Missouri Public Health Career – MO

By allied health world contributing writer
Published: February, 14 2010

How to Become a Public Health Professional in Missouri

Individuals seeking Missouri public health careers may want to first volunteer to gain experience in the field.  One way to gain experience is by volunteering or working part-time for a public health organization. Some places to volunteer or work are local community health clinics or hospitals, emergency response and disaster preparedness organizations, or even the Humane Society.

The road to a public health career is as vast as the careers that encompass the field.
Individuals can have any level of education to work in the public health field; it just depends on the qualifications that the job requires. A mosquito sprayer combating the West Nile virus may require a GED or bachelors degree, whereas administering a vaccine requires a nursing or medical degree.

Individuals seeking to pursue management or administration career as a public health official will want a postgraduate education in public health. No particular degree is required to gain entry into a postgraduate program, instead one should focus their undergraduate major in the area that most interests them. Some major areas leading to a public health degree include political science, biology, business, environmental health, health education, teaching, etc

Once the bachelors degree is obtained and pursuing a postgraduate program in public health has been decided, the next step is to find universities that offer Master in Public Health (MPH) or Doctorate in Public Health (DPH) degrees. When applying for admissions, most Missouri public health schools will require a minimum GPA, GRE scores, letters of recommendation and a personal statement. The school you choose should be accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. After acceptance to a Masters or Doctorate program, expect to take courses in epidemiology, environmental health, health care, public policy, research, biostatistics, and complete an internship.

Public Health Licensure in Missouri

Public Health administrators are not required to be licensed to work in Missouri. The professional job to which individuals belong may require licensure, if they are regulated by the state. These licensing organizations include nurses, doctors, dentists, dental hygienists, and social workers.  For more information contact the professional licensure board.

Board of Nursing:
3605 Missouri Boulevard
P.O. Box 656
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: 573-751-0681
Fax: 573-0075
nursing@pr.mo.gov
http://pr.mo.gov/nursing.asp

Medical Doctors:
Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts
3605 Missouri Blvd
P.O. Box 4
Jefferson City, MO 65102
http://www.pr.mo.gov/healingarts.asp
phone: 573-751-0098
fax:  573-751-3166
e-mail: healingarts@pr.mo.gov

Social Workers:
State Committee for Social Workers
3605 Missouri Blvd
P.O. Box 1335
Jefferson City, MO 65102

Dentists/Dental Hygienist
Dental Board
3605 Missouri Boulevard
P.O. Box 1367
Jefferson City, MO  65102-1367
573.751.0040 Telephone
573.751.8216 Fax
dental@pr.mo.gov
http://pr.mo.gov/dental.asp