcestershire.

Originally from Hampshire in the south east, 29-year-old Chloë studied a biomedical degree and completed a Graduate Entry Medicine course before being accepted onto a foundation programme in 2020 which involves work-based training to develop clinical skills. Chloë explains:

“My foundation training was a great experience, quickly followed by a year as a clinical fellow in sexual health. I really enjoyed that time learning and working in all aspects of sexual and reproductive health. I then went through a highly competitive process in 2023 to gain a place on a 5-year speciality training programme in public health. I spent the first year studying a master’s in public health and now in my second year, I am working on my dissertation alongside service work, which I’m really enjoying.

“I’m fortunate to be working alongside the lead consultant for children and young people and sexual health, with lots of scope to pick up other projects. While the work can be very structured depending on the need of the local authority, the work does remain very varied.”

Speaking about building a programme portfolio, public health registrars have the opportunity to run 10 training days within the local authority. Chloë explained:

“We gain great support from Heads of School and Training Programme Directors (TPDs) who take our protected time very seriously, allowing the space for training and education. While there is an expectation to get involved in training we always tend to do this in pairs or groups, which is a great way to support one another.

“Recent sessions focused on sexual health and dismantling stigma in public health interventions. We did this by looking at colonial and imperialist hangovers from the HIV and AIDS epidemic and how these impact on healthcare delivery and service user experience today. We also held a session that looked at cisheteropatriarchy across the life course - examining how individual and systemic biases prevent us from being able to deliver intersectionally inclusive services for all. The aim was to look at what public health professionals don't know to help improve our understanding and relationship of the world and people around us.”  

Chloë has spent time attending regional and organisational committees to help represent the voice of registrars and doctors during their time in training. She said:

“Following my time as a BMA representative last year, I now vice-chair the Regional Steering Committee and will step up as chair next year. Along with my role as co-chair for the East and West Midlands Local Networking Committee (LNC), reps and other parties meet quarterly to share issues, successes and areas of good practice to help improve the overall training journey.”

Following some delays while priorities shifted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chloë is now picking up a big piece of work on health inequalities, which involves carrying out ‘needs assessments’ on the most affected areas within the local authority. Chloë explained:

“The work begins with an assessment to determine the needs of children and young people across the area. The needs of our young people and demand on services has seen a dramatic impact from the lasting social, psychological and physical effects of Covid-19. As such, the assessment can focus on children whose additional needs have not been met or those affected by substance abuse for instance. We then assess the needs against the services ability to deal with this increase in demand. We then take data and insight drawn from this research to form an approach, making recommendations to the local authority on timeframes, how we plan to get from A to B and ultimately better the social and behavioural outcomes of children and young people.” 

Following a 5-year training programme, public health registrars then have a wealth of areas that they can apply to work in. Chloë explained:

“Once you get to ST5, based on your assessments and portfolio, you receive a recommendation to complete your training and then it’s time to find a job! The great thing about public health is that you are given a 6-month grace period to find a job and if you are unsuccessful in doing so, you can stay on as a registrar. The areas you can apply for are very broad, from working within a regional Integrated Care Board (ICB), to private sector to global health.”

While Chloë remains in training, she hopes to reduce her hours to pursue out of programme (OOP) opportunities:

“We’re very fortunate to receive the support and flexibility to explore other areas of interest such as a PHD, a master’s or other OOP openings. I hope to consider going less than full time or take a year out to train in sexual health medicine in the near future.”

Thank you for your time, Chloë and valuable insight into public health, we wish you the very best of luck during your time in training and beyond.