Ever wonder how would a masquerade ball look in our present-day world? Pay a visit to  your local grocery store, and the fiesta of surgical masks will take you by wonder. It is undeniable  that the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced various aspects of our daily lives. From transforming  every social gathering into a taboo to replacing perfumes by alcohol sprays, this viral kingdom has  invaded our healthcare system with intentions to conquer. However, our frontliners assembled an  invincible fortress powered by a rapid response to the medical needs of patients. In addition to  providing effective treatment, healthcare practitioners were also keen to augment the impact of  their outreach and protection by educating the community and raising awareness about the  COVID-19 virus. In this way, they were actively building troops of local educated healthcare  ambassadors in the community that are readily available and willing to propagate their knowledge  to others.  

Through the initiation of this domino effect, healthcare professionals have armed the  community with the true immunity needed to battle COVID-19 and any other global pandemic. In  fact, one of the positive impacts that COVID-19 has had on our society is the increased level of  health literacy it invigorated. For instance, how many people did not previously know what CDC  stands for? In comparison, how many parents nowadays have the CDC and WHO hotlines  memorized or bookmarked for timely evidence-based information retrieval? As such, it is equally  undeniable that COVID-19 has revealed unprecedented need to advocate for global public health  through public education to render our healthcare system indomitable in the face of healthcare  crises. In this article, you will explore five ways that you can utilize to become a healthcare  ambassador yourself, advocate for global public health, and contribute to the improvement of your  community’s healthcare system. 

1. Never Cease to Learn.  

There are myriad learning opportunities roaming around you. However, with abundance  comes the responsibility of ensuring accessibility. Therefore, take advantage of the vast  availability of learning resources to explore all options and customize the most suitable one for  you! Apply your chosen combination of filters until you secure a personalized educational resource  that matches your needs and circumstances. From classic institutional education, online courses,  workshops or conferences, reliable databases, to awareness campaigns, there are endless pathways  you can take to gain a thorough insight into contemporary health issues. It all starts here. Just like  you must secure your own mask before assisting others, educating oneself is the most fundamental  step that forms the basis of becoming a global public health ambassador.  

2. Be Aware of Misconceptions—including your Own.  

Being a member of the society often dictates the struggle of being bombarded with  fallacies. At one point, differentiating between hardcore facts and disguised opinions becomes a  challenge one must overcome. However, it is important that you remain aware of such  misconceptions, including the ones you authored, and maintaining an open-minded attitude prior  to approaching an educational resource. In other words, you must be ready to learn new facts that  might either confirm or deny your previous knowledge. Remember: you are here to learn for the  greater cause of propagating your knowledge to your peers and hopefully assist in eliminating their  misconceptions too. Moreover, it is very easy to stumble upon false information online, therefore  it is very important to choose your resources wisely to prevent the accumulation of further  misconceptions. As such, never stop questioning! 

3. Contribute to Research.  

Every scientific revelation we take for granted is a result of years of extensive research  aimed at challenging preexisting knowledge and unearthing new discoveries. In fact, every  educational resource previously suggested in this article is no more than a collection or an  exhibition of research results designed to be more accessible to learners. Thus, one of the major  ways of becoming a global public health ambassador lies within contributing to research projects.  Assisting in data collection, analysis, interpretation of the results, writing of the manuscript, or  even serving as a participant are all ways that you can involve yourself in the process of creating  new knowledge to dissipate to learners.  

4. Educate Others.  

Keep the cycle going, and let it never end with you. Upon exhausting the available  resources to gain a better insight into a healthcare topic, your responsibility transforms to educating  others around you. There are endless ways in which this can be accomplished. For instance, you  can read to others, participate in awareness campaigns, direct your peers to reliable information  resources, eliminate common misconceptions circulating among your community members, share  your learning experiences with others, encourage them to learn, and most importantly, motivate  them to teach. You will be surprised at the exponential growth your contribution will have on  multiple generations. 

5. Donate for a Cause.  

Above and beyond all the aforementioned ways in which you can become a global public  health ambassador, one of the most practical methods is represented in the form of donations.  However, it is important to note that donations are not interchangeably used with money. As such,  there is not one predefined form of helping. Although you can conveniently choose to donate  money to an educational institution or an organization aimed at raising awareness, you can choose  to donate your time by volunteering with one or your efforts by linking your community members  to educational institutions.  

At the end, in this article, you have been exposed to five different methods of becoming a  global public health ambassador for the overall aim of improving your community’s healthcare  system. The main aim of this article was to prove that you do not have to be a healthcare  professional to advocate for global public health. Afterall, it is called “global” for a reason.