Rebecca A. Hosey
MPH health management and policy ’20
Family Nurse Practitioner, Delaware Valley Community Health’s Maria de los Santos Health Center and Girard Medical Center (Philadelphia)
Age 31
My Greatest Accomplishment
Working with an incredible interdisciplinary team at Prevention Point Philadelphia for almost five years. I have been fortunate enough to stay involved in many different roles from intern during my MPH at the Dornsife School on the Mobile Wound Care and Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Unit, to public health consultant after graduating in 2020, to public health nurse, to wound care nurse and volunteer. My time with Prevention Point Philadelphia began when I reached out to the wound care team and, my now mentor and friend, Nurse Practitioner Kristi Petrillo, took me on as a public health intern on the wound care van in 2019. I joke that I have followed her around ever since. I continue to learn from her and this team and feel so fortunate to be a part of the incredible dissemination of our work together.
How Drexel Helped Me
I feel so fortunate and privileged to be an alumna of the best public health school; we learned theory and policy and were encouraged and supported to gain experience before day one of classes. My work in substance use and overdose prevention research began with Stephen Lankenau’s team, including [Senior Research Scientist] Jana Ataiants and Megan Reed [of Thomas Jefferson University] before the traditional year even began. I was lucky enough to be in a small orientation group led by Lankenau and asked if he needed a research assistant. My adviser, Dennis Gallagher, encouraged me to try new things and to ask for positions in places that did not have typical internships available. I can say with certainty that I would not be doing the work I am today without these mentors and without Drexel.
Where I Hope to Be in Five Years
I am excited to have a bit more time for myself and my family in five years; I hope to be reading a few more books for fun, hiking more, and continuing to mentor and support folks who want to do this work.
How I Pay It Forward
I have been fortunate to learn about mentorship and support from my mom. This has become one of my greatest professional joys. I joke that everyone in Kensington has my cell number, but my new joke is that it’s more like everyone in Pennsylvania. My network now stretches across the country: If someone is engaged in overdose prevention in Missouri and needs support and guidance, they can certainly count on me to be their foot in the door and cheerleader.