Previously, I had a conversation with Carla Reinhard, Program Administrator about this MSPH program. Now we have an audience with Dr. Breyssee, the Program Director. We're re-visiting because the value to students or healthcare professionals considering this field are well worth the consideration of a second look. 

Programs that afford the opportunites and options (such as those described in the interview) are indeed rare, and deserve a bit more of our attention. Sometimes we're overloaded with all that Hopkins, and specifically the School of Public Health, can provide. We're only a few mouse clicks away from an abundance of riches. This being said, we wouldn't want a true jewel to go unnoticed.  

For more information.....

And in case you're wondering it's Alonzo doing the "Q," and Dr. Breysse providing the "A".

Q: Dr. Breysse, what do you see as the advantage of getting a master’s degree in the field of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene?

A: it seems as though everyday we’re confronted with problems that relate to how our environment directly affects our health. Last night on the radio I was listening to a conversation about problems with mountaintop coal-mining in West Virginia; the other day I was reading an article on the web about the  big environmental concerns  associated with the process of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas production; in the local Baltimore paper I was reading about issues with excessive sedimentation in the Chesapeake Bay; and of course we are always hearing about air pollution and its effect on health. As a result of all this, there is a need to train health professionals who have the tools and skills to address these issues in a variety of capacities, and I think that is very attractive to someone considering this program.

One of the best things about the profession of occupational and environmental hygiene is that there is a scientific basis for investigating and mitigating health concerns. We attract people who are not only interested in science, but who also are interested in working with people with a wide range of backgrounds. They may not necessarily want to work in a research lab and study how chemicals affect mice, but they want to study chemicals in the environment and how they impact working and living in the real world. We are looking for students who want to study how the environment affects people where they live and work.

Q) What feedback have you received from graduates of the program?

A) First of all, our graduates get jobs in many types of workplace settings. We have graduates that work for organized labor, private industry, consulting companies, and healthcare providers. They work for government organizations at national and local levels; they work for non-profits; and they work in academia.

We maintain a great deal of contact with our graduates. We have a 100% employment record - students have no difficulty getting a job right out of our graduate program, or getting a nice promotion from their existing job. We also turn to our graduates to help mentor students currently in the program. A number of our graduates come back to lecture in our classes, and we have others who hire students for internships. Some of our greatest ambassadors for the master’s program are our graduates, our alumni.

Q) What would you say is the typical background for students coming into your program?

A)   Students move into the environmental health fields through a variety of paths. They typically graduate with a science background. For years, I’ve always told students to “get as much science as you can, you’ll never go wrong”. No one looks back and says “gee I wish I hadn’t taken that math class”. No, they say “I wish I’d taken ANOTHER math class, or ANOTHER science class or biology”. You’re never going to regret taking more basic science classes. So we look for students coming into our program who have a good science background.

 Ultimately, the kind of job that’s out there for new college undergraduates might not be their first choice, but they migrate to the kinds of fields and opportunities that are available. They get a job as an Environmental Compliance Officer, or perhaps they do Risk Assessment for a government agency----and they discover they like environmental health. We’ve found that students who move into these fields come to us because they need a little bit more training to do their jobs better, and to advance further.

Because we offer two delivery options for our master’s degree (full-time/on campus and part-time/internet-based), we get students who are right out of undergraduate programs, and students who are established professionals.

Q) What do you think are the challenges for this program?

A) Tuition is certainly a big challenge and a bit of a barrier, but on the other hand the investment in a Johns Hopkins education is something you’ll never regret. JHSPH is the biggest School of Public Health in the world, it’s the oldest School of Public Health in the world, and our department of Environmental Health Sciences alone is bigger than half the other schools of Public Health. So in terms of the breadth of experience you get, and the depth and level of interaction with the faculty and fellow students---this is  a very unique experience that I don’t think you can get anywhere else in the world.  

I think another challenge is the lack of understanding that this training exists. I think we need to do a better job of informing people that getting a degree in this type of program will really help your career.  Not everyone has the awareness that a master’s degree in environmental health is really a gateway for future advancement in terms of a higher paying job.

Alonzo LaMont

alonzo@jhmi.edu

This is the theory put forth by Daniel Sarewitz, and he zeroes in on Biomedicine as the chief culprit. However, you only have to look at any of the "latest findings," or "recent studies" to see other mounting evidence first-hand. A drug passes today, months later or several years later we're told it's actually no good. Or, it was actually bad. Or that certain involved parties received cash and there we go, off and running. We assemble the nefarious puzzle pieces almost by memory. The rush to get something to us was led by the same predictable forces: profit, herd mentaility and ---- well, some would say a certain arrogance.

