Health Career: Epidemiologist
Who are epidemiologists and what do they do?
Epidemiologists are public health professionals who study health and disease. They are like medical detectives, solving puzzles about who gets diseases, why people get diseases and what causes disease.
How do epidemiologists typically spend their workday?
As an epidemiologist, you will most likely work in a university, research facility or public health department. For example, you may study the spread of heart disease among middle-aged men or Latina women. You may visit the town to interview the victims and their families and doctors and learn about that area's environment. You will gather and analyze such information as the gender and age of the people with the disease, their shared biological characteristics (such as a family history of the disease or common blood types), shared personal habits (such as tobacco and diet and exercise patterns) and social and economic factors. Once you conduct analyses and make some logical conclusions, you will create a report and send it to a medical journal to be published.
What does it take to be a good epidemiologist?
Do you like trying to solve complicated games and puzzles? Do you want to help fight disease? Then you should consider training to become an epidemiologist. You should be logical, innovative, patient, organized and thorough. You should also enjoy researching, working with others as part of a team and learning about health issues.
What are some health-related jobs that are similar to that of an epidemiologist?
Biological scientist, doctor, environmental health specialist.
Related links and helpful information:
- Society for Epidemiologic Research
- SHEA: The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
- APHA: American Public Health Association
