TURNOCK READING ROOM

Preface to: Public Health: Career Choices That Make a Difference

Turnock BJ---Division of Community Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health

Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury MA, 2006

My appreciation for the field of public health stems from two sources: the work and the workers. In the initial stages of developing this book, I taped a post-it note onto my computer monitor with the words, “It’s the people, stupid!” I adapted this guidance from the sign above James Carville’s desk when he served as national campaign director for Bill Clinton’s bid for the presidency in 1992. Carville’s sign, “It’s the economy, stupid!” served as a constant reminder that focusing on the state of the economy was the key to winning the presidential election. Whenever the focus shifted to some other topic such as health care, foreign relations, or event the character of the presidential nominees, Carville sought to return the focus to the economy. This strategy was successful and the rest of that story is now history.

In a similar fashion, this book is about public health workers, both current and future, and what they do, offering basic information for those considering a career in or career change into public health. Admittedly, this is neither the only nor the best way to approach this subject. There are many fascinating and inspiring stories of modern public health heroes and role models that are not told in these pages.  The focus of this book, however, is on the nuts and bolts of public health jobs and careers in terms of what they do and how they do it. Job duties, qualifications, skills, salary expectations, career ladders, and professional networks take center stage although these can be dry and mundane topics.

Those looking for the inspiring personal success stories of modern day public health heroes can find them in other publications. For example, the global pharmaceutical company Pfizer publishes two wonderful compilations of professional profiles of public health notables. Pfizer’s Guide to Public Health Careers¹ examines the career paths, aspirations, and insights of more than thirty different public health professionals. The Faces of Public Health ² takes this personal story approach to an even higher level in highlighting another 25 respected public health figures. The Pfizer books greatly enrich our understanding of public health workers and public health practice, coloring these topics with personal tones. The stories are indeed interesting and inspiring but, in some respects, the focus on public health heroes and successful careers tells the story of only that part of the public health workforce with advanced degrees and lofty positions. Alongside these leaders and field generals of the public health movement are the foot soldiers carrying on the battle from the trenches. For example, only two of the thirty plus public health workers highlighted in Pfizer’s career guide did not have a master’s or doctoral degree. Those two were a health reporter and a registered nurse who was working on her master’s degree in public health at the time. Similarly, only one-fourth of careers highlighted in The Faces of Public Health were workers with less than a graduate level degree.

This book seeks to complement and supplement those that tell the personal stories of successful and respected public health professionals. In this book, the emphasis is on key aspects of the work of different public health occupations and titles in order to provide an understanding of the basic underpinnings of public health jobs and careers.

Despite an increasing recognition of its importance, there is little information available on the public health workforce in terms of its size, distribution, composition, skills and impact on health goals. Only a few public health leaders and researchers have been active in these topics. Nonetheless, Kristine Gebbie and Hugh Tilson have modeled the way. Kristine Gebbie spearheaded the only attempt in two decades to gather comprehensive information on the public health workforce³ and Hugh Tilson influenced the involvement of Pfizer in the two publications already cited and described. Prior to their work in this area, only a few works on public health careers were published in the 1980s and 1990s.^4,5  

This book builds on the foundation established by Gebbie, Tilson, Maureen Lichtveld, Joan Cioffi, Kathy Miner, Maggie Potter, Virginia Kennedy, Jack Thompson, Chris Atchison, Mike Reid, Deb Olson, George Pickett, Ed Baker, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and others to bring together existing information on the major occupational categories and careers in the field of public health. The introductory chapter examines overall trends affecting the public health workforce. Key characteristics for occupations and careers in public health practice are defined and explained in the second chapter. This framework of career characteristics becomes the lens to examine many of the major occupational categories and career pathways available to public health workers in subsequent chapters of the book. The concluding chapter focuses on future implications for public health workers and those considering a career in public health.

A book on public health careers serves several needs. First, it complements texts and courses on public health in graduate and undergraduate degree programs. Current texts provide only minimal information on public health occupations and careers. Secondly, it provides a stand alone introduction to career possibilities for individuals looking for a career in the health sector. There are many sources of information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy as careers but only a few on career opportunities in the field of public health. Finally, this book advances the notion that public health workers are the most important asset and most critical component of the public health infrastructure. There have been only a few champions of this cause in recent years, but they have been staunch and consistent in serving this cause. Their efforts and work provide a foundation for this book.

References