Meet the Doctor Determined to Make a Difference With a Master of Public Health

By combining his expertise as a Doctor of Medicine with a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, Dr. Hesham Hassan plans to make a lasting impact on health care by focusing on equity of access for patients.

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Hassan, a current Chamberlain University MPH degree program student, and learn how he plans to use the degree to impact local and global communities.

Why did you decide to pursue an MPH degree after earning your MD?

While practicing as an MD, I saw things that needed fixing in the medical system and thought to myself, ‘We could be doing things so much better for our patients. They’re struggling to provide for their basic needs.’ I started researching how to fix policies and it all came back to public health. If you’re an MD interested in public health, you need an MPH degree to affect policy.

What are you enjoying most about the MPH degree program?

The faculty have been really great and supportive. I have a mentor I touch base with and she’s truly invested in helping me as a future public health professional. The faculty are supportive and encourage students to think outside the box, which is key for helping different learners be successful. I’m being pushed to learn and challenged to think about things that I didn’t even think there was an opposing side to. I have had a phenomenal experience at Chamberlain and I highly recommend this program to anyone.

What class has been your favorite?

I really loved epidemiology. I’m very detail-oriented and this is a very detail-oriented class. Each student chooses a different government organization and throughout the course, we kept going back to our organization for different model assignments. I got to know different components of the FDA well.

What resources have helped you be successful at Chamberlain?

I think the library website is very well laid out. I also think Chamberlain’s online learning platform, Canvas is incredibly user-friendly, intuitive and it made me feel like ‘I’ve got this.’ The support from faculty and staff is huge, and I receive email reminders to register for classes; all I have to do is reply yes. It makes it so convenient and simplifies what the student needs to do.

What would you like to do after you earn your MPH degree?

As an MPH student, I’ve joined the American Public Health Association (APHA) to figure out how to become involved as a student member and learn how to get my foot in the door when it comes to affecting policy. I really want to get into policy writing or advocating for policy promotion. I’d love to go to Capitol Hill and testify to lawmakers why certain bills should or should not be passed. Overall, I want to help people get better access to healthcare.

What is something you want others to know about public health?

Had I known in middle school that this is the career I wanted, I would have had a different game plan. There are things that can be done within public health to change the healthcare system as a whole and to advocate on behalf of other people to keep them from falling through the cracks. There’s research that has yet to be done, risk factors that have yet to be discovered and opportunities for growth and change within our communities. Public health and epidemiologic research can help us improve the lives of so many. Overall, there’s a lot of room to do good with an MPH degree.

If you are passionate about impacting policy and improving access at the local or global level, we encourage you to learn more about Chamberlain University’s Master of Public Health degree program. Request more information here.

By Kari Lawrence