Six Emerging Public Health Career Paths

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(Newswire.net— March 22, 2021) — Public health’s main goals are to improve people and communities’ quality of life by preventing and treating diseases. It also involves dealing with the impacts of natural disasters and infectious diseases. Public health is all about improving the quality of life by providing people with adequate healthcare resources and services to live productive and healthy lives. While the public healthcare field is vast and consists of various disciplines, they all have the same purpose: protecting worldwide health interests. The public healthcare field has a long list of impactful contributions. However, with the COVID-19 outbreak, this field becomes more prominent. It became ever so prominent, impacting the lives of billions of people worldwide.

If you are an aspiring healthcare professional who wants to delve into the public healthcare world, now you have many opportunities. There are various exciting public healthcare career options open to you with the right education and experience. Keep on reading to find out more about exciting public health careers.

  1. Public Healthcare Nurse

A public healthcare nurse’s role is to focus on the population’s health, including preventing disability and infectious disease and promoting general health. According to the APHN (American Association of Public Health Nurses), most healthcare professionals in Public health care are nurses. These healthcare professionals work inside public schools, colleges, community health centers, homes, correctional facilities, and other organizations. Their duties include implementing interventions, determining the population’s overall healthcare needs. They also promote personal healthcare best-practices to prevent disabilities, injuries, illnesses, and premature deaths.

Today online learning made things easier for working professionals who want to go for further studies. To become a public healthcare nurse, you first need to obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing, then pass the NCLEX-RN exam. You then need to acquire at least two years of working experience then obtain certification as a certified public health nurse. If you want further education to upgrade yourself, you can opt for masters in public health online. According to PayScale, a certified public healthcare nurse’s average salary is around 74,427 dollars per year.

  1. Public Healthcare Manager

Public healthcare managers, also known as public healthcare administrators, oversee medical facilities, hospitals, clinics, and the entire public healthcare system. They ensure that the operation of these medical institutions remains efficient and cost-effective. Other roles of a healthcare manager include; overseeing medical and general staff, meeting the institution’s goals, recruiting employees, and much more.

To work as a public healthcare manager, you need to acquire a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration. At the same time, some employers require that you complete a master’s degree in the same field. According to the BLS, public healthcare managers earn an average six-figure salary of around 100,980 dollars per year. 

  1. Community And Social Service Manager

A Community and social services manager collaborates with governmental and nonprofit organizations to gather a health program’s statistics and ensure its effectiveness. They further evaluate these statistics to help medical institutions measure the health program’s impact on its target audience. Most community and social service managers have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in business administration, social work, public healthcare, or any other related field.

A community and social service manager’s salary is around 85,000 dollars per year on average in a government agency. At the same time, their overall general annual wage is about 67,150 dollars per year.

  1. Public Healthcare Consultant

A public health consultant provides consultations to local and state public healthcare officials or other public health care professionals. Their duties include analyzing and reviewing their consultation services’ effectiveness and efficiency. Some of these services relate to child and maternal health, health screening, substance abuse, and health education. To work in such a role, candidates need to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in public health. Although if you also have a doctorate, your chances of employment will increase tenfold.

According to a PayScale consensus, a public health consultant’s average salary is around 74,932 dollars per year. Public health consultants who have about five to nine years of working experience can earn upwards of 100,000 dollars per year on average.

  1. Public Healthcare Educator

A public healthcare educator’s role is to create programs and healthcare campaigns to address particular safety and health issues within a given community. While their title may say they educate the general public about healthcare, they work at a more administrative level, gathering data and creating programs. Local, state, or federal governments, private companies, and nonprofits organizations then implement the collected data and programs to improve the general public’s health.

The minimum requirement for a public healthcare educator’s job is a bachelor’s, with a major in a healthcare-related field. It can include community health education, public health education, to name a few. According to a BLS consensus, a public healthcare educator’s average salary is around 70,050 dollars per year.

  1. Biomedical Researcher

A biomedical researcher has to find ways to treat and prevent diseases that can cause illness and lead to death. Any biomedical researcher’s end goal is to find cures, develop therapies, and impart effective treatment to their patients. They utilize clinical trials to study an intervention’s usefulness, safety, and effectiveness. To apply for a biomedical researcher’s job position, you will have to acquire a bachelor’s or master’s degree in science-related subjects such as chemistry and biology.

Biomedical researchers usually work at diagnostic centers, laboratories, development companies, colleges, or pharmaceutical companies. According to a BLS study, biomedical researchers earn around 88,790 dollars per year on average. In comparison, the top 10 percent can make an average of 159,650 dollars per year.

Conclusion

It might be impossible to get hired without a bachelor’s degree. Many other roles in the public health sector require you to complete an MPH (Master of Public Health). The career options mentioned above will provide you with a stable platform to fulfill people’s healthcare needs. It will instill a great sense of purpose and achievement inside you when you know that, every day, you will be positively affecting everyone’s lives. Consider these career options, and go with one that aligns with your career goals and aspirations.