Professionalism in Environmental Public Health

Professionalism in Environmental Public Health Abstract This paper is aimed at discussing various competencies of environmental health workers. These people have to act as researchers, educators, leaders, and policy-makers. Thus, they need to possess expertise in such areas public health sciences, research, and policy-making in order to find practical application to their skills.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Professionalism in Environmental Public Health specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Furthermore, they should well-developed leadership and communicative skills in order to cope with their most important duties. These competencies are vital for protecting the health of community members. These are the main aspects that should be taken into account by these professionals. Discussion Environmental public health can be related to various fields of human activity; for instance, one can speak about agriculture, the use of water, prevention of disease, manufacturing, construction, and so forth (Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, 2009, p. 78). Furthermore, one can argue that people, working in this field, can have in-depth expertise in various areas of science such medicine, biology, chemistry, or physics. Nevertheless, one can say that there are certain competencies that these professionals should possess several importance competencies in order to cope with their tasks effectively. In particular, close attention should be paid to the following aspects: 1) profound knowledge of public health sciences; 2) ability to transform research findings into policies and programs; 3) excellent analytical and research skills; 4) leadership, and 5) well-developed communication skills that are needed for the interaction with various representatives of the general public. These standards can be explained by the fact that environmental health workers should play various roles. In particular, they should act as researchers, educators, and even regu lators. On the whole, these competencies are critical for ensuring the wellbeing of the public. When discussing the work of public health inspectors, researchers point out that a certain health problem can be attributed to various factors that can often interplay with one another. For instance, one can mention that people, who have asthma, can be strongly influence by such aspects as water and air quality, weather, stress, and so forth (Portier, 2011, p. 4).Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, one can say that environmental health professional should understand different ways in which environment can affect individuals and groups. This is why researchers believe that environmental health professionals should take an interdisciplinary approach to various problems (Gochfeld Goldstein, 1999, p. 36). This requirement is important at the time such aspects as scienc e, technology, and medicine become increasingly interconnected (Gochfeld Goldstein, 1999, p. 36). This is why these people should be knowledgeable in such areas epidemiology, demography, statistics, or ways of preventing various diseases many of which are chronic. This is the first standard that should be met by these people. Furthermore, it is important to remember that environmental health professional should be able to evaluate various risks to the wellbeing of the public (Gerding Price, 2012, p. 31). For example, these people should be able to assess the efficiency of current programs that are supposed to reduce air and water pollution. Additionally, they should determine whether current policies or regulations are properly reinforced by the state (Gerding Price, 2012, p. 31). Thus, one has to speak about the competency in gathering and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data on the basis of which one can reach certain conclusions (Kyle et al. 2006). Without this ski ll, these professional can hardly bring any improvements into the life of a community. In some cases, environmental health workers have to see the relations between various phenomena. For example, they can look at health records while conducting air pollution research (Thurston et al, 2009, p. 45). In this way, they can determine the causes of various diseases or assess the effectiveness of environment protection programs. This is why research and analysis skills are important for these professionals. Another aspect that should not be overlooked is the ability of environmental health workers to develop policies and programs that can better protect the wellbeing of humans, animals, and nature in general. There are many cases showing that they often cooperate with legislators and regulators (Blake, Corso Bender, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Professionalism in Environmental Public Health specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, one can mention that environmental agencies objected to the drilling in Marcellus Shale since this practice can pose a threat to the health of local population (Goldstein, Kriesky Pavliakova, 2012, p. 483). Furthermore, these people should form alliances with groups that also promote the reduction of environmental risks. Additionally, he/she should be able to identify the steps that should be taken in order to address environmental risks (Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, 2009, p. 83). Thus, one can argue that environmental health workers should understand the goals and interests of different stakeholders, for instance, the residents of the community, governmental organizations, manufacturing companies, environment protection agencies, and other stakeholders. Moreover, they need to understand how economic, social and legal institutions can ensure public health (Jackson Malloy, 2011, p. 35). Therefore, they should develop programs and polici es on the basis of their findings and analysis. In turn, if they cannot do it, their work will not find practical application which is probable the most important criterion for every professional. So, the cooperation between environmental health workers and regulators is a critical component. It is also important to remember that environmental health professionals often have to act as educators. For instance, they can raise people’s awareness about the existing risks to the wellbeing of individuals (Sarisky, 2009, p. 20). These people have to interact with policy-makers, medical workers, legislators, and other people who may want to know more about the environmental problems. One of the most challenging tasks is the interaction with children. They need to know about the presence various pollutants in food, water, air, and so forth (Sattler, 2008, p. 329; Coopwood, 2009). Thus, one should say that environmental health workers should have well-developed communication skills. Wi thout them, they will not be able to make convincing arguments. These are some of the main aspects that can be identified. It should also be taken into account that these professionals cannot cope with their duties without being able to act as leaders. This issue is particularly important at those moments when it is necessary to respond to environmental disasters (Logue, 1996, p. 1207). Under such circumstance, they have to take initiatives and overcome various challenges as quickly as possible. The competencies identified in this section correspond to various roles played by environmental health workers who are responsible for identifying risks and minimizing them.Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion These examples indicate that environmental health workers should possess different competencies. First of all, these individuals should have in-depth expertise in different sciences that can throw light on various aspects of public health. Furthermore, they should also act as researches, who gather information, analyze data and evaluate the effectiveness of different programs. More importantly, they need to interact with various stakeholders such as regulators, medical workers, teachers, and many other people. Furthermore, they play the role of educators by raising people’s awareness about different environmental risks. Finally, in some cases, they need to display leadership qualities in order to address different challenges. The competencies described in this paper are vital for protecting the wellbeing of individuals and communities. Reference List Blake, R., Corso, L., Bender, K. (2011). Public health department accreditation and environmental public health: a logical collaboration. Journal Of Environmental Health, 74(3), 28-30. Coopwood, T. (2008). Engaging young people in childrens environmental health protection through CARE. Journal of Environmental Health, 71(1), 64-5. Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors. (2009). Continuing Professional  Competencies. Toronto: CIPHI. Gerding, J., Price, J. (2012). Public health performance management: opportunities for environmental public health. Journal Of Environmental Health, 74(8), 30-31. Gochfeld, M., Goldstein, B. D. (1999). Lessons in environmental health in the twentieth century. Annual Review of Public Health, 20, 35-53. Goldstein, B., Kriesky, J., Pavliakova, B. (2012). Missing from the Table: Role of the Environmental Public Health Community in Governmental Advisory Commissions Related to Marcellus Shale Drilling. Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(4), 483-486. Jackson, R., Malloy, T. (2011). Environmental Public Health Law: Three Pillars.  Journal of Law, Medicine Ethics, 34-36. Kyle, A., Balmes, J., Buffler, P., Lee, P. R. (2006). Integrating Research, Surveillance, and Practice in Environmental Public Health Tracking. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(7), 980-984. Logue, J. N. (1996). Disasters, the environment, and public health: Improving our response. American Journal of Public Health, 86(9), 1207-10. Portier, C. (2011). Comprehensive environmental public health. Public Health  Reports, 126(9), 1-6. Sarisky, J. (2009). The Environmental Public Health Performance Standards: strengthening the nations environmental public health infrastructure and improving environmental health practice. Journal Of Environmental Health, 71(10), 20-21. Sattler, B., Davis, A. D. B. (2008). Nurses role in childrens environmental health protection. Pediatric Nursing, 34(4), 329-39. Thurston, G. D., Bekkedal, M. Y. V., Roberts, E. M., Ito, K., Arden Pope (2009). Use of health information in air pollution health research: Past successes and emerging nee ds. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, 19(1), 45-58.

