Transitioning to Public Health: A Refreshing Career Pivot for Burnt-Out Nurses and Social Workers

The world had to learn the hard way just how important emotional regulation, self-care, and stress regulation habits are during the world-wide pandemic. The extent to which certain industries and those workers were affected are still having an impact on not just attrition rates, but the level of quality of service and care that can be given to the people that they serve. Much of the news around people changing jobs was a very general discussion of the rapid numbers of people either changing careers or just seeing the chaos as a perfect excuse to retire. However, the health care and social workers sectors appear to have had the most lasting damage to reputation.

Ironically, despite millions of healthcare and social workers retiring or changing careers altogether in the wake of the pandemic, there is also, simultaneously, a steady and growing demand for those types of positions to be filled in the coming years.

Jobs in the healthcare industry alone are projected to rise around 13% between 2021 and 2031 according to the Bureau of Labor statistics. While not as significant, the employment demand for social workers as well is also expected to rise. An increase of 7% between 2022 and 2032.

It is surprisingly common how often patient care providers, whether clinicians, nurses,  social workers or the like, have just had enough of their industries. Long hours, emotional strain, lapses of funding, or just a lack of acknowledgement and hard work, there are a lot of reasons why employees in these industries leave. Though some may feel a sense of shame or guilt in leaving, it would be good to hear that there are still ways in which people’s lives and health can be changed without having to stay in that original role or industry.

Welcome to the idea of public health. The following is a summary of what public health is and how this career path might serve as a refreshing career pivot for burned-out nurses and social workers.

What is Public Health?

Public health workers are professionals that are tasked with the oversight and gradual improvement of the wellbeing of communities and organizations through the administration of a variety of health services. This can be expressed in smaller organizations or communities all the way up to affecting health on a global scale.

The difference between traditional medical roles and public health positions is that where traditional medicine tends to focus on patients one by one, public health takes a broader consideration and systematic approach to healthcare.

An example of public healthcare workers can be seen addressing issues like contagious diseases, outbreaks, and the research done to figure out where and how those illnesses developed. Additionally, public health workers can hold more of an educational role through promotional positions that enable communities to better understand basic health practices, like hygiene, exercise, nutrition, and mental health initiatives.

What was once done through singular offices, clinics, or hospitals can be expanded through partnerships with governments, private agencies, and non-profit organizations to reconsider and positively change health policies.

Transitioning to Public Health Roles

There are several steps that are recommended to smoothly transition from nursing or social work positions into public health.

Research is a great place to start and begin by considering whether the experience gained will meet some of the requirements for public health positions. Depending on the prerequisites needed for various positions will determine if more education is necessary. The good news is that there are a considerable list of leadership skills, like public speaking, empathy, and communication, that check off many boxes.

Another great idea is reaching out to a career counselor or placement service. Alot of time can be saved from having to dig through countless job postings, cold contacting companies and hoping for a reply.

Finally, networking is always a sound tactic, but to take that one step further would be to reach out to organizations that may be of interest and actually volunteer time in various roles. This will provide sound insight into which aspect of public health would be most fitting. Humanitarian groups like the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, World Vision, and GreenPeace are just a few of the many respectable, established organizations.

With a Bachelor’s in Health Science along with an MBA, Sarah Daren has a wealth of knowledge within both the health and business sectors. Her expertise in scaling and identifying ways tech can improve the lives of others has led Sarah to be a consultant for a number of startup businesses, most prominently in the wellness industry, wearable technology and health education. She implements her health knowledge into every aspect of her life with a focus on making America a healthier and safer place for future generations to come.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.