Our Earth, Ourselves: Clinicians Make a Difference in Environmental, Public Health

As a high-energy person, Beckett was attracted to the action-oriented pace of emergency medicine. He landed his first job at an ED in central Maine. In the 1980s, while working in a campus health center at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, Beckett set up an HIV testing program.

Around that time, some colleagues at a national PA meeting encouraged him to pursue his interest in public health. He was accepted to a master of public health program at Johns Hopkins University and found a job with the Maine Department of Public Health. Beckett stayed there for 20 happy years, tracking such health threats as Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and SARS. “I got to be involved at the local level,” he says, “kind of on the front line of these things.”

Beckett feels his medical background helped him to interact better with the physicians, nursing home directors, and ED staff members who called in with mysterious symptoms and diseases. “I’d like to say one of my major contributions was to improve those communications,” he says. “In an emergency, they could call me 24/7 and talk with someone who understands the clinical nuances.” In fact, Beckett continued to practice in a local ED while working for the department, just to keep his clinical skills fresh.

Returning to his roots as a community organizer, Beckett worked with citizen groups and elected officials to increase awareness about and promote prevention measures for Lyme disease. “I’ve been very lucky to combine my interest in clinical issues with policy,” he says.

Recently, Beckett took his career to the next level. After enrolling in a doctor of public health program at Boston University, he was offered a position as chief of the Prevention Branch for the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the CDC in Atlanta. “I got interested in international aspects of disease control,” Beckett explains, “and I decided I would like to do something that involved policy on a more national level.” Now, he travels around the country—and the world—perfecting programs that educate patients about preventing HIV and hepatitis B and evaluating ways to use vaccines most effectively.

Beckett doesn’t bump into many other PAs in the hallway at the CDC, but he thinks that day is coming. “I hope to be involved from the CDC end to promote collaboration between PA schools and public health programs,” he says. “It’s critical that they have people in health departments who can communicate with clinicians.”

To be successful at both, you need to enjoy the clinical aspects plus politics and policy, Beckett says. It helps to be motivated by a sense of social responsibility. Writing ability and feeling comfortable with public speaking also are key. “It’s great for somebody who’s been practicing for a while,” Beckett adds, “and might be looking for a new challenge.”