We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julianna Manske. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julianna below.
Julianna, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My first professional love was oncology nursing. My preceptor, Julie, on the unit instilled the value of making sure our patients were “tucked and fluffed” before starting any of our medical tasks. Eventually I moved into a clinical nurse educator role, and found that Julie’s advice was not only applicable to our patients, but new staff. When setting up orientation, I tried to give them a well-rounded experience to both their job and what others in the cancer center did so they knew their resources and had a better understanding of how all the departments worked together to provide the best care for their patients.
When I transitioned into public health, I was overwhelmed by the vast array of information I was expected to know – as the saying goes, public health is everything, and everything is public health—and found myself grappling to find the right resources, when I needed them. From my experience in oncology, I knew we could do better supporting new staff entering the field in an organized and systematic way. My understanding of what was possible to help new hires transition into the field of public health led me to develop a team and create what is now known as the New to Public Health Residency Program. My roots in oncology nursing continue to fuel my purpose in supporting early career public health professionals thrive in their role.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Drawing on my experience in a hospital setting, I proposed the idea of building a public health residency program with others in southeastern Wisconsin. I formed a team and together we gained buy in from our health officers and veteran staff and piloted a six month, in-person residency program in the metro Milwaukee area. Program evaluation was successful and a year later, our team earned the opportunity to partner with UW Madison School of Nursing for our first grant. Together we planned to expand the program to another area of Wisconsin in spring 2020. While the pandemic derailed our initial plans, we adapted to meet the needs of the workforce, and made the program completely virtual so that it was accessible to anyone across the county. During this time, we also expanded the program to include evidence-based components of nurse residency programs (i.e.: an online learning course, community of practice, mentorship, and an evidence-based project), and developed content based on the Foundational Public Health Services’ areas and capabilities. The New to Public Health (N2PH) Residency Program formally launched in September 2021, with residents from Wisconsin and Virginia. To date, over 500 residents have been accepted to the program across 32 states. Learn more about the program on our website:
https://new2publichealth.wisc.edu/
One of my professional strengths is having a heartfelt drive to accomplish my goals, and the ability to adapt to unexpected challenges along the way. I also take pride in connecting people and ideas. Over 70 public health leaders have contributed to the content and development of N2PH; and more continue to volunteer as mentors. I love being able to connect incoming folks with mentors or to grow someone else’s network.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
If I had to choose three qualities that have been most impactful in my journey I would say they are: (1) using my voice, (2) recognizing others and facilitating connection, and (3) infusing love into the work.
Drawing on my lived experiences, I used my voice to say “hey, this could be better, let’s do something about it”, rallied a team, and just did it. I had courage to share my idea and support from my colleagues and supervisor in southeastern Wisconsin who believe in the concept. I was passionate about how we could better support each other as a public health workforce and fit the work of developing the in-person version of the program within my other job responsibilities.
Another quality that has been impactful is recognizing all the people who have contributed to the program – from the contact experts who developed the content, to our advisory board and residents who have shared feedback to enhance the experience of others, and to the mentors who volunteer their time to meet and support others out of the goodness of their heart and their own passion for public health. Connection is so important and fostering that has been the catalyst of the program’s success.
Overall, I think the thing that has most impacted the success of the N2PH Residency Program is that I truly love this work and have a strong intrinsic desire for it to succeed. I recognize the privileges that have allowed our team to develop this program and honor the hard work my team and I have put in.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think everyone has their own strengths no matter how much training we have to be more well-rounded – there are just things that come more naturally for some. While continued training is important to have a broader perspective, I think there is power in surrounding ourselves with others who complement our individual strengths. Diverse teams may have to work through challenges, but hopefully that conversation will help individuals think about a situation differently, and grow from the experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://new2publichealth.wisc.edu/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianna-manske-msn-rn-ocn-9aa010112
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@n2phresidencyprogram?si=wkuX6s6dphZrRCVc
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
