KU School of Medicine-Wichita

After completing his degree in the Master of Public Health program earlier this year, Kipchoge Vanhoose has landed a position where he's convinced he can make a dierence. That was crucial to his job hunt. "I just want to be of help to as many people as possible," says Vanhoose, 25, who will be a health educator with the Fairfield, Ohio, County Health Department. "I see this as a chance to further my knowledge while being able to engage with, assess and evaluate health education programs." Vanhoose's educational journey at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita wasn't easy, financially. For one, he shoulders a lot of the responsibility for caring for family members. He also didn't anticipate some of the expenses related to his research and internship. But with assistance from the Lawrence A. Weller Family Research Fund, Vanhoose was able to surmount those challenges. "The scholarship presented itself at an especially dicult time for me and provided the assistance that allowed me to focus on my internship and capstone," he says. "I saw financial aid as a way to bet on myself and help generate the confidence and drive I needed to complete my degree." Elizabeth Ablah, Ph.D., MPH, CPH, professor in the Department of Population Health, is one of Vanhoose's strongest advocates. She, too, is thankful for the financial aid that allowed him to pursue his educational goals. "He's so extremely bright and curious," says Ablah, who has encouraged Vanhoose to earn a doctoral degree next. "He loves evaluating programs to help determine whether they are eective, and there are loads of public health roles where that is so important." Down the road, Vanhoose has another big passion — to hold elective oce so he can make as big an impact as possible in the field of population health. As Kipchoge Vanhoose looks to a bright future, he acknowledges financial aid helped make it possible "It's a wonderfully complementary degree to the M.D.," Armstrong said. "The MPH allows (the practitioner) to think about patient issues, whether those are health care or mental health issues, in a population-based manner." At the same time it rolled out the online MPH degree option, KUMC's Department of Population Health also launched three new 12-hour certificate programs in epidemiology, essentials of public health, and public health practice, policy and management. Each certificate consists of four required courses and can be completed in two semesters. "For some people, an added credential can open up a new career path without having to complete a full degree," Armstrong said. To date, 14 students have completed at least one of the certificate programs with some students opting to complete two at the same time. Currently, there are 15 active students in these graduate certificate programs. By expanding its educational oerings in public health and continuing to do relevant research, the Department of Population Health is showing its commitment to improving the health of Kansas citizens and in training the health care workforce, Lee said. "As much as our faculty are engaged in advancing the science of population health through research at multiple levels across multiple communities and settings, we all feel a sense of responsibility to equip the next generation of professionals in evidence-based practice," he said.

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