Get a Masters of Public Health at Touro

HELP WANTED: School seeks students for Public Health Program. Must have earnest passion to save the world.
Beginning in September 2010, Touro College will offer a Masters of Public Health Program at its Manhattan Campus aimed at promoting health through the organized efforts of community members. Its focus is on population-level solutions rather than individual-level treatments.
“Really what we do collectively is make sure social conditions are healthy,” said Dr. Audrey Jacobson, director of the program. “We practice health promotion and disease prevention through community level action.”
That community level action entails a wide range of diverse fields. Public Health is typically divided into epidemiology, biostatistics, health services administration, environmental health sciences and social and behavioral sciences. Students who enter the program will learn a foundation consisting of all five categories before focusing on a particular field of study.
“It’s about looking at populations of people in terms of health,” Jacobson said. “It’s all of the things we can do for a population’s health; banning of smoking in public places, restaurants being up front about trans fat content, making sure there are parks for exercise and that they’re safe. We promote and monitor policies that support conditions for people be to healthy.”
Students will learn how to evaluate the strengths of a community’s health programs as well as what needs improvement. Through this process, they will learn to develop, plan, implement and assess health and social services.
“Students will be engaged in public health preparedness,” said Jacobson. “What’s the most effective way to inform a community, what systems need to be put in place to deal with a pandemic? All of these systems need to be in place before the event happens. Public Health is all about prevention and making sure populations have what they need to be healthy.”
Learning about Public Health involves much more than spending hours in lecture halls listening to a professor or reading out of a textbook. Instead, a great deal of emphasis is placed on experience in the field. Internships are a requirement, giving students an opportunity with hands-on experience in the community.
Careers associated with a Masters in Public Health are wide-ranging and diversified. Students can expect job opportunities in government agencies as managers and evaluators. In addition, there are opportunities in smaller, community-based foundations, outreach programs and emergency assistance.
With the healthcare debate raging on in Washington, and with the swine flu (H1N1) resurgence, some believe the public has more of a need than ever for a robust public health system.
“People more than ever appreciate the need and value of a strong public health system,” said Jacobson. “We live in an increasingly global world. People see the interconnectedness of social and economic effects on our health. We need people who are advocates for the community and who will speak to the community.”
The Masters of Public Health is a 45-credit program available to both full and part-time students. A full-time student should take two years to complete the program, while a part-time student would take five years.
To apply, prospective students should contact the Office of Central Admissions at the Touro College School of Health Sciences at 866-Touro4U by phone, and enrollhealth@touro.edu by email.