Doctoral in Health Specialties
Health specialties degrees provide students with the knowledge on monitoring infectious disease and bioterrorism threats. Some health specialties programs focus in diagnosing and treating hearing problems.
Featured Programs
As the healthcare industry is currently enjoying a boom, pursuing a degree in healthcare specialties can lead students to highly rewarding opportunities. According to BLS, healthcare professions such as being an audiologist are one of the fastest growing occupations. Forbes has revealed this profession as one of the best jobs in the nation, with 37% job growth by the end of this decade. In the same way, being an epidemiologist can be a great career as the employment for these healthcare experts is estimated to grow faster than the average for all occupations. So if you are looking for a career path that can promise you handsome salaries and big growth opportunities, pursuing health specialties programs can be a great idea.
Epidemiologists monitor infectious diseases and related problem areas for public health agencies while other health specialists such as audiologists diagnose and treat patients hearing and balance problems. They examine patients with hearing issues, diagnose problems and administer treatment. These health specialists also counsel patients and their families on ways to communicate. To get into these professions, students need to obtain a doctorate degree.
Doctoral in Health Specialties
Students who want to get into the field of health specialties need to pursue the doctoral degree in audiology. This program can be completed in around 4 years. Some of the courses students will study in this program are pharmacology, physiology, physics, normal and abnormal communication development and diagnosis and treatment. Students are also required to complete a supervised clinical practice as a part of this program.
If you want to become an epidemiologist, you need to acquire a master's degree. Some epidemiologists also hold a PhD. A doctoral in health specialties with a focus in epidemiology is needed for the ones who want to pursue advanced positions. The curriculum in these may include topics such as biology, biostatistics, causal analysis and survey design. Students may also cover topics such as medical informatics, practical applications of data and review of previous biomedical research.
Online Programs
Some distance learning programs also offer PhD in health specialties. The ones who are already working and seeking advanced career opportunities can pursue the online doctoral programs and study at a schedule that fits their individual routine.
Students can study at timings that suit their personal routines and earn this degree at their own pace. The online programs can be very useful as they help learners keep a balance between their personal and professional lives. But students must stay well-organized and follow a proper schedule in order to effectively manage their coursework.
Career Prospects
The employment of epidemiologists is predicted to grow by 24% while jobs for health specialties like audiologists jobs are expected to grow by 37% from 2010 to 2020. Epidemiologists work in health departments, laboratories and offices. Employment opportunities are also available in universities or in the field. Many of these professionals work for the federal, state, and local governments. Audiologists, on the other hand, can find jobs in clinics, hospitals and physicians' offices.