International Public Health

[melrose85]

hello! i was in an accelerated bsn program, but i left in order to pursue medical school. now i'm questioning my decision.

i want to go into international public health, providing some clinical care but mainly working to design and implement various public health projects such as immunization campaigns, antimalarial programs, managing a health clinic in a refugee camp, etc. in the us, i could see myself as a public health nurse along the border or in american indian reservations.

however, i am worried that it may be hard to obtain the kind of jobs] i want overseas with an rn/mph and not an md/mph. also, i feel like md's have much more credibility overseas than rn's. and i wanted the ability to diagnose. i also didn't really like the idea of being a floor nurse in a hospital. that's why i switched to a premed program.

but now i"m thinking that medicine isn't the best field for me. i feel like it is too long of a program (7 years) and will take me away from working in the field w/ the people. i like patient education and caring for patients, which is a huge part of nursing, but i also like the pathophys/diagnosing stuff. and i want time for a life outside of my career.

aaah. so to make a long story/question short- do you all know any nurses who are doing the kind of international work i want to do? how long did it take them to get there? would it be harder in today's job market? how are us trained nurses perceived overseas?

thanks!!!

[lauren728]

Have you thought about a NP/MPH... they have many accelerated programs now... just a thought. I don't really know anyone doing international work, but at least an NP program would be much shorter than an MD program.

[Ion]

Most of the world's dumps are that way because of the people who live there. Not all of the people, but whoever is in charge, and usually because they are in charge behind the barrel of a Kalashnikov.

They are a dump because the guy with all the Kalashnikovs wants it that way. Starving people are easy to control, and a handful of rice is a cheap way to control someone who has already lost their children and whatever ones are left have swollen bellies and are dragging themselves one step ahead of the vultures behind them.

The bad guys take a fertile nation like Rhodesia, that could feed the entire continent, and reduce it to dependent on external supply. The bad guys create a murder rate in a border town like Juarez that exceeds our casualty rate in Iraq. The bad guys kidnap Americans and cut off their heads while the victim is still breathing and choking on his own blood and then post the video on the Internet.

Yes, there are good people trapped in the mess of all this that need help. You will be able to help them at the convenience of the local head bad guy who views genocide as an admirable goal instead of a terrible outcome. You may not come back. You may suffer a terrible fate.

If you decide to go, then accept the risks and the possible futility of your actions. The only vaccine capable of removing an evil dictator is usually a young man with short hair, a rifle and someone he calls sir.

You probably won't change the world. Your actions will likely go unnoticed. You may give someone a chance at a little better life, a little less suffering and have a little bit more hope. If that is what you would want, then I would consider it an admirable goal, and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

[brissygal, BSN, RN]

hello! i was in an accelerated bsn program, but i left in order to pursue medical school. now i'm questioning my decision.

i want to go into international public health, providing some clinical care but mainly working to design and implement various public health projects such as immunization campaigns, antimalarial programs, managing a health clinic in a refugee camp, etc. in the us, i could see myself as a public health nurse along the border or in american indian reservations.

however, i am worried that it may be hard to obtain the kind of jobs] i want overseas with an rn/mph and not an md/mph. also, i feel like md's have much more credibility overseas than rn's. and i wanted the ability to diagnose. i also didn't really like the idea of being a floor nurse in a hospital. that's why i switched to a premed program.

but now i"m thinking that medicine isn't the best field for me. i feel like it is too long of a program (7 years) and will take me away from working in the field w/ the people. i like patient education and caring for patients, which is a huge part of nursing, but i also like the pathophys/diagnosing stuff. and i want time for a life outside of my career.

aaah. so to make a long story/question short- do you all know any nurses who are doing the kind of international work i want to do? how long did it take them to get there? would it be harder in today's job market? how are us trained nurses perceived overseas?

thanks!!!

worth your while inquiring in australia - university of queensland in brisbane under the school of population - www.sph.uq.edu.au - offers international public health program - you may be eligible to get this degree in a year - alot of american & canadian students are doing their mph there, i am just about finished my mph (masters degree in public health) too. in any case more opportunity for you to have a mph in another country with experience in another international country if you get my drift.

best of luck

[EliseM]

Hi Melrose,

It's been a few years since your post. I'm wondering which direction you ended up choosing and how things are going? I am a public health nurse and am looking into working abroad as well.

Thanks!-

-Elise

[Jen R.N.]

The response that "you won't make a difference" is not true. The measure of how you make a difference is not up to someone else. You might not solve the world's problems but you might make someone's life better. No one person can solve all problems.

[cbrubaker05]

Yes, Melrose, any update on what you decided to pursue? I am debating very similar things!