So.. What's your major? Mine is Public Health.

My name is Isabella Ciuffetelli and I'm a Public Health freshman at Johns Hopkins University. Yes, you got that right, my major is Public Health. This blog is to write about what I learn about Public Health in my Introduction to Public Health class on Spring Semester 2012; and I'll also be posting interesting news, quotes and articles that can be related to Public Health.

Coming from Venezuela a lot of people back at home don't understand what is a major in Public Health, because we don't have such a career back at home. My friends and family continuously ask me "What's that thing that you're studying?", and sometimes they even shoot for the scary question, "What can you do with that afterwards?"

Well, and I sigh before answering,"Public Health is the world, at least in the way I see it!" My major is so broad; it has to do with sustainability and the conservation of the environment, public policy, advocacy and the law, the grounding sciences like epidemiology, biostatistics and ecology, national security (if you want to talk about bioterrorism and biological weapons), or even business administration, if you are into hospital management. So yes, I'm studying the world, from the public health approach in order to make it a better place, a place where people can be healthy and happy, as cliché as it sounds.

What can I do afterwards with that? Well, I'm still not sure of what I'm doing, but I can go to medical school, or law school, if my passion for the social sciences proves to be stronger than that one for the natural sciences, or I can get an MBA or a Masters in Public Health, if I decide that planning and management work better for me, or I can work for the CDC and do research for outbreaks and contagious diseases. I can even work in non-profits for promoting global health or international development. The health sector is so large, and there is so much to do in it asides from being a medical practitioner!