Essay on Careers in Public Health
Public Health is the most thriving and
developing field all over the world. As a discipline, it deals with the
academic research, teaching and
professional practice of
preventing disease and promoting general public health. It focused on the
organized efforts of the society for the betterment of the health conditions of
people. These efforts include organizations, communities and networks of individuals
working together to assure a good public health system. These groups of people
which often includes the medical care institution, the private industry, the
community based non-profit organization and the academy works together and
takes the responsibility of assuring the health of the public and the
functioning of the whole public health system. Any society, community or country
would acknowledge the public health as a top priority. As a top priority,
public health system needs different careers to address the different health
issues and aspects. It is a very expansive and varied field that requires many
different occupations working together to achieve its goals.
Two of the careers in Public Health that I find
very interesting is that of the State Epidemiologist and the health educator. State
Epidemiologist sounds very appealing to me because I am very interested in
science, microbiology and human health. Being a state epidemiologist can allow
me to deal with all these fields that I am interested in. I guess I would
really find it very the investigative work of tracking diseases in human
population very interesting. Being a state epidemiologist can also allow me to
interact with a lot of people in various public health professions. On the
other hand, being a Health Educator interests me because designing, facilitating
and implementing educational programs is somehow an appealing job for me. Aside
from my interest in natural sciences, I am equally interested with social
sciences. The social science made me understand enabled me to understand the
ethnic and cultural issues of different communities. Possessing this kind of
understanding can help me a lot in being an effective health educator.
There are different routes in being in the
career of epidemiology. The quickest way in having a career as an
epidemiologist is to take an undergraduate degree in order to get a master’s
degree in public health with a concentration epidemiology. Physicians, nurses
and others already in the medical profession can be an epidemiologist if they
would earn their masters in public health before or after their graduation.
Another way into entering epidemiology is to go through the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) an be in the program called the Epidemic
Intelligence Service (EIS). This 2-year program teach physicians and other
health professionals the important epidemiological skills needed for the
prevention of diseases and outbreaks. State epidemiologist basically
investigates, track and report the information regarding the outbreaks or
diseases in a population that is why they are also called disease detectives.
They investigate the disease clusters or the investigates the incidence of a
disease in a community. They can also examine and cure problems and diseases
related to the general physical environment. State epidemiologist usually on
the surveillance, investigation, data analysis and evaluation of pandemic diseases
and outbreaks. Because of this investigative nature of their job, they are also
usually interacting with program managers, medical providers, statisticians and
public health policy makers.
On the other hand, being a health educator would require a
bachelor degree in health education, health management, sociology, education,
community development or other related degrees. After earning these one of these degrees, aspiring
health educator can opt to take the (Certified
Health Education Specialist) offered by the National Commission of Health
Education Credentialing Inc. The main responsibility of a public health
educator is to change policies and environments as well as the behaviors and
attitudes that affect health. They design workshop and forums, plan and direct
programs and work with the community groups to address the wider public health
agenda. They also conduct studies related in public health education , evaluate
the methods of the program, determine the effectiveness of the program and
improve the general health of the communities. They can improve general health
by addressing issues such as drug-abuse, pollution, stress management and
safety.
If I could talk to any epidemiologist and health educator,
I would like to ask them about what make them inspired in their respective
careers? Why have they chosen careers in public health and what would it takes
to be a great epidemiologist or health educator.
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