Michael Arget, MPH '09

Internal Medicine Resident

After earning his undergraduate degree at University of Guelph, Michael Arget wanted to further his knowledge of infectious disease and policy.

"I began reading about different master of public health (MPH) programs across Canada and the School of Public Health stood out," explains Arget. "At the time, the School was the only stand-alone faculty of public health in Canada, and that was important to me."

Arget felt that public health and infectious disease go hand-in-hand. He also had an interest in policy so felt that the School was the right fit for him and applied for the MPH program in public health leadership.

"My time at the School was extremely valuable," says Arget. "I had an opportunity to do research with the CanHelp Working Group in the Canadian North and was involved in various groups within the School. Additionally, I was able to do my practicum placement with the World Health Organization in Geneva looking at global influenza."

After completing his degree, Arget began working with Fraser Health in British Columbia. There, he served as an infection prevention and control practitioner, and later served as a quality improvement consultant. Through that experience, Arget was able to learn the in's and the out's of the health-care system. He soon realized that he had a passion for advocating for patient safety and care, but knew his career path wouldn't provide him with the means for his voice to be heard.

"I wanted to become an expert in my field, be able to teach as well as perform research and be an advocate for the general public," explains Arget. "Medicine was a nice way to marry all of my passions."

Arget has since completed medical school at the University of Calgary. He is now an internal medicine resident at the University of Saskatchewan.

"Ultimately I hope to help change the health-care system and work on improving care by uniting my education and work experience in medicine and public health."

(Last updated July, 2016)