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Idaho School of Public Health – ID

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

A Review of Public Health in Idaho

What exactly does a public health professional do? Well, the correct answer would be “everything”. The scope of public health is so wide that it is difficult to answer that question with a one or two word response. Public health plays many active roles in the community, as well as behind the curtains. Public health professional worked tirelessly to develop a cholera vaccine that would help the community to ward of such a detrimental illness. However, that is only one of the contributions that public health has made to the community.

Public health professionals work to promote and secure a healthier future for all of the world’s inhabitants. It can be stated with relative ease that people who work in public health are extremely dedicated to serving others before serving themselves.

Here is just a brief list of what you might expect to find in the way of public health careers:

• Biostatistics
• International and Global Health
• Environmental Health
• Mother and Child Health
• Laboratory Research and Development
• Nutrition and Dietetics
• Health Education to the Public
• Health Services Administration and Management
• Disease and Illness Research and Control
• Behavioral Science

Education and Degrees for Idaho Public Health Professionals

As stated above, the State of Idaho requires that you hold the minimum educational value of a bachelor’s degree, which usually takes between 3 and 4 years to complete online or through Idaho public health schools. This is a comprehensive amount of study for an extremely comprehensive and responsible profession.

A master’s degree is not required, but it is highly recommended. Many people in this type of profession do complete their master’s degrees for reasons of career advancement and inevitably higher pay. Some areas of public health do require this degree initially, so it is important that you consider this when looking at each individual aspect of public health. A bachelor’s degree will probably take between 5 and 6 years to complete.

No matter what type of degree that you choose, you should always make sure that your academic institution is accredited by the CEPH. This can make the difference between a well-respected education and one that carries no weight with the State. In addition, you should also look into online programs. The CEPH does recognize several online schools, and you can reap the many benefits of online education if you so desire.

References:

www.indeed.com
The Council on Education for Public Health, www.ceph.org
The National Board of Public Health Examiners, www.nbphe.org
Idaho Department of Public Health, www2.state.id.us/phd7

Through campus based and online programs, aspiring Public Health Professionals in Boise, Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Meridian, Idaho may be able to prepare themselves for the possibility of employment in some of the largest hospitals and healthcare facilities in the state including Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, and St. Luke's Boise Medical Center.