Why choose a career in public health?

Why choose a career in public health?

The critical role of public health in our daily lives has seldom been more apparent as we face challenges such as emerging pandemics, bioterrorism, global climate change, a healthcare system in need of restructuring guided by cogent data-based policy decisions, and an increasing prevalence of high-risk behaviors that are potentially modifiable. In the U.S. we face an aging public health workforce, a substantial proportion of which is poised to retire in the next five years. There is a pressing need to replace those leaving the public health workforce with new public health professionals ready to respond to emerging health challenges worldwide. Multidisciplinary training in the core fields of public health - epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health policy and systems management, and the behavioral and community health sciences - as well as in growing areas such as informatics, bioterrorism and emergency preparedness, and health disparities is essential to meet such challenges. Job opportunities abound. Public health practitioners work in governmental public health agencies at the local, state and federal level; in not-for-profit community social and health service agencies; and in academic health centers. The ultimate goal in each of these settings is preventing disease and promoting health..

Why choose LSU Health Sciences Center School of Public Health in New Orleans?

Let’s start with one important question: why New Orleans? Our world here changed dramatically on August 29, 2005, with the landfall of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee breaches. We now ‘live’ public health. It is a part of the decisions we make on a daily basis as residents of New Orleans. As students, practitioners and scholars of public health, we have the remarkable opportunity to study our public health system, change it, and find better ways to deliver routine services under extraordinary circumstances. We have an opportunity to rebuild our city in ways that promote health and well-being, Systematic, on-going needs assessments, population surveys, and research on not only the health impacts of the 2005 hurricanes but also on our changing community environment is possible through the participation of students, faculty and staff. There is much to do, much to learn and much to contribute. The LSU Health Sciences Center initiated the establishment of a School of Public Health (SPH) on July 1, 2003, building upon the strong research, teaching and service programs of the former Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in the LSUHSC School of Medicine. The school currently offers five MPH concentrations in: Behavioral & Community Health Sciences, Biostatistics, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, Epidemiology, and Health Policy & Systems Management. Additionally, an MS degree in Biometry has been offered for many years. Whichever concentration you choose, you will get the fundamentals in each of the core disciplines of public health. You will be enrolled in small classes with the great advantage of one-to-one interaction with the instructor. Our faculty members are internationally recognized scholars. Program enrollment can accommodate both full-time study as well as part-time study for persons currently in the workforce. The scope of activities in the school is much broader than the opportunities within New Orleans alone. The curricula of these graduate programs are greatly enhanced by the breadth and depth of statewide public health research and interdisciplinary practice programs in the SPH which offer unique training opportunities. The LSUHSC SPH is home to the Louisiana Tumor Registry, the Louisiana HIV/AIDS Program, the Delta AIDS Education and Training Program, the Juvenile Justice Program, the Louisiana Telemedicine network, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the Louisiana Cancer Information Service, the Louisiana Cancer Control Partnership, and the Tobacco Control Initiative. The LSU SPH is unique because many of these programs are typically based in state health departments. In addition to delivering these public health service programs, LSU SPH faculty and staff conduct cutting-edge research in many areas. Interdisciplinary research teams are studying the etiology of chronic and infectious disease and developing risk reduction strategies for such diseases as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS, with an added emphasis on the elimination of health disparities. Development and application of emerging methodologies such as telemedicine, GIS and spatial epidemiology provide additional training opportunities. The tuition and fees for graduate study in the LSUHSC School of Public Health are competitive with any in the country and combined with the rich learning environment in and around our School make enrollment in LSUHSC School of Public Health an opportunity not to be missed.