Category Archives: Occupations

Healthcare, Majors, Occupations, Uncategorized, Web Resources

Public Health

85 Comments

The above poster was utilized during World War II to education British citizens on healthy eating during times of food rationing, according to http://blog.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/2011/07/21/get-healthy-with-dr-carrot/.  This idea of educating the public on health issues leads me to today’s topic.  What is the field of public health exactly?  Well, recently I gathered my convictions and typed “What is Public Health?” into my Google search bar.  Guess what?  There is an actual website called www.whatispublichealth.org and it is really neat!  You can watch an interactive presentation all about public health right on the homepage.  Click on the link and watch for yourself.  Here are a few details about the definition of Public Health from the website:

Public Health is the science of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention. Public health professionals analyze the effect on health of genetics, personal choice and the environment in order to develop programs that protect the health of your family and community.

Overall, public health is concerned with protecting the health of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a local neighborhood, or as big as an entire country.

Public health professionals try to prevent problems from happening or re-occurring throughimplementing educational programs, developing policies, administering services, regulating health systems and some health professions, and conducting research, in contrast to clinical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, who focus primarily on treating individuals after they become sick or injured. It is also a field that is concerned with limiting health disparities and a large part of public health is the fight for health care equity, quality, and accessibility.

The field of public health is highly varied and encompasses many academic disciplines. However, public health is mainly composed of the following core areas:

If this field sounds interesting to you, might want to explore Baylor’s Community Health major.  This link will take you to the department’s homepage and this link will take you to the Meet the Majors podcast with Dr. Beth Lanning, Director of the program.  Also, many graduate programs focus on public health issues, too.  You can explore more about the profession at www.apha.org, which is the website for the American Public Health Assocation, a public health professional organization.  This website can keep you up to date on the latest trends and focus areas for the profession.
“Public Health regards the community as its patient”.  This quote from the video on www.whatispublichealth.org  is my takeaway for the day.  I hope this information was helpful and perhaps clarified a bit what is involved in this fascinating health-related field.  Please let us know if you have further questions or would like more information.  Thanks for stopping by!
Occupations

Career Spotlight: Arbitrator

79 Comments

 

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, arbitrators play an important role in resolving conflicts outside of the court system:

“All hearings are private and confidential, and the processes are less formal than a court trial. If no settlement is reached, no statements made during the proceedings are admissible as evidence in any subsequent litigation.

There are two main types of arbitration: compulsory and voluntary. During compulsory arbitration, opposing parties submit their dispute to one or more impartial persons, called arbitrators, for a final and nonbinding decision. Either party may reject the ruling and request a trial in court. Voluntary arbitration is a process in which opposing parties choose one or more arbitrators to hear their dispute and submit a final, binding decision.

Arbitrators usually are attorneys or businesspeople with expertise in a particular field. In arbitration, parties identify, in advance, the issues to be resolved, the scope of the relief to be awarded, and many of the procedural aspects of the process.”

Professor John Ferguson, Lecturer at Baylor, shared that arbitration is typically only a part of an attorney’s practice, rather than a full-time occupation.  He also noted that the few arbitrators who are not attorneys have usually accumulated years of professional experience in the industry where they would like to serve as an arbitrator.

If this career is interesting to you, consider visiting Baylor’s pre-law website.

Creativity, Occupations, Web Resources

Web Resource: Careers in Interior Design

95 Comments

 

Each year, students inspired by HGTV and Southern Living magazine question if a career in interior design might be a good fit for them.  There are many ways to learn about the profession, such as college courses, job shadowing, and conversations with faculty.

What if you want to learn more about this career at 2:00 a.m.?  In that case, you might want to begin with this web resource:  Careers in Interior Design.  Several associations made up of interior designers came together to provide a thorough explanation of the career to students.  They address questions like, “How is an interior designer different from a decorator?”

If designing useful and aesthetically appealing spaces sounds like a good career choice for you, keep in mind that Baylor offers an interior design major, which you can learn more about on the Baylor website.

