Faraz Khalid, a 2016 Emerging Voice for Global Health and a PhD candidate at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, USA, shares his reflections on 2016.
Faraz Khalid, a 2016 Emerging Voice for Global Health and a PhD candidate at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, USA, shares his reflections on 2016. He also issues a call to action for his fellow young health researchers for 2017 and beyond.
Pearls of wisdom for the young health systems researchers
As 2016 came to an end, I was taking stock of notes I took through meetings and conferences I attended, including the Emerging Voices in Global Health 2016 training program preceding the Fourth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research 2016 in Vancouver. I came across quite a few ‘quotable quotes’:
- “seize the smaller opportunities you get, you will find bigger ones on your way…”, “we need the energy of the Emerging Voices to tackle the enduring challenges of our times…”
- “do capitalize on your can-do & must-do enthusiasm when you’re young (as when you grow older you often get (too) comfortable in your ways); and challenge power, wherever you feel it’s appropriate…”
- “strike a balance between your research activities and the change you want to bring in the world around you…”
These were the snippets of advice made to the young researchers in Vancouver. I found these words motivating– words which could potentially inspire the future work of young health systems researchers. And so, I decided to collate them as I received them, rather than rephrasing what I heard and losing the essence of the message. I also, subsequently, requested some senior researchers to share their messages once again over email and in person. And, as the new year begins, and we seek to start afresh, some of us, perhaps looking for redemption from our hedonistic ‘New Year Celebrations’, I share some quotes by senior researchers…