Science and Atheism

Science and Atheism Science by definition is the intellectual, practical, and the systematic study of the composition and functioning of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.   Atheism, a word derived from the combination of the Greek ÃŽ ± or â€Å"not† and theos or â€Å"god† is commonly perceived as the belief that there is no God. Since science, as exemplified in the above definition operates in a framework of uncompromising naturalism and function as if our world has no connection with any supernatural being, it is often viewed atheistic. Although science and religion, according to literature are practices embodied in powerful social institutions and achieving peaceful coexistence, their boundaries, and social positions are well-defined. For one thing, science has a life of its own and regardless of its godly origins, it can function without theistic foundation. However, regardless of extreme naturalism and its very broad description of the world, science does not tolerate any atheistic morality and can function without atheism. Similar to theism that makes sense only to those who support the claim there is a God, atheism can only prosper in a society with different moral ideals such as Enlightenment humanism, communism, libertarianism, and others thus can also come into tension with science.   Atheism according to the literature is not just a claim that we live in a godless world. An atheist during the 18th century takes the world as given and rejects the claim that God is necessary to explain the existence of the world. Another form of atheism asserts that belief in God and in the afterlife undermines the value of human life on earth.   Similar to Marx and Lenin’s atheism, there is an atheistic world-view and ethics that people must become gods to be worthy of living in a godless world. Scientific Atheism Scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries, according to the literature were in a way self-consciously taken religion out of the discourse for the sake of modern science.   However, this was not at the done metaphysical level, but deliberately at the methodological level where religion and science do not mix. For instance, since good science involves dealing with problems until a solution is found, reaching out for God’s intervention whenever you encounter a problem is simply not science. Aside from the fact that most renowned scientists such as Galileo, Descartes, Boyle, Newton, and others were all religious, their atheistic attitude toward God was mere â€Å"scientific atheism† or recognition of the reality that Adam and Eve, Noah’s Flood, Jonah and the whale, and other religious claims   are no longer acceptable in modern science.   A survey of top-rank British scientist suggests that most respondents who came from physical sciences believed in God. Similarly, a study conducted in 1996 found that most members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences do believe in God. Dissertation Writing Service Science and religion are two conflicting aspects of social life. As science attempt discover facts about the world through observation and reasoning, religion has a creed and code of personal morals that are directly in conflict with science.   For instance, a creed is often the intellectual source of dispute between religion and science due to assertions, dogma, and philosophical doctrines that science can easily disprove.