BTS Health Digest #68 - Charting a Career in Public Health: Practical Insights for Newcomers
For many healthcare professionals and MPH graduates, public health in the UK can seem like a complex and opaque field to break into. In a recent webinar with Dr. Clifford Enobun, a seasoned public health practitioner and dual-licensed physician in Nigeria and the UK, we explored the real landscape of public health careers: what it entails, where the opportunities lie, and how to effectively position yourself for career progress.
Understanding the UK Public Health Landscape
Dr. Enobun opened with a useful framework: public health in the UK is structured around three core domains:
Health Protection: This involves protecting populations from infectious diseases, environmental hazards, and pandemics. It’s the domain where outbreak control and epidemiology play a central role.
Health Improvement: This domain focuses on tackling health inequalities and implementing policies and interventions that promote better health outcomes across communities.
Healthcare Public Health: Often rooted in clinical settings, this domain focuses on how public health principles can be applied to healthcare delivery, bridging patient care with population-level insights.
These domains operate across multiple layers of the UK health system: local authorities, the NHS (Integrated Care Boards or ICBs), and national bodies like the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).
Employer Types and Career Entry Points
Public health professionals in the UK may find employment in a range of institutions, including:
Local authorities (focused on health improvement and community engagement)
NHS bodies (primarily dealing with healthcare public health)
Charities and NGOs (working on specific health themes)
National agencies like UKHSA (handling health protection)
Academic and research institutions
International organizations like WHO and UNICEF
For those just starting, Dr. Enobun’s advice is clear: don’t rush to specialise. Early-career professionals benefit most from generalist roles that offer broad exposure and skill development across the domains.
Entry-Level Roles You Can Target
Dr. Enobun listed several entry and mid-level roles that MPH graduates can realistically target:
Public Health Officer or Practitioner
Health Improvement or Protection Officer
Public Health Project or Programme Support Officer
Patient Engagement Officer
Tobacco Dependency or Smoking Cessation Advisor
Public Health Intelligence Analyst
Data Scientist with a public health focus
Research Assistant in academic settings
The key to accessing these roles is not just the degree but the ability to evidence your competencies effectively.
It’s Not Just the Degree But Your Competencies
A recurring theme in the webinar was the emphasis on competencies over qualifications. While an MPH can open doors, UK public health employers focus heavily on your ability to demonstrate:
What you’ve done.
How well you’ve done it.
Whether you can replicate or scale it in their context.
Dr. Enobun noted that international experience (e.g. in Nigeria or Asia) is valid if you can translate it into the competencies required in the UK system.
This is where the supporting statement in job applications becomes crucial. It’s not just a formality, it’s your best opportunity to communicate your readiness, adaptability, and potential.
What Skills Make You Marketable?
Dr. Enobun categorised desirable skills into three buckets:
Personal/Transferable Skills: These include communication, teamwork, time management, problem-solving, and leadership. They form the foundation of effective public health practice, regardless of domain.
Public Health Technical Skills: These are more specialised and include data analysis, policy formulation, health promotion, stakeholder engagement, programme monitoring, and evaluation. Gaining competence in these areas through short courses or practical projects can significantly enhance employability.
UK-Specific Knowledge: Understanding the NHS structure, local authority functions, Integrated Care Systems (ICS), public health outcome frameworks, and key agencies like UKHSA is vital for contextual awareness. Applicants should be familiar with tools like the Fingertips data portal and concepts like health needs assessments and service reviews.
Final Advice for New Entrants
For those trying to break into public health in the UK, especially international graduates, the message is empowering:
Don't underestimate your background, translate it effectively.
Don’t wait to feel “fully ready”. Apply and learn on the job.
Be strategic and flexible, start broad, specialise later.
Master the art of supporting statements, they’re your gateway in.
Dr. Enobun’s career story reflects the reality many face—crossing borders, adapting to a new health system, and finding purpose in improving population health. But with the right knowledge, framing, and persistence, the path into public health is navigable.
Watch the full episode here.
Listen on Spotify
See you in the next episode.
Cheers,
Dr. Ron
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