title: Reflections on Government Service Rotations by an Academic Health Education Professional.
abstract: This reflection is on a health education professional's rotation from professor in a school of public health to a government position and back parallels that of Professor Howard Koh's journey to Assistant Secretary of Health, one level higher in the same federal bureaucracy. We both acknowledge the steep learning curve and some bureaucratic hassles and mazes that can attend government service, but similarly conclude that ". . . it was worth it." In this personalized case, I weigh some of the specific learning experiences and challenges I faced while in the government against the needs of the field of health promotion for more such revolving-door experiences among academic public health professionals. From my argument that to get more evidence-based practice we need more practice-based evidence, I conclude that more experience in practice among those returning to academia will render their teaching and research more relevant to the needs for evidence in policy and practice.
authors.affiliation: University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA lwgreen@comcast.net.
authors.forename: Lawrence W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D006076:Government; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D011050:Policy Making; D011635:Public Health Administration; D014481:United States; D014483:United States Dept. of Health and Human Services
keywords: evidence-based practice; government service; health education; health promotion; leadership; policy making; policy-relevant research; practice-based evidence; practice-based research; public health