Treating a disease during an outbreak and preventing its spread to others can be vigorous. Public healthcare vaccination programs and the distribution of contraceptives are standard preventive measures.
The basis of public health is to Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues of people and the communities where they live, work, and play.
This article contains a lot of roles of community health workers, including the top 10 Marketable careers in public health, programs, public health jobs, and the various degrees in public health. Read through to get the best of this publication.
While a doctor focuses on diagnosing and treating people who are sick, public health personnel try to prevent people from getting sick or injured in the first place. Read on to learn the various forms of public health, careers, education, and salaries of health workers.
Epidemiologists, microbiologists, emergency management directors, health educators, and community health workers are some of the top careers in public health. We discuss their responsibilities in the latter part of this post carefully.
Table of contents
- What Is Public Health?
- What are the functions of public health?
- Steps to Pursuing Public Health Degree
- Best Public Health Schools
- What Are Careers In Public Health?
- 1. Emergency Management Specialist
- 2. Epidemiologist
- 3. Health Educators and Community Health Workers
- 4. Microbiologist
- 5. Occupational Health and Safety Specialist
- 6. Public Health Nurse
- 7. Mental health counselors
- 8. Dietitian and Nutritionist
- 9. Social and Community Service Managers
- 10. Emergency Management Directors
- How to Ensure Health Equity in the Public Health Careers
- Conclusions
- Reference
- We also recommend this:
What Is Public Health?
Public health is the science of preventing disease and improving the health of people and their communities by promoting healthy lifestyles through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals.
Partners in this system include state and local health departments, community health centers, colleges, federal agencies, communities, organizations, the business community, and the general public.
However, various public healthcare agencies have been established to help control and monitor disease within societies on national and international levels.
World Health Organization(WHO) assists in executing organizational and administrative methods of handling problems associated with health and disease in underdeveloped countries around the world.
Nevertheless, factors including health problems, limitations of resources, education of health personnel, must be considered in designing sound health service systems within these countries.
What are the functions of public health?
The Institute of Medicine groups Public healthcare functions into 3 basic categories, and is explained below in detail.
1. Assessment
The Assessment functions involve determining if the total health system works effectively. However, some of the assessment functions include:
- Determine if a community has enough Medical personnel and other public health workers.
- Investigate environmental health problems and health hazards in the community.
- Monitor environmental and health status to identify and solve community environmental health problems.
- Conduct laboratory analyses.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of programs.
2. Assurance
Assurance activities ensure the health needs of people in the community are safely and effectively met. These activities involve:
- Link people to needed environmental health services.
- Provide medical, dental, and psychological services directly to the public.
- Assure a competent environmental health workforce.
- Evaluate the effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based environmental health services.
- Research for new insights and innovative solutions to environmental health problems.
- Enforce laws and ensure environmental health and safety.
3. Policy Development
The setting of goals for public healthcare services is the activity of policy development, and some goals include:
Steps to Pursuing Public Health Degree
The first step to starting any healthcare career is to obtain a bachelor’s degree, which serves as the basis for an entry-level public health career.
A bachelor’s degree usually takes four years to complete and provides a solid and broad background of information and training in the public health discipline.
Students may obtain a first degree in the public health field, such as
Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH), Bachelor of Science with Public Health Concentration (BS), Bachelor of Public Health (PPH)
In addition, Some of the core undergraduate courses in public health include Health disparities, Nutrition, and public health biostatistics.
Earn a Master’s Degree
There are several master’s degrees available in public health including the Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Health Administration (MHA), Master of Science (MS), and Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) and they takes about two years to complete.
The MPH degree will help prepare graduates for leadership and management roles within a public health organization or program.
Some of the courses in Masters of public health programs include Public health biology, Health and the environment and Public health policy.
Gain Work Experience
Work experience is the pre-requisites for advanced and doctorate degree as public health doctoral programs like to see applicants with prior relevant work experience.
Also, acquiring the necessary work experience improves the learning outcomes, as students will have the experience and knowledge to put their learning into perspective.
Pursue a Doctorate Degree
Doctoral degrees are more academic and can benefit individuals with leadership characteristics.
The advanced terminal degrees for public health are the Doctorate of Public Health (DrPH) and the Ph.D.
However, during these programs, advanced methods will be regularly utilized to prepare students for analyzing and conducting high-level research.
