Entry level jobs in global

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GloMPH2008

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I have a BSN in Nursing, BSEE in Engineering, MPH in Epidemiology. My interest is in global Health. Does any one know any websites or organization that I link up with to get started on a career in global health? I am currently working in the Hospital (Medical Surgical). I really need to get my career going in global health.

Any suggestions or input will greatly be appreciated.
 
I have a BSN in Nursing, BSEE in Engineering, MPH in Epidemiology. My interest is in global Health. Does any one know any websites or organization that I link up with to get started on a career in global health? I am currently working in the Hospital (Medical Surgical). I really need to get my career going in global health.

Any suggestions or input will greatly be appreciated.

Wow, that's a pretty neat set of degrees you have, all of which would be applicable to global health in different ways.

You could, of course, serve as a nurse with doctors without borders (if you have enough professional experience, 2 years I think . . .)www.doctorswithoutborders.org, or as a nurse in another aid organization. Direct care of patients and/or managing a clinic, or you could work on a public health research project out in the field. These options would require you to put your US nursing career on hold for a while, though you could always do a week here or there. You could also look at being a travel nurse, though this might not necessarily involve working with people in developing countries.

One suggestion is that you figure out what type of patients you like working with, or what type of disease entity interests you. Does studying and working to solve maternal malnutrition interest you? Or perhaps malaria? You could research, or you could go the patient care route, or a combination. There has been a certain demand for nurse researchers, though that might take a little bit more education, I'm really not sure about that route.

Global health is such a broad area, and it also encompasses issues and certain people in the United States. I know that you could probably work on an indian reservation, and perhaps get loans paid off as well, which would give you an introduction to a different culture facing difficult issues like diabetes, alcoholism and high unemployment.

Here is a link to some global health blogs:

http://lvntobsn.org/2010/top-50-international-health-care-and-nursing-blogs/
 
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Wow, that's a pretty neat set of degrees you have, all of which would be applicable to global health in different ways.

You could, of course, serve as a nurse with doctors without borders (if you have enough professional experience, 2 years I think . . .)www.doctorswithoutborders.org, or as a nurse in another aid organization. Direct care of patients and/or managing a clinic, or you could work on a public health research project out in the field. These options would require you to put your US nursing career on hold for a while, though you could always do a week here or there. You could also look at being a travel nurse, though this might not necessarily involve working with people in developing countries.

One suggestion is that you figure out what type of patients you like working with, or what type of disease entity interests you. Does studying and working to solve maternal malnutrition interest you? Or perhaps malaria? You could research, or you could go the patient care route, or a combination. There has been a certain demand for nurse researchers, though that might take a little bit more education, I'm really not sure about that route.

Global health is such a broad area, and it also encompasses issues and certain people in the United States. I know that you could probably work on an indian reservation, and perhaps get loans paid off as well, which would give you an introduction to a different culture facing difficult issues like diabetes, alcoholism and high unemployment.

Here is a link to some global health blogs:

http://lvntobsn.org/2010/top-50-international-health-care-and-nursing-blogs/

Thank for your input. I will follow up on your suggestions.
 
You might already know about these, but in case you don't--

APHA's International Health section
http://www.apha.org/membergroups/sections/aphasections/intlhealth/
If you have an MPH, odds are you already know about these folks--but if not, join APHA and get in touch with them!

http://careers.globalhealth.org/
This is the careers site for the Global Health Council; even if you're not right for the jobs (yet) you can see who's doing what and where. I haven't read their book on finding a career in global health, but it looks like it should be helpful.

Idealist
http://www.idealist.org/
While not specifically a global health site, they pull together non-profit/NGO opportunities, including volunteer stuff and paid jobs, and sometimes there are overseas gigs. Right now there's a listing for nurse volunteers at a site in Kenya.

International Career Employment Weekly
http://www.internationaljobs.org/index.html
This site offers a newsletter with a whole section devoted to international health care jobs. You can view some listings for free in the "Hot Jobs" section or subscribe to the newsletter for a small fee to see more.

I've been told by folks employed in this realm that anything you can do to get overseas experience is helpful: if you don't already have a background in this, even a volunteer gig shows them that you have an idea of the challenges of global health work and have at least some ability to handle them. Take a look online, you should be able to find short-term programs that you could do in your vacation time or on a brief leave.

Good luck. I'd love to hear how your career search turns out!

--Beth
 
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