Master of Public Health
About the Program
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MPH Concentration of Study in
Veterinary Public
Health
The University of Tennessee
Public health is one of the foundation responsibilities of veterinary
medicine and the scope of veterinary medicine is global in its
potential impact and contribution, as is public health. Animal,
human and environmental health and wellness issues converge in
the profession which has created a need for veterinarians with
a level of knowledge and skills beyond those gained during their
professional education. Needs and opportunities for veterinarians
are expanding rapidly in organizations ranging from public agencies
dealing with animal and human health, to agencies and corporations
charged with food safety and security from the farm to the consumer
level. The demand is increasing for veterinarians with additional
education in food safety, food and animal production, zoonotic
diseases, biosecurity, research methods and public policy. The
veterinary degree alone is not enough to prepare veterinarians
to meet these challenges and opportunities. A Master of Public
Health (MPH) degree would be an excellent and necessary addition
to the DVM degree for those individuals wanting to make a career
in public health.
Veterinarians are the only health professionals trained in multispecies
comparative medicine and the profession links agriculture, medicine
and even health issues at the household level through companion
animals. Historically, the profession’s greatest contributions
to society have been in food production and its safety and the
prevention and control of zoonotic diseases. These roles
continue and have assumed even more importance in the context of
potentially deliberate acts of bio- or agroterrorism. American
livestock, other domesticated animals, and free-ranging wildlife
have been identified as targets by terrorists. The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
have warned veterinary colleges that veterinarians will likely
be the front line in detecting terrorist-engineered epidemics. Veterinary
students and graduate veterinarians must now learn to spot medieval
terrors like bubonic plague, whether the symptoms erupt in livestock
or companion animals.
The Food Safety Inspection Service of USDA is the single largest
employer of veterinarians in the U.S. and possibly the world and
this one agency estimates it will need 500 new veterinarians in
the next five years. About half of the veterinarians in the
Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service are currently
eligible for retirement. The US Army Veterinary Corps needs
45 new veterinarians each year to meet their public health mission
goals. Other opportunities for service exist at the state,
municipal and university level. The MPH degree is necessary
for many of these career opportunities.
In addition to the required
foundation courses for completion of the MPH degree, students specializing
in Veterinary Public Health take three required courses (7 hours)
and electives (12 hours) chosen in consultation with their advisor
and designed to meet the student’s career goals. Students complete their
learning experiences with an internship, which is an opportunity
to use skills as a public health veterinarian. Internships
have been arranged at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
the Tennessee Department of Health, the East Tennessee Regional
Health Office, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife
Services. Alternatively, students can apply to take part
in an approved master’s essay option focusing on a public
health problem or opportunity.
The MPH with a VPH concentration involves collaboration in public
health professional preparation between the College of Veterinary
Medicine and the MPH program in the College of Health, Education,
and Human Sciences. The Veterinary Public Health
concentration is available only to veterinary students in the UT
College of Veterinary Medicine and graduate veterinarians. More
information about the MPH – VPH concentration can be found
at http://www.vet.utk.edu/vph/.
By the time of graduation, the veterinary public health student
is expected to have developed the following competencies:
- Assess health risks to individuals and communities.
- Communicate
health risks to individuals and communities.
- Design, implement
and critically evaluate epidemiologic studies.
- Apply techniques
of surveillance, recognition, prevention, control and management
of infectious diseases, with special attention to zoonotic
and emerging diseases, food borne illnesses and potential
bio- or agroterrorism agents.
- Reduce injuries and other environmental
and occupational human health hazards related
to animal.
- Maintain the safety and wholesomeness of foods
of animal origin.
- Identify community and governmental resources
appropriate for addressing health needs.
- Identify need for
public policy development based on scientific data.
- Develop
draft of policies needed to safeguard the community.
Additional MPH Information
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