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Graduate case studies

Graduate case studies
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Martyn - 
Health Improvement Practitioner – Substance Misuse

Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

About the job

Main responsibilities

Support the Public Health Lead (Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco) to lead the strategic and policy agenda across drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Lead and implement the public health substance misuse agenda across the health systems including the strategic development and implementation.

Typical day

I am working on a number of different projects at the moment, covering a number of different areas, including; Smoking in pregnancy, Support clients to recover from drug and alcohol addiction and implementing additional smokefree public spaces across Derbyshire.

What do I enjoy about my job?

Having spent ten years on the ground as an adviser covering a range of different lifestyle issues, I felt it was time to progress into a more strategic role, and my masters degree was vital in helping me achieve that

Challenging aspects

Trying to tackle really complex public health problems, such as smoking in pregnancy

Why did this area of work appeal to me?

I have always had a keen interest in health and particularly behavior change and the wider determinants of health.


Career information

Brief history since leaving University

None since leaving with my Masters in 2013

Where do I see myself in the future?

I am happy in my local authority public health department as I find the work fascinating. However, who knows what the future holds!


Advice to students

My piece of advice to students

Speak to me and ask as many questions as possible.

Other comments

N/A



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Last updated: 14 Feb 2019