NoMoreTwist

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night everyone! I've been lurking for a number of years but finally seem to have a question that hasn't been covered before. I'm currently a senior majoring in zoology/psychology (I know, I know...not the best of plans), and have found that I've immensely enjoyed taking classes in Parasitology, Medical Entomology, and now Emerging Infectious Diseases. I think I'd like to pursue a job in epidemiology once I graduate, but most entry level jobs around here seem to require at least an RN or a degree in microbiology, and prefer a masters in nursing or public health. It seems like getting a masters in public health would be the logical approach, but from what I've heard the market is saturated, and the schools around here that offer it are pricey, especially compared to the associate degree in nursing from my home town (about $7-10K)...but the nursing market seems to be saturated as well. On top of that, I'm not a city person (the polite way of saying I'm counting down the days until graduation so I can trade concrete for trees), so I'm looking for careers that allow me to live rurally...but I love learning and feeling like my work has wide spread applications, which correlates more to city jobs...gah! My question to all of you is what would you do if you were in my position? What is it like working in infection prevention as a nurse, and how long did it take you to move into that position? If you had to do it over, would you have chosen the same route into epidemiology? And are there jobs available in epidemiology in more rural areas? Thanks for reading this everyone :) I look forward to what you have to say!

Alright, I'll bite. I joined about six months ago, and lurked for two years before then, but this I just can't resist. I hope you're honored OP :) *Full disclosure - I am not a nurse, nor in nursing school. I will be starting my senior year this fall where I primarily focus on Endocrinology, but I've been fortunate enough to sit on a variety of committees that have put me in contact with the folks who are in charge of freshman admissions, the head of nursing school admissions, and a couple of people from the med school admissions. What most people here are saying is true - my school does favor minorities. By that I mean the average white student that applies to our school and gets in has an A average from high school, while the average African-American or Hispanic student that gets in may have an A average, but could also have a B average and maybe a couple Cs on the transcript (bear in mind this is general admissions, but nursing school). The head of admissions at our nursing school did tell me that they actively try to promote diversity, so for nursing school I think that's not an area you need to worry about - jobs may be an entirely different story. For those of you that are frustrated with AA, please allow me to explain the rational behind it in today's culture. I'll admit that I don't believe that it is constitutional, but that I also support it currently. The reason why diversity is favored so heavily is that it brings someone with a different perspective to the table. In general, my school is primarily made up of white, fairly affluent students that are typically straight and have lived in the state their whole lives. While there is nothing wrong with that, the problem is that everyone shares the same mindset, and having everyone be the same only reinforces those beliefs. By actively recruiting diversity (race, ethnicity, social class, different states/country, sexual orientation, etc), it allows new opinions and ideas to be brought to the table, with the intention that these different ideas from diversity will ultimately benefit everyone, not just those that are the minority. While I can't speak for other people, I personally have found that to be true - coming from a podunk town, so many of the stereotypes I held have been dismantled from interacting with people outside of my comfort zone - i.e., not exactly like me. And i think if we look at the business world and how there is more and more talk about the importance of diversity for innovation, I don't think it's a bad thing for nursing to recruit as well. And I'll stir the pot - if you think AA is bad for white students, tell that to the international students from China who take way harder classes, get much better grades, and still aren't accepted into schools here because then the school would be overrepresented with international students from Asia. If we truly made it just about grades, there would be less general diversity yes, but there would be a whole lot less white kids too.