7 Tips For A Career In Public Health
Are you a student deciding to opt for a career in public health? Have you also faced a dilemma concerning public healthcare as a major and its scope as a career? The answer is simple.
Public healthcare does not focus on just one individual as a patient, but on the overall population’s general health. From preventing and mitigating a disease outbreak to environmental pollution and the overall health and safety of the general public, public health plays a pivotal role.
With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the department of public health was one of the significant control-related collaborators. From treating COVID-19 affectees to developing novel vaccines and tracking the number of cases, the healthcare department played an essential role in mitigating the effects of the pandemic and spreading awareness related to covid safety measures.
Considering how extensive this career can be with its various areas of study, this article will provide tips for a career in public healthcare and emerging public health careers to choose from!
Workplace health and safety
We spend around 30% of our lives at work. Considering a vast part of our lives is dedicated to our jobs, you must be safe and sound as part of the general public. One of the significant areas of study in public health is examining workplace health from a scientific lens.
If improving industrial hygiene and providing a safer working place for workers interests you, a master of sciences in public health (MSPH) is just the degree for you. An online MSPH in industrial hygiene can be your go-to option if you want to opt for a flexible learning experience. Many universities provide online courses and degrees so you can learn whatever you need from the comfort of your home. Make sure that you take your time and make the decision wisely. It is essential to ensure that the university you opt for is well-known and reputable in public health.
Biostatistician
If using statistics to analyze data is your forte, this study area might be the one for you! Biostatisticians play a significant role in researching life-threatening diseases like cancer to evaluating medicinal drugs and their outcomes. By gathering data and statistics, predicting and curing diseases is made possible and helps ensure that the public is safe and secure from a significant outbreak of diseases.
Not only is the average chance of growth comparatively higher in this area of study, but the salary is also lucrative.
Epidemiologist
This study focuses on preventing diseases, injuries, and mental disorders in the general public. If areas like mental health, genetics, infectious diseases, and environmental health interest you, working as an epidemiologist is just the job for you. By specializing in this study area, you can work in a pharmaceutical company or a nonprofit organization.
Epidemiologists can also opt to work for the government and play a pivotal role in preventing a major outbreak of diseases by researching etc.
Social and community service manager
The job of a social and community service manager revolves around project management and designing programs that help spread awareness among the masses. That means focusing on one group with similar traits and characteristics. You can help address a specific health issue that pertains to that existing group. For instance, drug abuse is a common and worrying phenomenon in cases of children and teenagers.
Community service managers aim to spread awareness and manage projects that discourage drug abuse by focusing on one particular issue at a time.
Another example can be the spread of HIV and aids. To break the stigma around this issue, a social and community service manager can manage campaigns for awareness. If communication and problem-solving are your forte, you can do wonders as a social and community service manager!
Health education specialist
As important as research into significant diseases is, spreading awareness about them is equally important, if not more. Remember when the protests were carried out in the US against the policy of mandatory mask-wearing? The general public sometimes needs help understanding the pandemic’s reality and consequences and how it may affect their lives. That is why health education specialists are more relevant now than ever!
A health education specialist assesses the needs of individuals and communities and spreads awareness accordingly. Suppose you are interested in teaching and have a nick for analyzing issues and problem-solving. In that case, a career as a health education specialist can be very fulfilling and meaningful. Not only is the job fulfilling, but the salary is too!
Medical and health services manager
Organizational and communication skills are the two most important qualities you need to excel in this study area. As a medical service provider, you will be primarily responsible for training staff, monitoring budgets and performances, developing team goals, and working toward them.
This career also requires you to be up to date with the latest technological advancements and laws and regulations so that your decisions are made wisely and according to the latest development in the law. That would require a lot of research and knowledge. Hence ensure that the qualities you possess match this area of study so that you can produce the best results for the mass population!
Healthcare economists
Considering how the public healthcare system has struggled to accommodate everyone while ensuring the budget is utilized correctly, healthcare economists can prove vital in solving this issue. With the recent pandemic of COVID-19, public healthcare services struggled to facilitate everyone and lacked at some point. This study area intrigues you, especially if you know economics and resource allocation. It involves allocating funds for various purposes like medicinal drugs and building more public health centers.
As a healthcare economist, you would be responsible for wisely allocating medical operations resources so that the public healthcare sector can make the most out of its funds. You would also be responsible for making the services more cost-effective and efficient. All you need is a degree in applied economics while choosing electives like healthcare economics and empirical health economics to serve the public health industry!
Conclusion
While choosing an area of study from various areas, you must evaluate your skills and traits. Every area requires a different and specific set of skills that you need to possess to serve the general public. The median salaries and the chances of growth also vary from one area to another. Make sure you do proper research before entering any public health sector!
