Health Officer

¶ … American Public Health Association Advocacy and Policy page that resonated the most with me was the process that this organization outlines for shaping public health policy. On the one hand, it was encouraging to see that this organization has issued a number of ways for virtually anyone to take action and attempt to affect the public health processes that influence this country.

There are a variety of alerts that one can be a part of and which reach policymakers, as well as calendar dates pertaining to the organization's own public health initiatives. There is even information about taking trips to Washington D.C. And meeting with members of Congress. Perhaps the most interesting aspect about all of these avenues, however, is that they do not take account for the power of money.

It is quite easy for any citizen to express his or her needs to policy makers regarding the sort of protocols for public health that he or she wants. However, in a capitalist society the more convincing voice is that which is backed by financial power, as the history of lobbyists in D.C. And in regards to virtually all aspects of public policy and legislation in this country indicate.

Therefore, what resonated with me the most about these mechanisms and resources offered on this site is what I perceive to be a general lack of efficacy about them. It seems that these efforts should be augmented with some that induce a Political Action Committee or some sort of pecuniary measures that could potentially offset the interest of big business, pharmaceutical companies, and the insurance companies who are largely responsible for shaping the agenda of public policy makers.

One of the many things that piqued my interest while browsing through the Howard County Health Department Organization Chart was the position and responsibilities for the Health Officer. I was unaware that the Health Officer had as much seniority as this chart, and the accompanying video for it, revealed. Previously, I had thought that a medical director would have seniority over the uppermost Health Officer but this chart revealed that these two positions are actually parallel to one another.

I was generally aware of the responsibilities that the Medical Director had as far as supervising various divisions of physicians and nurses. What was more surprising to me were all the different positions and position types for which the Health Officer was responsible. In fact, prior to analyzing the aforementioned chart I had thought that a Health Officer was merely an administrative position.

This fact was readily corroborated by the chart, which shows that administration is in fact one of three principle stratifications of public health of which this officer is in charge. In this respect, it was interesting to see the career path that one could take to actually become a Health Officer. Granted, there are likely education and experience requirements, but it.