As in real life, people want to promote their careers. Isn't it easier to get behind data or research that's just a little more "flimsy" in nature. We like to think that scientists operate with an entirely objective MO but in the end, human nature raises it's all-too-familiar egotistical head. 

Aye-Yi-Yi, give me the simple life, my friends.

Alonzo LaMont

alonzo@jhmi.edu

Could there be any real doubt that our Informationists are taking the world by storm? Our very own Peggy Gross, Public Health and Basic Science Informationist, and Victoria Goode, Clinical Informationist, recently had an article published in the Maryland Medicine Journal. Of course, these aren't the only Informationists from Welch who've had articles published---they're just the most current ones. By next week, who knows what'll be in store. Enjoy.

Alonzo LaMont

alonzo@jhmi.edu 

Yesterday (5/3/12), the Strauch Auditorium in the Armstrong Building was abuzz with grand ideas. The Provost’s Lecture Series presented a panel discussion on the theme of “Innovation”. And the swirl of ideas translated into a glorious introspective glimpse into the nature of how ideas become reality.

Our guest panel was comprised of Lisa Cooper, Professor of Medicine and Director, Johns Hopkins Center to Eliminate Cardiovascular Health Disparities, Lisa Feigenson, Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Jerry Krill, Assistant Director for Science and Technology, Applied Physics Laboratory and moderator/panelist Charles Limb, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Faculty, Peabody Conservatory. After Lloyd Minor, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic affairs for JHU, gave a short introduction on the foundation for the discussion the audience was---intellectually---off and running. Charles Limb asked the panel “What do you view as Innovation?” Dr. Cooper said it’s “new lenses that offer a wider views to a particular problem”. Lisa Feigenson ventured a hypothesis that pronounced “innovation is a combination of technology and methodology that combines finding the mysteries in everyday behavior”. Jerry Krill, with a little less abstraction offered “innovation is not just a great idea, it’s the implemention of that idea. Without the implementation, the idea never takes flight”.

Here’s a small sample of the questions that were raised: what is the relationship between individual creativity and institutional innovation? Are creative people innovative? What is insight, and how does insight differ from creativity? Dr. Cooper mentioned that the medical community has too wide a chasm between themselves and their environment, the short-sighted scientist cannot operate in a vacuum and has to offer some engagement on a larger platform. Reflections were offered regarding science and medicine needing to build better bridges to art and the humanities. Each panelist was asked about a specific recollection to a creative moment, and the confessional nature of those moments were dazzling to behold. The audience was quite captured by the inside peek into the birth of an idea. More often than not, each panelist’s moment came from some small instance, some tiny doubt or question, even from a brief break in a daily routine. Lloyd Minor noticed a distinct rapid eye movement that came when a patient heard a particular noise or sound. This led to Superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS), first described (discovered!) by Dr. Minor. But, as Charles Limb asked, “what caused that first moment?” So many procedures in the field of Otolaryngology had already been performed, documented and accepted. What was the the origin of this innovation? It was a question directed to everyone in the audience, since on some level, we’re all participants.

Such was the terrain of an enlightened discussion, one you rarely hear around the quad.  Speaking with Charles Limb afterwards he commented that “medicine is so far behind in bringing art and science into the same room.” Certainly, symposiums such as these show how imagination runs parallel to the hard sciences, and also how the intimacy behind the creative process can lead to conversations that intersect all disciplines.   

Left to Right: Lisa Feigenson, Dr. Lloyd Minor, Dr. Lisa Cooper, 

Charles Limb and Jerry Krill) 

Alonzo LaMont

alonzo@jhmi.edu

We're scheduled to kick off our ride on May 18th. As fate would have it, that's also the official "Bike To Work" day. I'm sure Hopkins has a good many folks participating in Bike-to-Work, BUT, if you want to participate in OUR event----we'll show you just as good a time.

We're going to start at "One World Cafe" on University Parkway, and we plan on leaving between 8:15-8:30. One World opens at 8:00 and it will give you some time to stop in and pick up a juice or something. Since we'll be leaving a little later than you might be used to (or not), maybe you can give your supervisor and/or co-workers a heads-up. But I ask you, how can they put the kabash on such a healthy activity?!

There will be a sign-in sheet, and also a bike waiver sheet (in case you bulldoze into a bus, or heaven forbid, vice versa). Please bring a helmut! And check your tires the night before. Air is definitely a plus with bicycle tires. We can easily work our way to the Jones Falls Trail and make our way to Guilford Ave. From Guilford, we come down (take a shortcut on Madison) and come up on Monument. If you're uncomfortable riding on Monument, feel free to take the sidewalk. Going back home will take a little longer, since we'll be going back another route. (Madison Ave.- the quicker route tends to be tight and crowded during rush hour. I never go home that way. Will give you the going home route later).

