By Shanna Barnett, Dr.P.H., M.B.A.
Faculty Member, Public Health Program at American Public University
When I entered public health over ten years ago I thought I knew exactly what that meant. Help the poor, get services to those in need, prevent illness and disease, and do all this on a very meager salary. I even went so far as quoting the last lines of the New Colossus sonnet from the Statue of Liberty to inform people of what I perceived as my lofty responsibilities as a public health practitioner. Also known as the Statue of Liberty poem:
Here is the sonnet in its entirety:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
By: Emma Lazarus
Honestly I have never met a public health practitioner that got into the profession for financial motives. Rather, we our bound by the common interest in helping others and advancing goodwill in society. And interestingly enough, I was pleasantly surprised at the opportunities that my degree in public health offered.
All hospitals utilize public health professionals in various roles and at various levels of responsibility. Administrative roles including administration of the Institutional Review Board, Offices of Sponsored Programs, and Sponsored Research, are always in need of those with a degree in public health. I have met public health professionals that have administrative duties who assist the department chairs and even the president of some of the most prestigious hospitals in the United States. And this is just a small example of the many roles and functions public health administrators can fill.
Universities have faculty that are Doctors of Public Health, as well as research staffers with MPH (master’s of public health) degrees. The public health degree is highly regarded among academics and professionals, and we are often considered to be research professionals. Community and city colleges are beginning to understand the importance of a background in public health and are nowoffering more classes in this growing field. This enables those with an MPH degree to teach new public health students, and more frequently, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
In my career I have served many roles within the realm of public health. For example, helping educate about HIV prevention among intravenous drug users, HIV prevention with male prostitutes, smoking cessation programs with pregnant women, HIV research in rural areas, smoking relapse prevention with postpartum women, research management for multiple research projects, director of research for a university department, and administrative director of a centers for community-engaged research. I also am an adjunct faculty member with American Public University System teaching health care administration and health policy. As you can see there are no limits to what can be accomplished with a degree in public health. Doors will open and opportunities will present themselves, some you may have never anticipated.
About the Author:
Dr. Shanna Barnett, Adjunct Faculty, holds a doctoral degree in Public Health from the University Of Texas School Of Public Health –Houston, a master’s degree in Business Administration from Texas Woman’s University, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Wyoming. She comes to APUS with over 10 years of health care administration experience.
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