Education for Public Health: Accreditation, Learning Pathways, Career Opportunities and Credentialing

Transcription

1 Education for Public Health: Accreditation, Learning Pathways, Career Opportunities and Credentialing Donna Petersen, ScD, MHS, CPH League for Innovation in the Community College June 16, 2015

2 Surge of Interest in Public Health: Why? Heightened awareness of health care issues thanks to the Affordable Care Act Changes in health care create new job opportunities Global trade, climate change, continued conflicts raise important health questions Young people increasingly interested in making a difference, giving back to their communities Colleges and universities eager to respond to student interests New curricular models emphasizing application = Public Health!

3 Today s Session Discuss the spectrum of post-secondary opportunities in education in public health and how these have evolved Briefly describe accreditation in public health Briefly describe credentialing in public health Briefly describe the Framing the Future effort Integrate all of this in a discussion of the various learning pathways available to students leading to a diverse array of job and career opportunities Time for discussion

4 Origins of formal education in public health in the US Welch-Rose Report of 1915 outlined the purpose and content of schools of public health and spawned the first formal schools of public health in the US

5 Early Programs Welch-Rose recommended the MPH, primarily for physicians to fill emerging jobs as state and local health officers Also recommended the DrPH to assure that research was conducted to continually inform the practice of public health

6 1915, few schools or programs existed Programs at Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery (now Wayne State), University of Wisconsin, Harvard- MIT School for Health Officers and the Medical Department of the University of Georgia Schools soon formed at Johns Hopkins, Tulane and Harvard

7 Growth in Programs was Slow Took 60 years for there to be 20 Schools Took 30 years for there to be 26 Programs Today, 100 years post Welch-Rose there are over 50 accredited schools of public health and over 100 accredited programs

8 Accreditation In 1945, APHA created a mechanism for accrediting public health schools, in response to a request from the government The current accrediting body for public health, the Council on Education for Public Health was created in 1974 as an independent body CEPH accredits Schools of Public Health and programs in other schools and colleges (medicine, education, etc) and recently created the ability for Standalone Baccalaureate Programs to seek accreditation Revises criteria in partnership with the field every five years

9 Credentialing In the late 1990 s leaders of ASPH and APHA sought ways to professionalize public health Public health is the only health professional with no licensing or certification mechanism Though there is certification of some sub-specialties, e.g. health education, industrial hygiene, sanitation The National Board of Public Health Examiners was created in 2005 and offered the first Certified in Public Health exam in 2008 Currently limited to graduates of graduate degree programs in accredited schools and programs (students who have completed the core can sit for the exam)

10 100 Years of Evolution

11 Types of Degrees in Public Health 1915 MPH DrPH 2015 AA/AS BA/BSPH PhD in Public Health PhD in Disciplines MPH/MD MPH/JD MPH ScD MPH/MBA MSPH DrPH MPH/MSW MHA/MHSA MHS/MS Other Master s MPH/MSN MPH/DPT Other Doctorate Other Joint/Dual Master s

12 Types of Students in Public Health 1915 MDs Other professionals 2015 High school students in dual enrollment, pursuing two year degrees, seeking 2+2 programs High school grads seeking undergrad degrees Recent undergrads from diverse fields of study Graduate students in related fields Public Health Professionals MD s and other credentialed health care providers

13 Career Trajectories for Public Health Graduates 1915 Health Officers Other health organizations 2015 Governmental public health Hospitals and health care delivery settings Insurance companies and health plans Pharmaceutical companies Private and public research institutions Voluntary organizations, NGO s, CBO s Other public sector agencies (schools, corrections, social service, planning agencies) Non-profits, foundations, think tanks Professional associations

14 ASPH Competency Development Projects

15 Anticipating 100 Years Since Welch-Rose

16 Framing the Future Task Force Formed in Fall 2011 to reconsider the role of public health education 100 years after the Welch-Rose Report and to set a new vision for public health education in the future (and to support the transformations already underway!)

17 Framing the Future Task Force Included 56 representatives from academic, government, private, non-profit, and health professional associations and an Employers Advisory Council Expert panels on Undergraduate Education Community Colleges The MPH The DrPH Population Health in all Professions Governmental Public Health Workforce Development

18 Approach Task Force meetings Expert panels convened to address specific tasks Presentations at professional meetings Webinars on various topics Town hall meetings with interested constituents Web-site updated in the spirit of transparency Blog with provocative questions

19 1 st Provocative Question on the Blog What do you believe should be the essential elements of a newly designed public health education system in the 21st century United States?

