Due to COVID-19, public health has been in the news. But do you know what public health actually is, and about the 100+ careers that exist in the field? And did you know that there is a need to hire at least 80,000 new public health professionals in the next few years? In this engaging session, you’ll find out why public health is misunderstood and often invisible, what public health is and why it’s important, and how to help your students find the right public health careers that match their interests and skills.
Public health includes far more than preventing infectious diseases. Public health includes healthy eating and exercise programs, clean water and food, smoking cessation programs, maternal and child health, workplace safety, drug regulations, emergency and disaster preparedness and response, and even seat belt laws. Public health saves millions of lives every day and prevents billions of dollars in healthcare costs.
However, even before COVID-19, public health departments, including in city, county, state, and federal government agencies, had been experiencing a workforce shortage for decades. Due to the American Rescue Plan Act, $7.4 billion is being spent to replenish the public health workforce. This includes unique and meaningful opportunities for students from all majors and all degree levels, ranging from the new Public Health AmeriCorps program, to the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service, to a new Laboratory Fellowship program. There are opportunities for community college students, bachelor’s students, and graduate students; and for every major from English to statistics, and from biology to business, as well as the health professions
In this session, you will learn about the hundred-plus career paths in public health, and how to guide your students to these inspiring opportunities to serve their communities and save lives.
In addition, you will discover how to use tried-and-true career counseling models to identify the right public health careers for different majors. New, cutting-edge resources, including new career guidance websites, will be shared, along with concrete tips to help your students navigate the civil service hiring process. Presenters will discuss special student loan forgiveness programs for students who work in public health, in addition to highly specific, hard-to-find career opportunities and on ramps.
Following this session, attendees will be able to educate your students about public health and the many career pathways and on-ramps it offers to students who are motivated to serve the public and keep their communities healthy. The main speaker is the co-author of the new book 101+ Careers in Public Health, 3rd Edition; additional speakers will be invited from Public Health AmeriCorps, Assoc. of Public Health Labs, CDC, and Assoc. of State & Territorial Health Officials.
Following this program, you will be able to:
- Identify what public health is, why it matters, who provides public health services, and the 101+ different occupations within public health;
- List five (5) new, unique career opportunities and pathways, three new career resources, and three loan forgiveness/repayment programs for students from all majors; and
- Describe how new graduates who enter new fellowships can convert to permanent hires.