A working Epidemiologist is expected to have sharp critical thinking abilities along with a talent for identifying and solving complex, multi-dimensional problems. Additionally, someone working in this field should be very organized and have great listening and communications skills. Nowadays, a competent Epidemiologist often need to learn various types of computer software in order to do research and statistical analysis.
Aside from the above mentioned general skills, a working Epidemiologist is expected to perform one or more of the following list of job specific tasks in one form or another:
Teach principles of infection control, statistical methods, and laboratory procedures to students, physicians, residents,technicians, and other specialists.
- Standardize drug dosages, methods of immunization, and procedures for manufacture of drugs and medicinal compounds
- Investigate human and/or animal disease outbreaks, including the prevention and treatments of these diseases.
- Monitor and report occurrences of infectious diseases to local, state, and national health agencies.
- Manage health care planning, surveillance measures, public health improvement and other components of a public health program.
- Investigate infectious diseases, parasites, and other health risks to determine the cause, propagation patterns, pathogen life cycle, and mitigation strategies
- Education of medical specialists, patients, and the general public about infectious diseases, disease transmission and prevention measures.
- Circulate the results of research efforts on various kinds of diseases to policy makers, health practitioners, and the general public.
- Design, Evaluate, and/or Enforce Infection Control standards, and health status questionnaires, sample selection and analysis.
- Develop methodologies, instrumentation and process to analyze disease data and present the results.
- Consult with various health specialists to plan, administer and evaluate infection control standards for hospitals, clinics, industry, and/or the general public.
- Study the effects of microorganisms, drugs, and other chemicals on tissue and cellular structure.
- Advise researchers, physicians, educators, government health officials and others regarding medical applications of sciences, such as physics, biology, and chemistry.
- Analyze public health issues related to parasites and infectious diseases and their impact on public policies or scientific studies or surveys.
- Mentor and/or manage professional specialists, especially other Epidemiologists.
Nurse Epidemiologists
Nurse Epidemiologists are at the forefront of the fight against disease outbreaks. These specialists are often the first people to report the outbreak of a new or known disease. Additionally Nurse Epidemiologists are often the same people who are working hard to identify cures and other measures to stop these outbreaks. While Nurse epidemiology is a difficult field, if you have an analytical mind and good clinical skills, a very exciting and rewarding career in Epidemiology might be waiting for you.
To become a registered epidemiologist nurse, you will have to have to meet the following criteria:
You need to obtain a nursing bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. It is important to demonstrate high GPAs when getting this degree due to 2 reasons. Firstly, high academic scores will make it easier for you to obtain a Public Health nursing position. Secondly, doing well in school would give you the opportunity of getting good reference letters from your instructors. These reference letters will come in handy down the line.
You need to take and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) exam to become a licensed nurse. This exam will include many areas that should be covered over the course of your nursing bachelor’s degree program. Some key areas that this exam will test include safety, infection control, patient handling techniques, and clinical pharmacology.
After getting your license, you will need 1-2 years of experience as a working nurse. You will improve your chances of becoming a nurse epidemiologist if you choose to work in a public health facility during these 1-2 years. A public health clinic or similar medical facility will give you hands-on experience of dealing with epidemiology related techniques such as infection control.
You need to obtain a master’s degree in nursing. The degree must have a specialization in Epidemiology. While obtaining your master’s degree, you will further sharpen your clinical nursing skills. Moreover, the specialization in Epidemiology will introduce you to various health data collection and analysis techniques that are important tools for a working Epidemiologist nurse.
After completing the above steps, you should now be ready to work as a Nurse Epidemiologist. Most Nurse Epidemiologists work in the following roles:
Work within a government health agency, as the researcher and/or field assistant with other Epidemiologists. The work would consist mostly of identifying, quantifying, and mitigating the effects of public health crises cases.
Work within a Hospital and/or Health Care Facility as a Nurse specializing in Disease Infection control, containment, and prevention.
Work for an educational institution as a teacher/instructor of future epidemiologists or epidemiologist nurses.
Epidemiology is a fast growing field. In fact, jobs within this sector is expected to grow over 14% by the year 2016. This level of demand is substantially higher than the growth of the healthcare industry as a whole. At the same time, there is a great shortage of skilled talent in this sector. Epidemiology is a job field that most people do not even know about, let alone enter. Because of these convergent trends, a career in Epidemiology can be a financially and spiritually rewarding path to take.
An epidemiologist in the United States can have an annual salary ranging between $38,000 and $99,000. The average salary for an Epidemiologist in 2011 is $65,000 per year. Within the Epidemiology sector, salaries vary substantially based on the kind of work being done as well as the location. Work Experience gained over many years can also play a very significant role in determining an epidemiologist’s wage.
Salary differences due to role and experience
From the chart above, you can see that the salaries of Public Health Services Epidemiologists tend to be lower than that of Epidemiologists working in private health industry. Higher paid Epidemiologists tend to work much closer to the front lines of infection control research and investigation. Active, hands-on, roles like Infection Control RNs( Epidemiologist Nurse ) and Infection Control Practitioners tend to be paid significantly more than the average Epidemiologist working in a clinic.
