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How a Master’s Degree in Public Health Can Benefit Nurses

With such an emphasis on prevention and community management in healthcare today, nurses with their public health degrees have a myriad of choices at their fingertips.

One of nursing's greatest benefits is its variety. There is always a new specialty to try or certification to earn. The same goes for continuing education. If you have decided to purse a master's degree, you are not limited to graduate nursing programs. Nursing is an excellent background for just about any graduate program, and public health is the perfect example.

When choosing a graduate program, first determine your goals for this degree. When I was considering a master's degree, I realized I did not want to work as a nurse practitioner. I was more excited about program implementation, and while both a master's in nursing or public health would have gotten me there, the public health degree was faster and thus less expensive - a very important factor when deciding to go back to school! While the options for a nurse with a master's degree in public health are endless, here are just a few possibilities.

Education

If you enjoy teaching and working with students, a master's degree in a health field is required. Whether this means teaching nursing students in a clinical rotation or classroom, a public health degree gives you an overall view of the health system that will be very beneficial for your students.

Research

Public health is an ever-evolving field and research is a large component of that. If you enjoy program evaluation and quality assurance, a master's degree in pubic health will give you the tools to move forward in a research capacity.

Writing

There is a high demand for nurse writers, and you will need a master's degree to be considered. Whether you are writing a research paper or continuing education course, having a good understanding of population health is critical.

Clinic Management

Many graduates of public health masters programs go on to manage public health department clinics. Nurses are especially valuable in these roles, as they have the clinical background to both understand and support their staff better.

Program Implementation

An exciting aspect of public health is developing and implementing new programs for the community. Public health nurses have the opportunity to develop programs most needed by the community. This could be related to teen pregnancy prevention, childhood immunizations, senior health, or anything in between.

Population Health Management

Ensuring appropriate and cost-efficient care is a major goal of hospitals and insurance providers alike. A nurse with a public health degree is an excellent fit for this emerging field.

Travel Heath

A truly fun nursing specialty is travel health, and a background in public health is needed. Travel health nurses provide assessments and recommendations to travelers before their trips. This involves recommending appropriate vaccines, medications, food safety and more.

International Aid

In addition to treating travelers, nurses with their masters in public health can travel themselves. From the Peace Corps to the United Nations, healthcare providers with public health degrees are in demand to run health programs, provide education and conduct research.

With such an emphasis on prevention and community management in healthcare today, nurses with their public health degrees have a myriad of choices at their fingertips.