Following all government rules, procedures, and regulations is important to public health, and those with an interest in government regulations and law can benefit from a career as a public health regulatory affairs specialist. These types of public health professionals have no hardships when it comes to finding employment, as the public health field continues to boom even in today’s difficult economic situation.
The field of public health holds many worthwhile careers, with regulatory affairs specialists being just one, and looking into a career in public health is worthwhile endeavor for any person’s future. With a secure job, high salary, and ability to directly help the people to stay healthy, the public health career of regulatory affairs specialist gives a person the opportunity to experience a plethora of benefits.
What Is A Regulatory Affairs Specialist?
It is the job of a regulatory affairs specialist within a public health setting to make sure that all government rules and regulations are being followed during the course of a public health program, project, or everyday operations. This will involve studying different regulations for different communities, areas, or regions as well as proposing new legislation to government officials and lawmakers.
On a daily basis, some tasks performed by a regulatory affairs specialist will include:
- Meeting and interacting with different regulatory officials to discuss regulations and legislations involved around a particular study area.
- Developing new legislation plans to be proposed to government officials
- Advocating new and old policies or pieces of legislation that support public health initiatives
- Providing input to various different public health teams on the regulations involved with any prospective projects, tests, or procedures.
- Studying and keeping up to date with various pieces of legislation regarding public health
- Completing and filing all of the necessary paperwork to keep a public health team up to date with all government regulations
The law of any area plays an important role in public health, and it is the role of a regulatory affairs specialist to keep up with the laws of an area surrounding public health, as well as to create and propose new legislation to aid in public health efforts. The advocating of new pieces of legislation that support public health initiatives is also done by regulatory affairs specialists.
Education And Training
A bachelor’s degree in public health or a related science is often required for a career in regulatory affairs, but a master’s degree is typically preferred. In order to get a bachelor’s degree, one will first have to complete a 4 year undergraduate degree program focusing on public health or a related health science as well as the laws that surround different health related causes or initiatives. Upon the completion of this 4 year program a person will have earned bachelor’s degree in public health or a related field and they may then begin an internship to begin gaining experience in the field of regulatory affairs.
However, due to the competitive nature of this career field, a master’s degree is often desired by many employers to ensure that the most qualified employees are being placed on the job. A master’s degree program can be taken to achieve a Master of Public Health degree or a master’s in a similar field, and this degree program will last a course of 2 years with a combination of studies involving hands on work and classroom study.
A Regulatory Affairs Certification is also available to those who wish to become certified regulatory affairs specialists. These certificates may be earned after passing a certification exam given by The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, and this certification may need to be renewed periodically to ensure a continued certified status.
The demand for regulatory affairs specialists is expected to grow by 25% by the year 2016, and this means that a great variety of jobs will be available for professionals just embarking on an educational journey into the regulatory specialist field. The median pay for these professionals is a comfortable salary of $72,800, however this pay rate may go as high as $103,000 with related experience and particular chosen career industries. The suitable pay and job availability offered to regulatory affairs specialists allows this to be a public health career worthy of all efforts put into reaching this level.
