Public Health vs. Medicine vs. Nursing

Undergraduate students interested in healthcare have many educational and career opportunities to explore. Some students might be curious about the differences between public health and medicine, or public health and nursing, and may be unsure which field to pursue.

Many students choose to become a nurse or physician because they want to help people directly. However, public health focuses on helping people both directly and indirectly through education and awareness. While someone working in public health may not have patients to treat, they work to address health concerns and prevent negative health outcomes in populations and communities.

Public health, medicine, and nursing may have different focuses, but they frequently overlap. Explore the differences and similarities between these healthcare fields.

• Public Health vs. Medicine
• Public Health vs. Nursing
• Degree Examples and Career Paths Comparison

Public Health vs. Medicine: Similarities and Differences

The biggest difference between public health and medicine, besides requiring a medical degree to practice, is the patient. In public health, the patient is typically a community or population. In medicine, the patient is an individual. During a disease outbreak, a physician will examine, diagnose, and treat the patient. A public health professional may research the outbreak, raise awareness or develop health programs, and help develop health policies to reduce or prevent future outbreaks.

Coursework Comparison

There are similarities in coursework for public health and medicine. Both areas of study emphasize research, math, and science. In addition to classroom work, students have to complete clinical or practical experience in each field.

For students interested in medicine, pre-medicine is typically offered as a track for undergraduate students. This means it is not a major. Rather, students can choose any major as long as they complete the requirements to apply to medical school. According to Princeton Review, prerequisite courses for pre-med usually include biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, and math and statistics courses. Students may also be required to take social sciences like psychology and sociology. An understanding of biological sciences is critical in medicine and patient care, which is why students have to take these courses for medical school.Medicine and pre-med courses may vary depending on academic semester or schools. However, some example of medicine courses may include:

• Introduction to Clinical Medicine
• Human Structure and Function
• Cardiovascular, Renal and Respiratory Medicine
• Medical Neurosciences
• Primary Care and Surgery

Public health students also take biology and chemistry as prerequisites because biological sciences help when studying public health threats and interventions. However, public health courses tend to focus on disease prevention and health behavior. Students take courses in public health disciplines: biostatistics, epidemiology, health policy, social and behavioral sciences, and environmental health. Some examples of courses include:

• Introduction to Epidemiology
• Global Public Health
• Social Determinants of Health
• Public Health Nutrition
• Public Health Management

These courses align with different public health specializations. Concentrations can help you customize your degree based on your desired career path. Some programs may even offer pre-medicine as a public health concentration.

Degree Requirements Comparison

Education requirements vary widely between public health and medicine. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, physicians typically complete a bachelor’s degree, 4 years of medical school, and 3 to 9 years of internship and residency training, depending on their specialty, and they must be licensed to practice. Public health careers offer a broader range of entry points. For example, community health workers typically need at least a high school diploma and may receive on-the-job training, while epidemiologists typically need at least a master’s degree. Other public health positions may require a bachelor’s degree, professional degree, or doctorate. Medicine therefore generally requires a longer and more standardized education and training pathway, while public health requirements depend more heavily on the specific occupation and scope of responsibility.

Public Health vs. Nursing: Similarities and Differences

Nursing and public health both aim to improve health, but they often approach that goal at different levels. Registered nurses typically provide and coordinate care for individual patients, assess health conditions, administer treatments and medications, educate patients and collaborate with other health care professionals.

Public health professionals more often work at the community or population level by studying disease patterns, identifying environmental and behavioral risks, developing prevention programs and shaping health policy. The distinction is not absolute: public health nurses combine clinical nursing knowledge with disease prevention, health education and community-based care. The fields may also share workplaces.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses work in settings such as hospitals, outpatient facilities, schools and government agencies, while epidemiologists commonly work for health departments, hospitals, colleges and universities. Environmental scientists and specialists may also work for government agencies and other organizations to investigate conditions that affect human health.

Coursework Comparison

Coursework prepares nursing students to use evidence and clinical experience to make decisions about patient care. Students also learn how to use the practice of nursing to promote health in communities. Therefore, nursing students may take classes that overlap with public health curriculum, such as Health Care Policy, Science of Human Nutrition and Biostatistics for Evidence-Based Practice. Some nursing programs even have concentrations in public health, typically for those earning a Master of Science in Nursing.

Similar to medicine, nursing students must take natural science courses in anatomy, chemistry and biology. A statistics course is usually required as well. Foundational courses may include:

• Introductory Statistics
• Human Anatomy and Physiology
• Microbiology
• Introduction to Biology

Courses that prepare students to earn licensure and provide patient care may include Foundations of Nursing Practice, Acute and Chronic Illness Management, and Nursing Pharmacology. Exact courses vary by program.

Public health focuses on populations rather than individual treatment. However, public health and nursing can overlap in foundational coursework.

Degree and Licensure Requirements Comparison

Educational and licensing requirements differ by occupation in both public health and nursing. Public health positions may require education ranging from a high school diploma to a graduate or professional degree. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that health and safety engineers typically need a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field, while other public health careers have different entry requirements. Registered nursing follows a more standardized regulatory pathway.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses typically complete a bachelor’s degree in nursing, an associate degree in nursing or a diploma from an approved nursing program. Graduates must then apply to the nursing regulatory body in the jurisdiction where they want to practice, meet its eligibility requirements and pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, or NCLEX-RN.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing notes that licensing requirements vary by jurisdiction and that nurses must be authorized by a board of nursing to practice. Graduate nursing education may prepare licensed nurses for advanced practice, administration, education, or other specialized roles, but requirements depend on the position and jurisdiction. Public health does not have one license that applies across the field. Some occupations connected to public health require state licensure or registration, while professionals in other roles may pursue voluntary credentials to demonstrate specialized knowledge or competency.

Degree Examples and Career Paths Comparison

Are you curious about the common degrees offered by school and what you can do in each field? Read on to learn about the different degree options and career paths in public health, medicine and nursing.

There is a lot of overlap between public health and nursing, which is why many schools offer dual master’s degrees, such as MPH-MSN, MPH-PA, or bachelor’s-to-master’s dual degrees, such as BS-MPH. You may want to consider your interests and bandwidth to decide whether a dual degree is right for you.

Also, because of the overlap, some working professionals with their nursing degrees might opt to pursue an MPH degree to help serve people at a community level. For those who want more flexibility in time or work-and-life balance, an online MPH program might be an option. Some online MPH programs also have no GRE requirement.

To learn more about career opportunities in public health, read our guide on What Can You Do with a Public Health Degree.

Information last updated June 2026, using May 2025 BLS OEWS data.