Recorded presentation

Chris L. Day, MPH, Public Health Foundation, 1220 L. Street, N.W. Suite 350, Washington, DC 20005, 202-898-5600 ext 3006, cday@phf.org

In April 2001, the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice’s (Council) 17 member organizations finalized and endorsed a consensus set of core competencies for public health professionals. The Council will consider reviewing the final list for potential revision in 2004, taking into consideration its use by the practice and academic communities and the changing nature of public health practice. Since their inception, the core competencies have been used to varying degrees by public health agencies and organizations to conduct workforce needs assessments, develop competency-based curricula, develop search criteria for competency-based training available through learning management systems, and to evaluate the effectiveness of MPH programs in preparing students for practice.

The recently published Institute of Medicine Report, "The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century," recommended that, “All federal, state, and local government public health agencies should develop strategies to ensure that public health workers who are involved in the provision of essential public health services demonstrate mastery of the core public health competencies.” In light of the recommendations cited in this report, the public health field is challenged to identify: 1) ways to most appropriately integrate the competencies into course learning objectives and curriculum; 2) create incentives for integrating the competencies into workforce development efforts; 3) develop strategies to integrate the competencies into other health professions training programs; and 4) measure the impact of competency-based education.

This session will identify national initiatives and strategies designed to integrate competency-based training into public health workforce development efforts. A major focus of this session will also be a group dialogue about the audience’s experience using the competencies to: 1) suggest strategies to better use and evaluate the existing competencies in academia and practice; and 2) suggest potential modifications that can improve their applicability.

See www.train.org.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe how the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals have been used by public health agencies, organizations and academic institutions for workforce development.
• Discuss opportunities to use the competencies for improved workforce performance and capacity building efforts.
• Develop strategies and recommendations to assist the Council solicit more tools and examples of Core Competencies use from the field.

Keywords: Competency, Workforce

Related Web page: www.train.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation