After Excelsior--healthcare degree-need your advice

Hello everyone,I need your help.
I am completing my degree through Excelsior college and am interested in a career in healthcare.
I have pondered about physical therapy but after a lot of research realized it is not for me.I have done volunteer work with in hospital and with a dentist for over 50 hrs each and hoping that will help me.
The careers i am looking at are:
MS in Public Health
MS in Human Nutrition
and Dentistry (i know this is very tough to get into but i want to try)
What other healthcare field would you suggest that will take less time to complete.
I am very much interested in Dentistry but the only problem is time commitment.I am 28 now and by the time i complete pre-requisites,take the national exam and apply it will easily take another 2 years.Maybe earliest i can hope for is Fall 2008?
Are there any dentistry colleges in USA apart from that one college in California(they require 2 years of pre-dental) that are 3 years in duration.
I recently read an old post here on degreeforum about ST Augustine in Florida and their long distance Physical Therapy program which requires the students to attend practical sessions only on weekends.
I was wondering if there is something similar for dentistry.I am willing to travel and work hard,tuition also is not a problem..only problem is time.
I am going to move to NY City most probably around Fall 2008 so i am looking for such programs/shorter programs in and around New York.
Please advice me.
Adoncia

 

Narrowing down "healthcare"

I think you have much more to process about narrowing down what part of "healthcare" interests you--these are all incredibly different degree programs and actually very different professions.

Dentistry is well paid but competitive to enter, almost as competitive as medical school. You will need a great deal of manual dexterity, and in that sense it may be more difficult than physical therapy in some respects.

Nutrition and dietetics programs vary a great deal state by state. A degree that could make you a registered dietitian earning $45K+ in one state could make you only a diet technician earning $28K in another.

Physical therapy requires a master's degree now, usually 2 years, but the pay can be $60K+.

Clinical fields in healthcare are usually very specialized--you really want to do your homework about each one and narrow down the list.

 

It ain't over til it's over

First, you are never too old, not until your 35 then plausibly you might be.

Anyway, if your wanting fast track into a medical career then you really need a bachelors degree, great gpa and good entrance exams (whatever type).

Dental...I'm sure there are 3 years programs, medical/osteopathic and chiro schools have all incorporated 3 year programs. If you are a stellar student, great gpa and various other credits (volunteering etc) then with a great DAT you might be able to get into a 3+4 program...where you transfer back your first year of professional school to complete a bachelors degree. Dental is great...money is great....cost is super high.

If you want a fast track into healthcare consider PA school or better yet AA school. You will need sufficient application cudo's to get past having a DL degree on your app. though. Past the gpa cutoff they will look specifically at each candidate. Taking some grad school entrance exams along with a high gpa should show them you are ready.

I know it seems like small stuff now but REALLY consider the bang for the buck on a professional healthcare degree. Yes the dentists/md's make big bucks but it ain't so big if you have to delay earning those big bucks for nearly a decade or have high overhead starting up (dentistry). Anyway, just a consideration.

I can tell you which degree not to get hence my userid...anyway check around I'm sure there are some 3 year programs.

As far as Public health...dime a dozen and useless w/o significant background in epidemiology or some other like nursing.

Nutrition...not unless you want to open a GNC store or work as a RD.

Just be sure to do lots and lots of research into this b/4 you make a final decision. Believe me it's a hard thing to change careers after you get started towards a certain degree, especially a professional level degree (lots of time/money/motivation).

Just an example:
http://dental.uthscsa.edu/admissions/dds_dual.html

 

Adoncia,

Yes, you are correct. The University of St. Augustine offers a DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy). St. Augustine is only DETC (nationally accredited), however their DPT program is CAPTE (Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education) approved. The Flex program (in Boca Raton) offers online courses and labs on the weekends.

BTW, since you will soon have your Bachelor's degree, you made wish to consider on of the many accelerated (one year) BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) or MSN programs. The above link from Monster.com, references several few nursing schools in NY that are offering an accelerated BSN. Click here for a full listing of accelerated nursing programs.

Good luck!
- Tom

 

Hey! I resemble that remark!

 

Thanks everyone,that was great advice.
Chiromedo,Thanks a bunch.I have yet to find a 3 year dental program anywhere in the US.Some schools have those 3+4 year ones,but i am almost done with my Bachelors in Liberal Studies.I am looking for medical/dental shorter programs especially around the east and have not been successful with finding even one.
I have decided to no longer consider Public health because similar concerns have been going through my mind.I too think i could use that time,money and effort toward something more lucrative.By background in epidemiology do you mean previous work in it or a degree in MPH with concentration in epidemiology.
As for Nutrition,i am considering that only because i like the idea of being self-employed(if some day i can open my own center)and being able to help people.What is a GNC store? Actually though it's not much of my interest.
I come from a family of doctors and made a stupid decision to not get into medicine/dentistry at the right time in my country.I did not know i have an aptitide for healthcare profession until recently...and now i really think it's a bit late.By the time i get in and start i will be 30.
Tom,the problem with that DPT from Florida for me will be going there every weekend.I am not interested in Nursing at all because i am might move back home some day and nursing is not much in demand there.
I am going to keep looking for dental/medical courses that have a shorter program.If anyone finds anything especially in the new york/new jersey area please please let me know.
Anyone with more advice and replies please post them,
Thanks,
Adoncia

 

It almost pains me to hear you say at 30 you're too late...lol. I was 18 when I started college but 33 when I started in earnest. If you start you'll turn 30 and if you don't start you'll still turn 30. Go for what you want. Just my 2 cents.

