Florida School of Public Health – FL

By Jennifer Williams, allied health world contributing writer
Published:  February 2nd, 2010

The Scope of Public Health

The State of Florida doesn’t just have crashing waves and stretches of beachfront property to offer. It also has a great career in public health awaiting those that are ready and up to the challenge.

The public health sector takes an active role in identifying and controlling the onset of infectious diseases with a community. However, that is only one aspect of the large scope of public health. This field also makes a significant contribution to developing and researching current vaccines to help the community fight diseases and illnesses that would otherwise be detrimental. In addition, public health is about keeping mothers and their unborn children healthy and well developed. Even in the postpartum stage, the field of public health is dedicated to keeping mothers and their babies in the best health possible. However, these are only some of the contributions that the public health as a whole has made to the community.

Here are some of the types of professions you might find in public health:

• Global Health
• Environmental Health
• Biostatistics
• Public Health Laboratory Practice
• Behavioral Science
• Health Education
• Health Services Administration and Management
• Public Health Policy

Education and Degrees

A 4-year degree is the minimum allowable degree for this profession. That means that you will need to at least have a bachelor’s degree earned online or through campus based Florida public health schools before you can be eligible for state licensing or, most likely, employment in the public sector. This is a highly demanding career choice, and you should always remember that your education will be the backbone of this career.

If you so desire, you may want to consider working on a master’s degree, which will probably take about 5 or 6 years to complete; however, it is well worth the effort. As you are just beginning your career, you will not need a master’s degree; however, if at any point you want to advance your career, than you will likely need this level of educational degree.

Now that you know what you have to do to become a public health professional, you can begin looking for a school from which to get your education. The most important thing to keep in mind is national accreditation. Don’t waste your time going to a school that doesn’t have it because it will only stall the pursuit of your career. Also, you should keep in mind the vast assortment of online colleges which are now providing public health programs.

References:

www.indeed.com
The Council on Education for Public Health, www.ceph.org
The National Board of Public Health Examiners, www.nbphe.org
Florida Department of Health, www.doh.state.fl.us