Standard classes doctoral students can expect to take include: Research methods and design, Health Informatics, and Secondary data advanced analysis.
Best Public Health Schools
To get the best career in pubic health, here are the top schools to enroll in public health degree programs and the school programs in the health rankings published in 2019 by the U.S. news.
Each school listed below is accredited for various Health courses offered and their corresponding accreditation agencies.
| Schools | Tuition | Acceptance Rate |
| John Hopkins University | $ 50,410 | 13% |
| Harvard University | $46,340 | 14.2% |
| University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill | $ 33,916 | 26.9% |
| Columbia University | $ 55,056 | 6.8% |
| Emory University | $ 47,954 | 25.3% |
| University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | $ 14,402 | 28.6% |
| University of Washington | $ 10,753 | 45.3% |
| Boston University | $ 50,240 | 29.4% |
| University of Califonia | $ 13,509 | 16.9% |
What Are Careers In Public Health?
The major areas of public health are identifying significant occupations and relevant specializations and providing employment and salary data.
If you are aspiring to be a public health worker, below are the top 10 high paid careers in public health, their responsibilities, education, and salary structure.
1. Emergency Management Specialist
Emergency Management Specialists is one of the major careers in public healthcare. These professionals are responsible for planning preparedness and response training before an emergency or disaster.
An emergency response specialist is a fast-growing profession in the emergency management field, and their duty is to make sure that their community is ready when an emergency arises.
Emergency Management Specialists must have strong organizational and communication skills in order to manage and coordinate the efforts of emergency response teams.
This includes planning a good disaster response strategy, train emergency personnel in the proper ways to respond to an emergency as well as work effectively under pressure during disaster events.
Education and Training Requirements
The specific hiring requirements for the Emergency Management Specialists position include:
Salary
Emergency Management Specialists’ average salaries are about $53,000 annually, but the top earners in the field make more than $90,000. Pay will depend on experience, location in the country, and employer, among other things.
2. Epidemiologist
Epidemiologists are scientists who study diseases within populations of people. In essence, these public healthcare professionals plan and conduct studies on specific public health programs and collect and analyze data to locate the causes of diseases and other health-related issues to treat existing diseases and prevent future outbreaks.
There are two general areas which include research epidemiology and applied epidemiology. Research Epidemiologists work in schools or federal agencies.
Applied Epidemiologists work with the state and local government agencies working directly with the public through education programs and by conducting surveys on relevant public health issues.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
Public health worker salary varies according to location, year of experience and qualifications.
However, according to salary.com, an epidemiologist with 17 years of experience can make 6.3 percent more than the national median while an epidemiologist with less than one year of experience an expect to make up to 10.7 percent less than the national median.
A typical average annual income of an epidemiologist in North Carolina is $104,300
3. Health Educators and Community Health Workers
The primary responsibility of Health Educators and Community Health Workers is to teach people in the community about behaviors that promote wellness so as to improve overall wellbeing.
Public Healthcare Educators create and present educational programs and events for their communities, provide training for health care workers and other health professionals, and advocate for improved health resources.
Community health workers collect data and discuss health concerns with members of specific populations or communities.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the median annual wage for community health workers was $39,540 in May 2018.
Also, the median annual wage for health educators was $54,220 in May 2018.
4. Microbiologist
Microbiologists study the nature of microorganisms(bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi, and some types of parasites), how they grow and how they interact with other organisms, like human beings.
They plan and research microorganisms aimed at developing drugs to fight infectious diseases.
The microscope is the most recognizable tool of a microbiologist, enabling them to take a close look at the tiny things they study. Still, they also use many other technologies in their line of work.
In addition, this profession uses special equipment to grow its microbes and specific ingredients to create a growing medium that allows its samples to grow and reproduce in the lab.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the median annual wage for microbiologists was $71,650 in May 2018.
5. Occupational Health and Safety Specialist
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists are concerned with the identification, prevention, and control of health and safety hazards in the workplace, with the ultimate goal of eliminating dangers that result in occupational illnesses and injuries related to work and the work environment, as well as their prevention and control.
Their jobs include inspecting workplaces to determine adherence to safety rules and regulations, designing and implementing work processes to prevent future accidents and hazards, and conducting education and training programs on health and safety-related subjects.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the median annual wage for occupational health and safety specialists was $73,020 in May 2018.
Also, the median annual wage for occupational health and safety technicians was $50,780 in May 2018.