Although infection control positions are still relatively low risk, there are some instances where an Infection Control Epidemiologist needs to work directly with materials and fluids which contain harmful pathogens. In these circumstances, many clinical precautions such as isolation chambers and bio-hazard containment clothing would be utilized to ensure the safety of the Epidemiology specialist.
Another area where Epidemiologists can earn high incomes is the Bio-Tech and Pharmaceutical industries. There are many lucrative research positions within these 2 sectors and career advancement is generally much faster than in the public health sector. While the pay is very high, Biotech and Pharmaceutical job opportunities are geographically limited since both industries are centered in California and the Boston-D.C Corridor.
States such as California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have significantly higher average salaries for entry level Epidemiologists than most other states in the U.S. Another region of high income potential is Georgia.
The Center for Disease Control(CDC) is located in Georgia, so there are always a relatively high demand for Epidemiologists there. Other states trend lower on the pay scale, however all regional health departments have a need for Epidemiologists. Most Universities with medical departments also need epidemiologists to help with research, data analysis, and clinical trials. So while the salary might be lower in other states, the demand for Epidemiologists may be relatively higher.
Regional Salary Differences
The highest paid Epidemiology positions such as an Epidemiologist Director or an Infection Control Manager usually requires extensive knowledge of the field as well as years of experience in managing other Epidemiologists. In many cases, Epidemiologists in senior management roles also have additional specialized knowledge such as Environmental and/or Genetic Epidemiology.
Epidemiologists are basically Medical Detectives. Their primary role is to investigate the causes, patterns, and effects of disease outbreaks and other public health risks. Epidemiologists collect vast amounts of information, and use this data to create plans for containing, mitigating, and ultimately preventing the spread of these health risks. Aside from doing fun, challenging work that is good for humanity, Epidemiologists are also well compensated for their work. So if you are good at science and like to solve mysteries or puzzles, then Epidemiology might be the right career for you.
Types of Epidemiologists
While there are many different specializations within the field of Epidemiology, there are 2 essential types of Epidemiologists: the clinical epidemiologist and the research epidemiologist.
Clinical epidemiologists work in hospitals, health clinics, and other health care facilities. The responsibilities of a Clinical Epidemiologist involves working with other medical personnel to prevent and contain infectious outbreaks among the patients and clients of the healthcare facility or administrative region. This is a very hands-on occupation that involves working closely with doctors, nurses, and sick patients. Clinical epidemiologists are also responsible for establishing and enforcing common infection control and treatment standards in the health care facility where they work.
Research epidemiologists focus on basic research about how to control and defeat infectious disease outbreaks. Research work, while being less hands on than clinical epidemiology, is heavier in math and statistical analysis. Research epidemiologists often study various disease outbreaks occurring across the country and around the world. Research Epidemiologists often study epidemic causing pathogens such as Cholera, Tuberculosis and influenza. This type of work sometimes involve considerable traveling around the country. Research epidemiologists generally work for government public health institutions, colleges and universities, medical schools, biotech companies, and pharmaceutical firms.
Educational Requirements
If you are considering a career in Epidemiology, you will need to obtain the following educational qualifications:
A Bachelor’s degree in a life sciences field such as genetics, biology, physiology, or biochemistry. For this degree, obtaining a high average GPA will be essential for getting into the best Epidemiology graduate school programs.
All Epidemiologists will need to obtain a Master’s degree in Public Health. Many Universities offer such Public Health Programs. For working professionals looking for a career change, several Accredited online Universities also offer these programs.
While it is still possible to get an Epidemiologist job without a Master’s degree, in most states a Master’s degree is considered the de facto minimum educational level needed to enter this field. Depending on the type of Epidemiologist job, getting additional education and training can help you advance your career.
Clinical Epidemiologists who work in hospitals, clinics, and other health facilities often need to get a medical or nursing degree with infection control training. Research Epidemiologists who work in Government or Educational institutions often go on to acquire PhDs in specialized areas such as Environmental epidemiology, Genetic epidemiology, or Social epidemiology. Epidemiologists who administers drugs in clinical trials (for Pharmaceutical corporations) need to be licensed physicians.
Working Conditions and Career Growth
Epidemiologists are found working in Hospitals, Clinics, Schools, Government health agencies, and Corporate research facilities. The work environment usually consist of offices and clean laboratories. Due to the unpredictable nature of disease outbreaks, Epidemiologists are expected to have a flexible work schedule and be willing to travel.
As an Epidemiologist gains work experience, he or she would naturally take on greater administrative and professional responsibilities. These responsibilities include greater levels of independent analysis, the mentoring of more junior Epidemiologists, and the eventual management of other Epidemiologists and Medical specialists. To help with career growth, there are several nationally recognized professional societies that Epidemiologists can join for advice and professional support:
• American College of Epidemiology
• International Epidemiological Association
• International Society for Environmental Epidemiology
Disease Frequency in Epidemiology
Cause & Effect in Epidemiology