Become a Catalyst for Change: 4 Reasons to Explore a Career in Public Health

Do you feel called to improve the health and well-being of individuals in your community, the country and the rest of the world?

Consider public health. This mission-driven profession aims to protect and improve the health and well-being of communities worldwide through the promotion of healthy lifestyles, research and control of infectious disease, along with injury prevention. The best part? It’s a fast-growing occupation where you could play a significant role in helping to shape a healthier tomorrow.¹

“Public health has a huge impact in creating healthy communities,” says Dr. Kia James, EdD, MPH, RN, Chamberlain University Master of Public Health degree program director in a video. “It is grounded in science, but rooted in social justice. Our whole point is to create a better world for all of us, whether that means preventing illness or working on preventing injuries, or creating more healthcare accessibility,” she adds about the Chamberlain University College of Health Professions, and its Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program.

Here’s four reasons for you to pursue a career in public health:

1. Join a vibrant and growing field

An aging population is boosting demand for healthcare services and driving significant growth in healthcare occupations. Careers for health educators and community health workers are projected to jump 18.1 percent from 2016 to 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations, adding about 2.4 million new jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

2. Create opportunities to make a global impact

We’re all impacted by public health issues on a daily basis—from keeping our food and water supply safe, to containing outbreaks of infectious diseases, to childbirth education and environmental policy-making – so the applications for your career are seemingly endless.

The opportunities to make an impact at home and across the world range from identifying tropical diseases and creating public policy, to helping refugees integrate into their neighborhoods and providing healthy eating to people in underserved communities.

3.  Improve health and save lives

As a labor and delivery nurse for 15 years, Marsha Rodney-Kusi, RN, RM, felt a calling to expand her work to the preventative health and research side of childbirth. Today, she is enrolled in Chamberlain’s MPH degree program.

“Many [teen moms] tend to be in more volatile situations than the rest of us,” she said in a recent blog post. “They’re experiencing this on their own and the support is not there for them. I’m looking to establish programs that can help some of the teenage mothers. We can help prevent them from going into difficult situations.”

4.  Become a trailblazer

Whether you are changing careers or recently graduated from school, nurses and other healthcare providers have played a historical role in the history of public health by bringing health to people in diverse places, from home to work and beyond according to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Now, through public health, you can join that legacy movement.

“The transformation of healthcare – both in local communities and around the world – will require the collaboration of professionals in many different areas of expertise to create and foster a culture of health worldwide,” says Dr. James.

For more information on the Chamberlain University’s Master of Public Health degree program, click here.

By Kari Lawrence