1. PROJECT GOAL & APPROACH TO ACHIEVE IT Example Toolkit: Tool #2
A Management Toolkit for Master of Public Health (MPH) Students Jeffrey E. Hicks, MBA, MPH (c) Jefferson College of Population Health, Master of Public Health Program
BACKGROUND
PROJECT GOAL & APPROACH TO ACHIEVE IT
MPH graduates and hiring managers report newly hired MPH staff lack:
Management skills
Creating and managing budgets
Internal office reports
Hemans-Henry et al. (2016)
MPH programs have a longstanding and current problem:
Very little focus on management skills
Despite MPH graduates having many managerial duties
Darr (2015)
Public health management is a pillar of public health practice:
Along with other, more common, specialties
Effective management needed for successful public health action
Willacy and Bratton (2016)
Develop a management toolkit for MPH students so they are better equipped to join the public health workforce.
The toolkit/learning module was designed to be:
Short course (one hour in duration)
PowerPoint format with voice-over feature
Comprehensive management curriculum
Eleven (11) managerial tools/subtopics
Tools/subtopics cover definitions, constructs/theories, examples in public health, and suggested readings
Curriculum guided by Burke and Friedman (2011) with insight from my Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Healthcare Management training
Functions of Public Health
Public Health Functions Steering Committee, Members (as cited in Burke & Friedman, 2011, p. 4)
Example Toolkit: Tool #2
Below is an example of what a tool/subtopic looks like within the management toolkit/learning module. The other ten (10) tools/subtopics follow the same format, but each has different content.
DISCUSSION
CORE COMPETENCIES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to:
Rosemary Frasso, PhD, CPH
Capstone Project Chair
John F. McAna, PhD
Second Reader &
Capstone Project Coordinator
Management toolkit was successfully developed for MPH students:
User-friendly design to learn public health management skills
Students can work at their own pace
Not as taxing as a fifteen (15) week college/university course
Students encouraged to learn more with numerous suggested readings
Next steps:
Do a follow-up study to evaluate the added value MPH graduates and their future employers receive from toolkit
Utilize toolkit as a supplemental to Jefferson’s existing MPH courses
Core Knowledge, Fluency of Content Knowledge – Gathers information that can inform options for policies, programs and services.
Core Knowledge, Critical Thinking – Interprets quantitative and qualitative data.
Core Knowledge, Contribution to the Discipline/Profession – Conveys data and information to professionals and the public using a variety of approaches.
Beyond the Core Knowledge, Fluency of Content Knowledge – Incorporates the contribution of diverse perspectives in developing, implementing and evaluating policies, programs and services that affect the health of a community.