master of public health essay examples

master of public health essay examples

The Importance of Master of Public Health Education

1. Introduction

Malaysia has been independent for 51 years, and during this period, we have experienced new health issues and are still experiencing them. However, our experience in training public health professionals is limited, and nearly all of our health professionals are trained overseas, mostly in Western countries. Many have failed to understand the “transfer of technology” in health is not just about effectively implementing health interventions, but learning how we can adapt and use successful experiences of other countries and create our own methods when addressing our health issues. Many previous attempts of bringing foreign-trained health professionals have only brought frustration as they found that what they have learned cannot be applied in the Malaysian setting.

One of the critical factors that determine the survival of a new health issue is timing. The faster we can prevent or mitigate the impact of a health issue, the better the result will be. This requires better research, better health planning, and better implementation of health strategies. All these require extra manpower, and the finest way to obtain these would be from public health professionals. The increasing demands are daunting and precious. Thus, we need to know how to train these professionals, and the best way to do so would be to learn from experiences of other countries.

The need for health professionals is rising fast over the years, especially with the emergence of new health issues like SARS, bird flu, and now the threat of swine flu. Thus, the role of public health professionals will become important in the coming years. Public health professionals are required to locate, prevent, and mitigate the impact of new health issues.

2. Benefits of Master of Public Health Education

The benefits of MPH education also apply to medical graduates who have already had basic medical education. It will help them to have a wide array of medical knowledge in solving patients’ and community health problems. With an MPH degree, a doctor can have prospects of becoming a medical/health officer or lead specific public health programs such as communicable disease control, occupational health, or family health programs. They can also be involved in health research and serve as a consultant to the government and private organizations. Hundreds of medical doctors, especially those from developing countries, realize the need for public health knowledge in improving the health status of their people. They will take a break from clinical work and pursue a public health career, starting with an MPH degree.

Master of Public Health Education will provide the core public health knowledge and also provide an opportunity for students to obtain a broad knowledge of public health issues. Doctor of Public Health is also available for those who aim to achieve the highest level of education in public health. Public health education has recently become an alternative field for medical graduates and other graduates from science-related disciplines. There are numerous working opportunities in public health that have high demands and competitive salaries. Public health workforces are responsible for preventing communicable diseases in the general public. Those with public health degrees can also obtain several specializations, such as epidemiology, biostatistics, health administration, and environmental health sciences. Highly specialized public health workers from one of these areas, for example, epidemiologists, will conduct research to find out the causes and prevention of diseases and then provide the findings to health authorities and the public. They can find satisfaction in the work they have done because their work will contribute to the improvement of the health of specific populations.

3. Examples of Successful Master of Public Health Essays

Producing an essay that reflects and articulates the reasons why you are applying is key. Kevin Hsu, an accepted applicant to UC-Berkeley’s Joint Medical Program, provided an essay that provided a profound narrative about his experiences with patients from underserved communities. Kevin stated that he had given up on the idea of applying to medical school before he started volunteering at a hospice. His experiences with terminally ill patients and the relationships he developed with them compelled him to pursue medicine. The remainder of his essay discussed his passion for medicine, described more experiences with the underserved, and provided compelling reasons why he was seeking a dual degree in medicine and public health. Kevin’s essay was undoubtedly unique and eventful, indicating his perseverance and continually growing passion for medicine and public health. Like Kevin, Thalia Porteny, an accepted applicant to Harvard Masters of Public Health program, provided an essay rich with a variety of experiences. Thalia drew upon her tenure as the councilor for an environmental science camp, an internship at an environmental health research institute, and an experience teaching environmental science at a high school in Spain. The position she held teaching in Spain made a profound impact, forcing her to decide between the medical treatment of her student with severe migraines and a civil suit she filed against the school to force the cleaning of toxic metals from the school’s basement. These experiences provided Thalia with a unique perspective and a solid understanding of issues in public health, culminating in her decision to pursue a career in public health and a graduate degree. This understanding and immersion in public health was well articulated in her essay and is likely what set her apart from other applicants. Both Thalia’s and Kevin’s essays conveyed strong and meaningful convictions of why they were seeking a degree in public health and were their stepping stones to successful careers.

4. Key Skills Acquired through Master of Public Health Programs

Explore the key concepts in public health education and learn how a Master of Public Health education could benefit you. Key concepts in public health education include knowledge and attitudes. Public health education has a diverse, changing, and conflicting field of study. Problems are addressed and knowledge is built and disseminated in an interactive process. Changes in individual and community health depend on identifying and implementing effective interventions. The two types of interventions are health promotion and health protection. Examples of health promotion are anti-smoking advertising and health education about healthy eating. The main goal is to prevent the occurrence of health problems. An example of health protection is legislation to ban smoking in public places or regulate food safety. The concluding steps in public health are the evaluation of interventions to determine their effectiveness and the analysis of possible unintended consequences of these interventions. Evaluation and analysis of interventions are important tools in determining their success, or areas deemed in need of further development. These concepts are the backbone of most public health interventions and are revisited during the entire process. Public health education often involves multidisciplinary study and this is a field that is often discovered by students and professionals in other health and related fields. A Master of Public Health study can be interdisciplinary and is suitable for prospective students from various areas of work and study. Public health education is also a field of study for those who are concerned about the prevention of illness and promotion of health to advance the health and wellbeing of individuals and the whole society. During the studying of a higher degree and the postgraduate work professional, there are various reasons for engaging in this field of study and work. The learning of key concepts in public health and the studying of research data to develop or improve interventions are important reasons to consider a career in public health. Public health education allows for informed and intelligent solutions to health problems, improvement of population health, and a better standard of living for individuals and communities.

5. Conclusion

There are several compelling reasons why the UWA Master of Public Health should be the course of choice for individuals wanting to further their public health career. These include the flexible delivery mode, the course structure, the content of the units, the caliber of the teaching staff, the networking opportunities, and the variety of benefits and services available to students. Overall, this MPH offers an invaluable opportunity to enhance leadership skills and critical thinking in addressing public health issues, hence making a real difference to health and well-being.

A Master of Public Health is designed to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills required for a challenging and fulfilling career in public health. It is an appropriate degree for those who already have a professional degree or extensive work experience. Public health professionals are in high demand internationally. The apparent and growing shortage of public health workforce around the world is a cause for alarm. For the global disease prevention and health promotion goals to be realized, an unsparing and well-trained health workforce has to be in place. Although the results on the impact of this master’s degree are still not known, it is expected that the MPH will create the individuals who will result in positive changes with the health status of populations and hence contribute to closing the health gap between different communities.