20 First Task of the Task Force Defining parameters for baccalaureate programs in public health Developed in response to demand from the field Most undergraduate programs in public health are NOT in colleges or universities with public health schools or programs Designed to speak to the what not the how nor the why Intended for programs in the liberal arts as well as those designed as pre-professional

21 Critical Component Elements for Undergraduate Public Health Degrees Background Domains Science (basic and social), math/quantitative reasoning, humanities and fine arts; communication skills, information literacy Public Health Domains Overview of public health, health care systems, human health, determinants of health; importance of data, project implementation, population health challenges; health communication; policy, law, ethics, economics

22 Critical Component Elements for Undergraduate Public Health Degrees Culminating Experience and Field Exposure Cross-Cutting Areas Professionalism, critical thinking, systems thinking, advocacy, teamwork and leadership, networking, ethical decision making, community dynamics, cultural contexts, community dynamics, organizational dynamics

23 Second Task: Role of Two-Year Colleges Expert panel, in partnership with the League for Innovation in the Community College, considered the roles and responsibilities of two-year colleges in education in public health Recognized efforts already underway Considered the obvious: beyond degrees, are there not workforce development opportunities in these sites?

24 Community Colleges and Public Health A second phase developed a series of prototype curricular models Public Health Generalist and Specializations (AA transfer degree) Generalist Health Administration Health Education Environmental Health Health Navigator (terminal AS degree)

25 21 st Century MPH New common core emphasizing breadth Five silo-ed core disciplines no more Integrated and applied Building professional knowledge, skills and values Depth through specialization Field placements and culminating experiences linked to specialty Liberates schools and programs to design responsive specializations based on institutional strength, student demand and local needs

26 21 st Century DrPH Building on the work of the Expert Panels on undergraduate education in public health and the MPH, the DrPH panel reviewed the current competency model and structure and design elements in order to facilitate greater articulation along a professional-degree continuum Of particular interest is the extent to which DrPH graduates should be prepared, not only in advanced practice and leadership, but in teaching at the undergraduate level AND in translational research/implementation science

27 Interprofessional Education Growing interest in team-based approaches to health, patient safety and quality Initial competencies developed Team-based patient care Community and population health context IOM Report of 2002 called for all medical students to be exposed to public health Can public health be taught anywhere? What about other professions relevant to public health?

28 Population Health in all Professions This expert panel considered both the appropriate content and the possible delivery modes for education in public health within other relevant discipline or professional education programs in health professions and other professions Urged bi-directional learning across a range of professions, health and other Considered joint/dual degrees as one avenue

29 Workforce Development Last Expert Panel In partnership with ASTHO and NACCHO Frames responsibilities of schools and programs to support the ongoing professional development of the public health workforce Credit versus non-credit Pre-professional and post-professional Flexible access and delivery Enduring and emerging content First focus on state and local health departments

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31 What s Next? ASPPH Education Committee work plan Possibilities? K-12 education Additional two-year terminal degrees Articulation of bachelor s to MPH degrees Other masters degrees PhD and other doctoral degrees Faculty development Workforce development Education innovations, technology Other

32 Education Innovations Competency-based degrees Progress measured not by time in class but by competencies achieved Decouples learning and assessment Credit given for prior experience Flex Options Rethinking the credit hour and the semester calendar Embracing Technology On-line learning Flipped Classes MOOC s

33 Job Trends? Recognition that education in public health has moved well beyond the 1915 vision... reaching into high schools through dual enrollment, expanding into two-year programs, increasing the number and nature of four-year programs, transforming the MPH and DrPH curricula, actively seeking ways to educate others whose work affects population health, and embracing new technologies and new ideas of credentialing All within a strong accreditation and growing certification context...

34 Job Trends? Continued interest in population health Continued shrinking of the traditional public health workforce Broad career trajectories beyond governmental public health Explosive growth in bachelor s degrees Increasing interest in IPE Implications of new technologies Changing demographics of the population

35 Electronic health records Myriad opportunities Consumer-driven health care Health navigators, coaches in health care and community organizations Population health assessment Population health interventions Communities engaged in population health Linking sectors in more systems-based approaches Expanded/extended health care teams, both in terms of skill sets and venues of work

36 Time for discussion

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