The Skills Enhancement for Public Health modules are offered through the Internet to public health practitioners across Canada. This continuing education opportunity helps public health practitioners to strengthen their knowledge and skills to help meet the core competencies for public health, thereby improving public health practice.
"The experience of learning
online was especially convenient and flexible. I could work on this
anywhere I had access to a computer."
- learner
Both public health practitioners and their organizations will benefit from participating in the Skills Enhancement program
Public health practitioners will benefit as they expand their knowledge and skills. A wide range of information and resources are available to support learning, including online facilitators who are experienced public health practitioners. Other benefits include:
"I found (and continue to
find) the online experience timely, practical, convenient, and an
excellent resource with linkages to terrific sites."
- learner
Organizations will benefit by having better skilled employees. The module content will help equip employees with basic up-to-date public health tools. Public health staff will have better decision-making and planning abilities. Other benefits include:
"… a good course to
offer all new public health staff to establish a common working use
of epidemiological terms and concepts."
- public health manager
Maintaining individual professional development programs has many benefits, but requires time - something many public health practitioners already do not have enough of. A resource to help Skills Enhancement program participants negotiate time with their employers is available. This resource outlines different strategies and approaches to negotiate doing some of your learning during work hours and being recognized for your efforts. Benefits to participating in the Skills Enhancement modules are also identified.
Prerequisites
The modules are designed for public health practitioners in Canada.
These include public health nurses, environmental health
professionals, health promoters, program managers, dental
hygienists, dieticians, policy analysts and other public health
practitioners. Learners must first complete "Orientation
module ” (WebCt Tutorial) before starting any of the other
modules. Some of the modules modules ( i.e., EPI1: Basic Epidemiological
Concepts ) are prerequisites for subsequent modules
and these must be completed first. Information on the specific
prerequisites for each module can be found under each module description .
Required
technology
The minimum technical requirements are:
Cost
There is no fee to participate; however, there is an eight week
time commitment. Learners must provide their own supplies and have
the required technology.
Time required to complete a
module
Learners have 8 weeks to complete the 25 to 30 hours of work needed
for each module. Suggested pacing guidelines for each module are
provided to help learners manage their time.
For each module, learners have access to a trained online facilitator who are experts in public health. Skills Enhancement facilitators provide overall guidance and act as mentors in the online learning environment. They are available to answer content-related questions, provide feedback on assignments, and encourage discussion among all the participants using discussion forums. Teams are made up of 15 to 18 learners from across the country and are representative of a variety of public health disciplines. After successfully completing a module, participants receive a certificate of successful completion from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
If you are an experienced public health practitioner and would like to help others learn online, there are many opportunities for you to share your expertise. Click here to find out about the roles, responsibilities and benefits associated with becoming a Skills Enhancement online facilitator .
After successful completion of each module, learners are recognized with a certificate of successful completion from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The Skills Enhancement modules are endorsed by several national professional public health associations and organizations, and have the support from the provinces/territories, regional health authorities and local public health departments. Skills Enhancement is working to develop recognition strategies with the universities as they develop their Master of Public Health programs. Discussions are underway with various other potential partners, regarding recognition.
Modules are offered in the Fall (beginning in September), Winter (beginning in January), and Spring (beginning in April). A detailed schedule of current and future modules is available.
Registration for public health practitioners is easy and can be done online. For the registration schedule and to access the online registration form, click here.
Modules currently available include:
WebCT Tutorial (must be completed before EPI1)
EPI1: Basic Epidemiological Concepts
EPI2: Measurement of Health Status
EPI3: Descriptive Epidemiologic Methods
APP2: Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases
APP1: Outbreak Investigation and Management
SUR1: Introduction to Public Health Surveillance
APP3: Applied Epidemiology: Injuries
SUR2: Communicating Data Effectively
STA1: Biostatistics
A list of future modules with brief descriptions are available.