Skills and abilities needed by environmental health science and protection professionals in the public sector

The National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC) accredits undergraduate academic environmental health science programs in the United States. The guidelines used by EHAC include core and technical courses that students should take in order to graduate with a bachelor of science degree in environmental health science. As part of a review of the accreditation guidelines, the research reported in this paper was undertaken with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To identify the skills and abilities needed by entry-level environmental health professionals in the public sector, the research 1) examined existing environmental health priorities in public-health agencies, 2) reviewed entry-level job postings, and 3) surveyed more than 120 public-health professionals across the country. The results suggest that students who graduate from accredited programs must be skilled interpersonal communicators with a broad base of technical knowledge.