6. Public Health Nurse
Public health nurses are medical personnel who are dedicated to working to improve their community’s health and access to care. They must work well with large groups and be sensitive to cultural differences.
They typically work for government agencies or large private health organizations, providing educational and advocacy services to at-risk individuals and groups.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
Data from BLS shows that the median annual wage for registered nurses was $71,730 in May 2018.
7. Mental health counselors
Mental health counselors work with patients to improve their mental and emotional well-being. They provide treatment and advise people who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, or other cognitive or behavioral problems.
These professionals might specialize in marriage counseling, substance abuse, or family counseling. They also work in a wide variety of settings, such as mental health centers, community health centers, prisons, and private practice with patients’ support networks, such as friends and family, to coordinate recovery treatments.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
Data from BLS shows that the median annual wage for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors was $44,630 in May 2018
8. Dietitian and Nutritionist
Dietitians and Nutritionists work with clients to evaluate their health, recommend diet planning, and which foods to eat in order to overcome specific diet-related issues to improve the client’s overall health.
This Profession work in many settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, cafeterias, and state and local governments.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
Data gathered by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the median annual wage for dietitians and nutritionists was $60,370 in May 2018.
Social and community service managers plan, direct, coordinate, and supervise social service programs and community organizations.
Their task includes establishing and overseeing administrative procedures, directing the activities of professional and technical staff members and also prepare records and reports, such as budgets, personnel records, or training manuals.
They work for nonprofit organizations, private for-profit social service companies, and government agencies. The majority work full-time.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
The median annual wage for social and community service managers was $65,320 in May 2018
10. Emergency Management Directors
This discipline involves planning and processes to reduce health risks during emergencies, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, disease breakouts, and other situations.
Emergency management directors prepare plans and procedures for long-term responses to immediate health threats and concerns. They also help lead the response during and after emergencies.
Similarly, an Emergency Response Specialist responds to environmental situations that pose a significant risk to human populations and natural resources.
In addition, emergency management directors work for state or local governments, private companies, hospitals, or nonprofit organizations.
Education and Training Requirements
Salary
Data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics show that the median annual wage for emergency management directors was $74,420 in May 2018.
Other public healthcare careers include communications, medical practice, Global health, Public policy, and administration.
How to Ensure Health Equity in the Public Health Careers
By health equity, we mean everyone has the opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Inequities are created when barriers prevent individuals and communities from accessing these conditions and reaching their full potential.
Health departments are using a set of strategic practices to confront the power imbalances and forms of oppression at the root of health inequities, change the conversation about what creates health equity, develop leadership and support innovation, and build a movement for health equity.
FAQs on Careers in Public Health
Data from BLS shows that the median annual salary of a public health worker was $70,820 in 2016, compared to $65,000 in 2012. Epidemiologists are among the highest-paid public health practitioners, with a growing average salary.
Yes! Public health worker jobs offer many career paths and opportunities and good pay.
The various careers in public health include:
> Policy Analyst.
> Epidemiologist.
> Medical Officer.
> Program Management and Advising.
> Health Educator.
> Public Health Advisor.
> Field Consultant.
According to WHO, the 3 primary goals for health systems are:
(1) Assessment
(2) Policy Development and,
(3) Assurance
To become a public health nurse, you need to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing at an accredited four-year college. However, some communities will employ public health nurses with associate’s degrees. Also, you will train as a registered nurse (RN).
Conclusions
Public healthcare is concerned with protecting the health of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a local neighborhood or as big as a whole country or region of the world.
However, a public healthcare worker must have good oral expression, oral comprehension and must be problem sensitive so as to be able to plan and coordinate the activities of a health service program in any community.
Epidemiologists, microbiologists, Emergency Management Directors, Health Educators, and Community Health Workers are the various careers in public health that you must know and their responsibilities vary.
In summary, To fulfill a career in public health, you must get the necessary qualifications and work experience.
Reference
- malph.org: What Is Public Health?
- cdc.gov: Core Functions of Public Health and How They Relate to the 10 Essential Services
- usnews.com: Best Health Schools Rankings
- careersinpublichealth.net: Emergency Response Specialist
- learnhowtobecome.com: How to Work in Public Health
- publichealth.org: Mental health
- bls.gov: Health Educators and Community Health Workers
- publichealth.org: CAREERS AVAILABLE
- healthequityguide.org: Strategic Practices
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