pharmD in world public health sector

[superhopeful]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi,

I don't know if anyone here could help me figure this out, but I'm facing a bit of a decision-making issue at this point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Here's my situation: I'm a working professional who's been out of school for 5 years now and I'm contemplating on going into pharmacy/public health field as a career-change. For the past year, I've been prepping myself for pharmacy school application in hope of pursuing the pharmD/MPH degree so that I could use my expertise in the pharmaceutical field to improve the health--and ultimately, lives--of the impoverished and underprivileged. My goal is to one day work for WHO since my mission in life is pretty much congruent with that of the organization's. After perusing through their website to understand more about the role that I could partake in as a pharmD/MPH holder in the future, however, I seem to be hitting a brick wall since there's barely any position available for pharmD holders at all. Contrariwise, a plethora of job positions are available for MD holders. I understand that pharmacist in the public health sector is a relatively untapped field that has yet to gain visibility, but I am wondering if I'd be stabbing myself in the foot if I were to acquire pharmD and not be able to get a job at WHO afterall. Should I just pursue an MD instead of pharmD/MPH in that case then? And if there ARE positions available for pharmD/MPH holders in WHO or any other international/governmental public health organizations, what types of responsibilities would those entail?

Any advice, anyone??

 

[pharmschooler]

Hi,

I don't know if anyone here could help me figure this out, but I'm facing a bit of a decision-making issue at this point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Here's my situation: I'm a working professional who's been out of school for 5 years now and I'm contemplating on going into pharmacy/public health field as a career-change. For the past year, I've been prepping myself for pharmacy school application in hope of pursuing the pharmD/MPH degree so that I could use my expertise in the pharmaceutical field to improve the health--and ultimately, lives--of the impoverished and underprivileged. My goal is to one day work for WHO since my mission in life is pretty much congruent with that of the organization's. After perusing through their website to understand more about the role that I could partake in as a pharmD/MPH holder in the future, however, I seem to be hitting a brick wall since there's barely any position available for pharmD holders at all. Contrariwise, a plethora of job positions are available for MD holders. I understand that pharmacist in the public health sector is a relatively untapped field that has yet to gain visibility, but I am wondering if I'd be stabbing myself in the foot if I were to acquire pharmD and not be able to get a job at WHO afterall. Should I just pursue an MD instead of pharmD/MPH in that case then? And if there ARE positions available for pharmD/MPH holders in WHO or any other international/governmental public health organizations, what types of responsibilities would those entail?

Any advice, anyone??

Try contacting somebody at WHO who has nearly the position you're interested in. I bet they could advise you on this subject (and they might be very flattered in your interest).

I don't know much about this myself, but I think one big issue with global public health and drugs is the fact that most medicines are designed with buyers in the first world as the target market. There are many fewer medicines produced to treat issues in the third world and even if they would be helpful for people there, they may not be sold in those regions because of economic conditions. Issues specific to poorer regions are given the same attention that issues in richer countries receive in regards to drug creation.

I'd think that a pharmD might be really helpful for dealing with some of these issues...

 

[theunderminer]

Hi,

I don't know if anyone here could help me figure this out, but I'm facing a bit of a decision-making issue at this point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Here's my situation: I'm a working professional who's been out of school for 5 years now and I'm contemplating on going into pharmacy/public health field as a career-change. For the past year, I've been prepping myself for pharmacy school application in hope of pursuing the pharmD/MPH degree so that I could use my expertise in the pharmaceutical field to improve the health--and ultimately, lives--of the impoverished and underprivileged. My goal is to one day work for WHO since my mission in life is pretty much congruent with that of the organization's. After perusing through their website to understand more about the role that I could partake in as a pharmD/MPH holder in the future, however, I seem to be hitting a brick wall since there's barely any position available for pharmD holders at all. Contrariwise, a plethora of job positions are available for MD holders. I understand that pharmacist in the public health sector is a relatively untapped field that has yet to gain visibility, but I am wondering if I'd be stabbing myself in the foot if I were to acquire pharmD and not be able to get a job at WHO afterall. Should I just pursue an MD instead of pharmD/MPH in that case then? And if there ARE positions available for pharmD/MPH holders in WHO or any other international/governmental public health organizations, what types of responsibilities would those entail?

Any advice, anyone??

The Indian Health Service (IHS) or the FDA (through the Public Health Service or as a civilian), CDER or CDC might be something interesting to look into as well. They have similar goals compared to the WHO, and they definitely do hire pharmDs.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

The Indian Health Service (IHS) or the FDA (through the Public Health Service or as a civilian), CDER or CDC might be something interesting to look into as well. They have similar goals compared to the WHO, and they definitely do hire pharmDs.

not to mention they are government jobs with a pseudo-military branch so you get those kinds of benefits as well.