Creativity, Occupations

Music Therapist

153 Comments

What is music therapy?  According to the American Music Therapy Association,

Music Therapy is an allied health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, psychological, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. After assessing the strengths and needs of each client, the qualified music therapist provides the indicated treatment including creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music. Through musical involvement in the therapeutic context, the client’s abilities are strengthened and transferred to other areas of his or her life. Music therapy also provides avenues for communication that can be helpful to those who find it difficult to express themselves in words. Research in the music therapy profession supports the effectiveness of music therapy in many areas such as facilitating movement and overall physical rehabilitation, motivating people to cope with treatment, providing emotional support for clients and their families, and providing an outlet for the expression of feelings.

http://www.musictherapy.org/careers/employment/

Music therapy courses are not offered at Baylor, so current students interested in this field are encouraged to pursue either a Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Music Education degree.  After graduation, students can apply to a graduate program specifically for music therapy.

Please visit Musictherapy.org for more specific details about this fascinating and enriching field.  You may also want to do some informational interviewing with music therapists in your area.  Musictherapy.org provides a directory where you can search for music therapists.  The Center for Music Therapy, located in Austin, TX, offers a workshop to discover more about this field and also has lots of information on their website: www.centerformusictherapy.com.

If you are looking for a way to blend your musical gift with an active helping profession, music therapy might just be the direction to take!

Occupations

Child Life Specialist

237 Comments

 

Do you love the idea of working with children in a hospital or related setting, but aren’t as interested in taking a load of pre-med type science courses?  Then, the career of Child Life Specialist might be just the profession you have been looking for!  Child Life Specialists provide essential services to children and their families as they prepare to undergo different medical procedures.  Here are some further details from the professional website, Childlife.org:

Child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events.

Armed with a strong background in child development and family systems, child life specialists promote effective coping through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities. They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. Because they understand that a child’s wellbeing depends on the support of the family, child life specialists provide information, support and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members. They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress. 

http://www.childlife.org/The%20Child%20Life%20Profession/

As far as work environments for child life specialists, the website indicates:

Although child life has its traditional foundations in hospitals, an increasing number of child life specialists are applying their unique expertise to help children in other environments, including outpatient healthcare facilities, doctors’ offices, hospice care, specialized camps, schools, court systems, and funeral homes. Whatever the location, child life interventions focus on the individual needs of the child and family. 

http://www.childlife.org/The%20Child%20Life%20Profession/WhereDoChildLifeSpecialistsWork.cfm

For more specific details about requirements in pursuing a career in this rewarding career, please visit: http://www.childlife.org/Certification/Getting%20Certified/index.cfm

Internship experience as well as appropriate academic preperation are required, so a visit to Baylor’s Child and Family Studies department might help you on your way to exploring this field further.

You can reach this department at:

http://www.baylor.edu/fcs/index.php?id=62112

As always, please let us know if we can seek out more information for you regarding this valuable career path.

 

 

 

 

 

Communications, Occupations

Career Spotlight: Public Relations Specialist

214 Comments

When you hear the words public relations, what comes to mind?  Is it planning massive events, a celebrity’s spokesperson sending out a “no comment” response, or even someone “spinning” a story to make an organization look more positive?  The media has done little to conquer stereotypes of the profession of public relations.

At the core of public relations is writing, which makes it fitting that the Public Relations sequence is an option of the Journalism major at Baylor.  Strong grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills are a must for success in this field.  Public relations specialists work hard to promote a positive image of an organization or individual.  They use various forms of media to communicate their messages, such as print, online, and broadcast media.  Public relations specialists also need to be adept at interpersonal skills, since they work closely with staff from the various media outlets.

If promoting the good that others are doing sounds good to you, here are some ways you can learn more about a career in public relations:

Public Relations Society of America

Baylor University’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media

What Can I Do with This Major?

Business, Occupations

Career Spotlight: Management Analyst

61 Comments

Do you enjoy offering advice?  Is research your forte?  Are you looking for a career in a growing industry?  If so, read further for information on a career as a management analyst.

According to the O*NET OnLine, management analysts, “conduct organizational studies and evaluations, design systems and procedures, conduct work simplifications and measurement studies, and prepare operations and procedures manuals to assist management in operating more efficiently and effectively.”  They help managers determine the best strategies for success.

The Occupational Outlook Quarterly explains that educational backgrounds for management analysts vary, though many possess a Master of Business Administration degree.  It goes on to list common undergraduate majors as business, management, marketing, economics, and engineering.  The publication also notes that many management analysts have work experience with management information systems.

For more information, and to determine if a career as a management analyst might be a fit for you, visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook.