Sample SOP for MS in Public Health

The well-being of the body and mind are the most important ways to lead a happy life. Being a harbinger of health, I feel that an MS in Public Health will credit me with numerous opportunities to work towards giving apt ways that lead towards living a healthy life. Pursuing MS where I could get a platform that will empower me with real-time know how has been a long-standing academic goal so I could wholeheartedly work towards the public health domain in my country. My past experiences in this field and working as a Dentist has proffered the insight into the deteriorating health conditions and the lack of awareness of how the health issues can be resolved has stimulated me to pursue a Master’s.

Working in my position of General Dentist in Hyderabad where I worked for 2 years, I got introduced to many health issues that people face. Meeting patients and understanding the health issues and lack of awareness, I decided to plunge into public health for my MS. As a result, I pursued MS in Public Health from Manipal University. This course gave me insight into the health systems and the ways of looking at disease. I also got an overview of treating a patient versus looking for problems in population, how policy affects the community, people and their behavior towards health, how equity matters for a person to be in better health, Economic effects on health, etc., As a part of the curriculum, I chose Epidemiology as my field of specialization.

To this interest in Public Health the various experiences that I have had has supplemented me with lots of confidence and passion to work at the ground level and not only in the labs.  I was part of this project when worked with ICMR and my duties included Planning for survey activities, communicating with external stakeholders, training the staff and sensitizing the community, Coordinating and supervising the Cluster activities, daily monitoring, and timely reporting of cluster activities, maintaining the highest quality of data and educating the people and community about preventive health. This being one of the first practical surveys, I was enthralled to carry out all the tasks cohesively without any glitch. Moreover, I was working in real-time with prospective patients and the awareness camps supplemented that.  During this tenure at ICMR, I also worked on a project titled, ‘National survey for the state-wise Prevalence of Microbiologically confirmed Pulmonary Tuberculosis in India’.  My responsibilities here entailed collecting the data and blood samples from the village study participants. I was involved in planning and coordinating with the team to deliver the blood samples from the community to the assigned laboratory centre.

Along with this I also worked on Second Sero Surveillance Survey in India during my tenure at ICMR. This was when the country had hit with the Global pandemic COVID-19. Going to the fieldwork during those hard times, interacting with people to know how the situation had affected the health systems in catering to the regular needs of the people perpetuated my interest to continue working in this field and providing health benefits and awareness to the patients and others whoever required. Working at the ground level and seeing the distress, I was undaunted and felt more confident towards the betterment of public health. 

Erstwhile, during the MS course, I worked on my research project titled “A Study on Evaluation of National program for prevention and control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) in Warangal district”. This was my thesis project and the objective of the research was to assess the existing health facilities related to the NPCDCS program in the district and to understand the implementation of the program from the perspective of the stakeholders.

Then came the real-time work with United Way Mumbai, a Non-Governmental Organization. I worked as an intern and interacted with local communities in rural areas of a low- and middle-income group.  I worked with the corporate partnerships team and community impact team for some projects like the Road safety-a program for creating safe riding awareness among young riders, Poshan- A program to improve the nutritional status of children and pregnant mothers in urban slums. I also conducted primary and secondary research to know the development sector, to understand community needs, and to identify the most impactful interventions. In addition to this, I assisted in conducting a needs assessment in the communities working closely with the stakeholders to know the extent of needs and resources. It was wonderful to work closely with the executives to implement the planned CSR activities on the ground and perceive the importance of teamwork. I also participated in awareness camps for Road safety and child nutrition which was one of the most learning experiences that shed off my fears of speaking in the public about something I believed in, ‘good health’. 

As a public health enthusiast, I have been delighted to be presented with opportunities to volunteer for the Pulse Polio Immunization program in 2019 in Udupi district, Karnataka, India. I was happy I could aid a lot of infants and families in providing polio awareness and by immunizing them. In the same year and at the same place, I also volunteered on the Dengue program by conducting a larval survey and educating people in the community. I found a sense of unique satisfaction when a few people followed what I said and agreed with my thought process. It was because I was certain that I am preventing them from the ailments that would otherwise surround them. 

With relevant work experience and an MS degree in Public Health, I believe I am equipped and have the requisites to pursue MS in Public Health. Currently, living in the US, I wish to leverage the time and extend my learning by acquiring a global health perspective. However, with the widespread of this field, my know-how may appear trivial. This is because I have not explored the vast expanse of the public health domain. To make my learning more holistic, I need to broaden my horizons and gain knowledge on manifold concepts that will qualify me to supplement others in health issues and in making them disease-free. This MS program from your University will empower me with Health policy analysis and evaluation of health services research.

I will also be able to gain more knowledge about Health economics and health insurance along with knowledge in Organizational management. With this exact and vast learning, I see myself moving closer to my goals. My short-term goal is to get involved with health care industries or the government by advising them through my research about strategic planning or market access. This will bring more awareness within the department and will certainly enhance the chance for a healthier lifestyle. With the degree of time, as a health care professional, I want to make an impact by getting involved in every level of policymaking to improve the quality of health in the population and see a healthy agglomeration. 

My second MS program in Public Health needs a platform that is wide and allows me to implement the contemporary healthcare policies. This is possible once I have the MS degree from your esteemed University and I work on real-time cases. At your University, I wish to study subjects like Global Health, and Health Policy and Management. Apart from this, I am keen to study allied subjects that hold extreme importance in the Public health care field. I am happy that I will be applying the concepts and skills pragmatically as the pedagogy of the University implies. The erudite faculty will enrich me with the knowledge that I successfully utilize to ascertain my goals. 

The leading status of the healthcare professionals, I am definite that I will bring my understanding to the cohort and at the same time imbibe a lot from the academic excellence that the University has to offer.