Masters degree with EMS

[EpiEMS]

Yes I am looking into MPH, among others at the moment. I still have 3 semesters until my undergraduate is done though. When I say "looking into it" I mean fiddling around with the idea

Me too. Only have one more semester of undergrad, but I'm fiddling around with the idea -- just gotta do some more work and get some more $ saved up before really going after those three post-nominal letters.

 

[ExpatMedic0]

Ya, the biggest factor for me is that I am not ready to leave field work entirely behind just yet. I guess Ill see what happens. The good thing about the MPH is you can take a lot of tracks, its a lot broader field than most people know. There are backbone requirements that all MPH's share, such as Epidemiology. However you can tailor an MPH to disaster response, health promotion , and even Primary Health Care & Health Disparities, plus a lot more. I found all this out by contacting my local university which offers an MPH program, its on the same campus as the medical school.

Anyway I am still looking into it and what opportunities it could offer for some one interested in staying involved with EMS.

 

[blindsideflank]

This attitude:

If I am going to obtain a masters, I am not going to work EMS as my primary career.

Plenty of guys work EMS as a side gig because they enjoy it but if I am going through the trouble of a masters, it will be for a title above paramedic. A high school diploma doesn't get me further than the next guy in EMS land.

contributes to this:

A track for folks interested in education is important for the future of our profession also. un-educated paramedics doing initial education for soon to be un-educated paramedics has not done anything for the past 30 years in our profession, and it will be the end of us if we continue it for 30 years. EMS simply can not keep pace with the changing technology and science if our educators are themselves under educated.

Finally, having management with professional, post graduate level education is crucial for the longevity of our profession. Under educated managers simply don't seem to manage for the long term, and all to often seem to be the result of the good ol' boy system, and are subject to power trips etc. I am not saying this does not happen with post graduate trained folks, but it would go a long way to help reduce these situations.

very well said WTEngel