Emerging Leaders Program Can Help You Use Your Online Training in Public Health

In 2003, after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) projected that half of its workers would become eligible for retirement by 2006, it implemented the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) to stem a looming leadership crisis and keep this critical department staffed and ready to serve the American public.

Support Your e-Learning with Valuable Experience

The Emerging Leaders Program is a fantastic opportunity for you to get hands on experience with the various career paths your online master's degree in Public Health offers. It's a two-year internship that allows you to complete 60-to 90 day residencies in the various departments. This can be invaluable to someone who attended an online degree program, and probably chose e-learning because you already had a full-time job and couldn't afford to take a low-paying internship. Upon admittance to the Emerging Leaders Program, you get to evaluate which field sparks the most interest just as someone who takes summer internships would.

How The Emerging Leaders Program Utilizes Your Online Master's Degree

Here's how the program works:

• Year One: Once you've completed your online college program, and are accepted into the ELP you will spend the first year in 60-90 day rotations through departments: aging, children's health services, disease control and epidemiology--every department in HHS.
• Year Two: You will work for the department that initially selected you for the ELP.
• Ongoing Mentorship: You will be assigned a mentor, an HHS manager to guide you through both years of the program.

Salary Offered by the ELP Because you will have earned your online master's degree in public health, the first year you will be paid at the government's G-9 level, $33,852, with a raise up to G-12, $54,221, the second year.
Source:
Department of Health and Human Services: Emerging Leaders Program

Elizabeth Armentor is a writer and editor living in San Marcos, Texas.