Career Information for Health Studies Majors

It is important to understand that employers hire people, not degrees. The skills and knowledge you develop as a result of your education, as well as in your work and community activities, have the greatest impact on hiring decisions. Listed below are some key skills and knowledge you will acquire as a result of your university education and your focus on Health Studies.

Specific Knowledge and Skills
Valuable Transferable Skills
Some Career Options for Health Studies Majors
Potential Employers
Additional Study
Websites

 
Specific Knowledge and Skills

 
• A comprehensive view of health and health care from an interdisciplinary perspective including science, social science, arts and humanities
• An understanding of the social, biological, and environmental causes of illness
• Knowledge of the Canadian health care system including institutions, jurisdiction, and funding
• The ability to think critically about medicine, technology and health care systems
• An understanding of how health encourages and supports social justice pursuits at the local and international level
• Knowledge of health care management, policies and political structures
• Long term trends in health and disease, and the impact of epidemic disease on societies
• An understanding of Canadian health care governance and decision making processes
• The ability to conduct effective research and critically evaluate health-related information
• Knowledge of epidemiology and the factors that govern the measurement and analysis of health and disease in populations
• Knowledge of the historical development and current use of health care networks
• The impact of diversity, racism, self-cultural awareness, and intercultural communications on the health care system and workplaces

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Valuable Transferable Skills

 
Information-gathering and Communication Skills
• The skills required to identify and access a wide range of relevant information and resources
• The ability to compile and organize facts and information and to comprehend and apply new and/or unfamiliar information to different situations and settings
• Skills in preparing interesting, creative and informative presentations which target diverse audiences
• The ability to develop effective reports, presentations and materials using current technology

Thinking, Planning and Organizational Skills
• The ability to learn, understand and interpret information and apply knowledge to new situations
• The ability to set priorities, meet deadlines and effectively plan/manage time, data and resources
• Problem-solving skills and the ability to make well-reasoned decisions, think creatively and search for, identify and consider all sides of an issue
• Skills to effectively analyze and interpret a wide range of information and data to discuss, support and/or reject ideas, opinions, reports, theories and proposals

Teamwork and Management Skills
• Skills enabling you to work effectively as part of a team by identifying your role and contributing, through leading, teaching, motivating and/or encouraging others, to the success of the team
• An understanding of how to successfully identify, plan and contribute to the goals of a project
• The ability to oversee, supervise and/or contribute to a project from beginning to end; including determining outcomes, planning details, making decisions, assigning roles and completing tasks

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Some Career Options for Health Studies Majors

(Additional education, training or experience may be required) 

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Potential Employers

For more career options and job descriptions, visit the following sites:

Career Cruising - www.careercruising.com. Please contact the Career Centre at 519.884.0710 ext. 4495 or careercentre@wlu.ca for the username and password.
Career Insider (Vault) - Access through the library website at www.wlu.ca/library. Click ’Find Articles and More’, click ’Databases by Title (A-Z)’ and then ’C’ - Career Insider (Vault). You need to access this resource from a Laurier computer or through the library’s remote access service.
National Occupational Classification - www.hrsdc.gc.ca/noc 

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Additional Study

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Websites

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care 
Ontario Hospital Association 
Canadian Association on Gerontology 
Health Canada 
Canadian Health Network 
Canadian Institute for Health Research 
Canadian Public Health Association 
Canadians for Health Research 
Public Health Policy 
World Health Organization  

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