Choosing the Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Occupational Health at UAMS’ Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health was a great choice for me. The courses that were offered gave me a firm understanding of the environmental health side of public health by offering courses such as Environmental and Occupational Health, Environmental Biological Hazards, and Principals of Toxicology in Public Health. Environmental and Occupational Health introduced important topics like the history of environmental and occupational health, and pertinent information about chemical, physical, and biological hazards; Environmental Biological Hazards focused on crucial concepts such as environmentally transmitted pathogens, plant and animal toxins, and biohazard safety in the workplace; while principals of toxicology in public health covered things such as the absorption, distribution, and elimination of toxicants in the human body, along with the biotransformation of toxicants.
Not only did I gain great knowledge about a public health field that I am interested in, but I believe the Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Occupation Health and the information that I gained from its courses helped me acquire my job working as an Environmental Health Specialist, as I was able to answer key questions about environmental health and foodborne illness during my final job interview.