If you have any questions or comments, let me know. No really, don't be a stranger. We'll ride with whoever shows up. Hope that it's you.

Alonzo Lamont

alonzo@jhmi.edu

The other day, my friend Carla Reinhard and I were chatting about the academic degree program she administers at the School of Public Health. Her department wants to get the word out that there are a lot of great career opportunities available for graduates of their master’s program in occupational and environmental hygiene (MSPH). Essentially, students study “Industrial Hygiene” – and what, you may ask, is this? By definition, “Industrial Hygiene is the science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace environmental factors which may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort and inefficiency among workers or among citizens of the community.” An Industrial Hygienist anticipates, recognizes, evaluates and controls workplace environmental hazards.

            Carla, an Academic Program Administrator, explained that there are various titles someone can hold with a degree in OEH, (to name a few) Industrial Hygienist, Environmental Risk Assessor, Occupational Health Specialist, Environmental Policy Specialist. Do these titles sound familiar? I’m willing to bet dollars to donuts they do. Why? Because you’re bound to see them advertised in newspapers, online employment sites, and just about everywhere. They’re the ones that usually have a few impressive zeroes attached to the pay grade. And where do their graduates become employed? The largest employment percentile land in industry, with consulting firms and government following along.

            Carla emphasized that students need a strong background in science and math (the prerequisites are biology, chemistry, calculus and physics).Current students and graduates come from a variety of backgrounds. All have undergraduate degrees in a science-related field. They’ve had engineers, nurses and doctors who’ve decided to switch careers, or perhaps they’ve just decided to enhance their skills should they decide on a professional change. Geographically, students from around the world and around the country find the program. Currently they have a student from British Columbia, Nigeria, China, and Mongolia, not to mention those scattered throughout the US – even Alaska.

            Typically, more and more students find the program through Google. (Surprise!) The program has a strong online component, and their part-time/internet-based students all work on their degree while holding a full-time job. Carla mentioned that many realized they needed more education to successfully perform their jobsor to advance their careers.

            I agreed with Carla that her program does indeed deserve more attention. With such varied opportunities, the value of a program like this seems well worth investigating. Look for our interview with Dr. Patrick Breysse, who spearheads the program, in the days ahead. 

Alonzo LaMont

alonzo@jhmi.edu

The picture says it all, but the article almost makes you grimace at the figures. If you're aware of the Open Access movement you already know the players, the game and you won't need a scorecard.

Alonzo LaMont

alonzo@jhmi.edu

The JHU libraries would like to have your opinion about e-books!

An "e-book" is a book that you read on any device, including computers and laptops.

Whether you DO or DO NOT read e-books, please take our survey:

 https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6KT7TZR

It's only 9 questions; we know you're busy. Your comments will be a huge help to your library.

If you have any questions, please contact svazakas@jhu.edu

  Welch has a new kid on the block, Carrie Price. Carrie comes to us from the Eisenhower Library and joins our illustrious list of Clinical Informationists.  I asked Carrie about her motivation into the world of librarianship, and what triggered her arrival at our humble Welch Library doorstep. “For a couple of years in college I worked as a Physical Therapy Technician, helping people rehab from orthopedic injuries. I really liked it and the experience has always stuck with me.” Carrie also mentioned that the prospect of working in a high-energy research hospital environment is a challenge she’s looking forward to. “People don’t seem to have a lot of free time here.” She knows the landscape, already she’s speaking like a veteran Informationist.

Carrie’s a graduate of Towson University and………she plays the Cello. Since not everybody I run into plays the Cello, I asked Carrie how much Cello she played. Thinking of course that she played Cello “on the side,” as a little sidelight. But noooooo, Carrie played with the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, a volunteer orchestra in Harford County. Oh.  For 3 years. Ohhhhhhh. Previously, Carrie worked at the Friends School and has put some time into the Maryland SPCA. A pet lover! (says the man with 2 dogs and 2 cats). She marveled at how much mentoring and support she’s gotten from her peers, and she’s looking forward to turning that early-getting-your-feet-on-the-ground-learning-curve into a straight line. Also, look for her in a local marathon or two. Better yet, she bikes. Ah-haaaa, now we’re talking. If you see her around the quad, don’t be a stranger.    

Alonzo LaMont

alonzo@jhmi.edu