Outcome-Based Workforce Development and Education in Public Health

Abstract

The broad scope of the public health mission leads to an increasingly diverse workforce. Given the range of feeder disciplines and the reality that much of the workforce does not have formal training in public health science and practice, a pressing need exists for training and education throughout the workforce. Just as we in public health take a rigorous approach to our science, so too should we take a rigorous, evidence-driven approach to workforce development. In this review, we recommend a framework for workforce education in public health, integrating three critical conceptual approaches: (a) adult learning theory; (b) competency-based education; and (c) the expanded Dreyfus model in public health, an addition to the Dreyfus model of professional skills progression. We illustrate the application of this framework in practice, using the field of applied epidemiology. This framework provides a context for designing and developing high-quality, outcome-based workforce development efforts and evaluating their impact, with implications for academic and public health practice efforts to educate the public health workforce.

Current State in U.S. Public Health Competency-Based Graduate Education

“…14,28,44 Based on the results of investigative efforts conducted throughout the past century of educational research, action-oriented, team-based experiential, and reflective methodologies have been shown to be highly effective for impacting learning outcomes, long-term retention, and performance. 28,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42] These methods have been progressively deployed throughout all levels of US education from primary to postsecondary education. Thus, future graduate students will have long histories of educational experiences that are grounded in CBE and associated applied and integrative learning principles and practices.…”

“…Primarily, the lack of familiarity and experience with competency-based learning and assessment methods among faculty proved a great hindrance to the success of implementation. Despite the past decades of educational research supporting outcomes-based education, 13,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42] faculty still often debate the features, structure, and benefits of the selected competency model. This disagreement and criticism was frequently coupled with conceptual misunderstandings about the selected model, leading to compromised curricular integration.…”

Developing cross-cultural healthcare workers: content, process and mentoring

“…43 It has been well-utilized in other healthcare disciplines and can be aptly applied to crosscultural healthcare workers. 44 The Dreyfus Model is shown in Figure 1 and explained below. …”

Tracking Patient Encounters and Clinical Skills to Determine Competency in Ambulatory Care Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

“…12 Since its initial publication, the Dreyfus model has been adapted for professional education and applied in medicine, nursing, and public health. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] It was used by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in defining competencies and milestones reached for graduate medical education (eg, residency programs). 19 Several articles from medicine apply the Dreyfus model to medical education by placing medical students in the "novice" to "advanced beginner" stage, and a senior graduating resident in the "competent" stage.…”