 

Adoncia,

You will be hard pressed to find any dental or medical schools that offer programs less than four years in duration. That is the standard length for all U.S. based programs.

A career in Public Health should not be ruled out, as there are quite a few accredited schools offering this type of degree online and there are plenty of jobs out there. I would recommend locating a program that is accredited by CEPH (Council on Education for Public Health). I disagree with Chiromed0 that the degree is a dime a dozen and unless you have a background in Epidemiology! I work for a major pharma company in the N.E. and we have quite a few MPH's working here (many without an associated MD degree). You don't even necessarily need to have an MPH to work in Public Health, although it certainly will help.

I'm including below several links to info regarding careers in Public Health and more info on the MPH degree.


http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/careers/guide-careers.html - Public Health Careers (Published by Harvard)

http://www.allalliedhealthschools.com/faqs/public_health.php - More info on Public Health Careers.

http://www.ceph.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1 - Information on Accredited Public Health programs

Keep in mind that this is not a "patient contact" profession. You would be working to help the overall population to remain healthy and avoid disease.

Good luck!
- Tom

 

Hmmm, a review of www.usajobs.gov and www.monster.com reveals that there are a lot of jobs for people with these degrees.

 

O.K...I give.

Sorry all you MPH's out there. Didn't mean to step on any toes. However, I based this totally biased, unscientific view on several things: Number of programs available, number of jobs available, number of 'good' jobs available.

Based on this I came to the conclusion that MPH degrees are being given away like candy with every professional degree out there. There are tons of online MPH degrees (which waters down the value of the degree just b/c now it's easier to get and more fish in the pond) and the average pay (while it is a good paying job it's not all that considering other professions). My bro works for the CDC (the MPH grand poobah) and his take is that yes, MPH is a good field but the fact remains almost all MPH jobs that pay well are in informatics (IT) and epidemiology. All the top positions remain for MD/MPH or Phd. in Pub health. So it's a steep ladder to climb.

All in all I can't say it's bad I just see better return on investment with other fields. Mind you this link doesn't tell you what other qualifications an applicant has.

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Master_of_Public_Health_(MPH)/Salary

As for the "Over 30" crowd...I'm 37 and going back for my 3rd degree (and probably 4th, 5th and 6th) so please don't take what I said as you're too old to do it but yes, we are old (er). My reference was to pursuing Dentistry since a considerable amount of time will be invested and even more if pre-req's or undergrad isn't up to snuff...then you usually have to do a Masters to prove yourself...anyway, it's a long row to how. But doable. I went in my professional degree program @ 30. Yes, I was told I was too old by stupid people too. In some ways they were right...but who cares what other people think anyway. My D.O. was 39 when he went to medical school and is still licensed and practiced full time til last year (I think he's 78). So there you go.

I would say if Public Health is your bag...rack up the points on your gov't app. and get a Phd. at Walden ($50K) and skip the MPH (I think you get it anyway as part of the Phd.).

As one gets older I think you have to go on the averages and not the exceptions. Choose a field that your return on investment (time, money, effort) is going to payoff financially, job satisfaction, future prospects, etc. I would say Dentistry is still a viable prospect up until 35 and then it's not out of the question, just needs to be questioned b/c of the time issue.

So my .02 worth and you get .05 back in change.

Peace

 

Actually, no, not so much. The MPH tends to get tacked on to the list of possible credentials for upper level positions that require advanced degrees, but it is the preferred degree for only a handful of jobs. The MPH suffers in comparison to the MHA and the MPA/MBA in healthcare, where there is more assurance that the degree holder is trained in finance and administration, and also shows poorly next to RN and other clinical fields with state licensure. In my 10 years of working in healthcare in Chicago, "MPH" was the shorthand acronym for a bad career fair, where the majority of attendees were newly minted MPH's who expected salaries commensurate with a graduate degree but were neither licensed healthcare professionals nor clearly trained administrators. MPH's certainly do get jobs, some of them good ones, but many of them tarry in the same jobs they could have gotten with their bachelor's degrees, for the same salaries. Even then there was often a hiring backlash, because employers assumed the MPH would always be job hunting.

 

Yeah...that's what I meant to say

That was my point although my rambling failed to make it. This is the general observation I have. If you have something else to back it up...I think it's a capstone, but if it's all you got then it really doesn't say a whole lot.

That's why I decided against a Phd. in PH (epidemiology-Walden) b/c with my clinical background it really never goes there so it didn't make much sense for me. In the future? Maybe, if I want to be a desk jockey job @ CDC but if I prefer face to face interaction other healthcare degrees or professions seem like a better alternative for the investment.

Everybody CAN do alot with any degree. Just some degrees have a given value that doesn't require one to be the exception instead of the rule.