Introduction
There are various competencies that public health professionals need to follow to be considered high-skilled and proficient. The present paper aims at self-evaluating and discussing the knowledge, skills, and abilities across the foundational competencies set up by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The paper will include the reflection on Master of Public Health (MPH) foundational competencies, Chamberlain University (CU) MPH concentration competencies, and the application of public health assurance and system management essentials to public health practice. In the conclusion, the main ideas of the paper will be identified.
MPH Foundational Competencies Relative to Public Health Assurance and System Management Essentials
The CEPH identifies several competencies applicable to healthcare settings. The basic groups of skills involve evidence-based approaches, public health, and healthcare systems, planning and management of health promotion, policy in public health, leadership, communication, interprofessional practice, and systems thinking (CEPH, 2016). Out of these competencies, the ones that are most important for public health assurance and management are planning and management, policy-making, communication, leadership, interprofessional practice, and systems thinking. In the previous reflection, I mentioned that I lacked confidence in applying systems thinking and working in interprofessional teams. Since that reflection, I have been working hard to improve these skills.
One of the approaches I employed to enhance my competencies was reading academic literature on the topics. The book by Riegelman and Kirkwood (2018) includes valuable information and examples of applying systems thinking in nursing. Slusser, García, Reed, and McGinnis (2018) offer a detailed explanation of interprofessional practice in healthcare settings. However, reading academic sources was not the only method I employed to enhance my skills. I also practiced these competencies while working on the HIV prevention program. There were several major groups of stakeholders in the project, including healthcare professionals from various spheres, which helped me to engage in interprofessional communication. What concerns other skills necessary for the successful arrangement of system management and public health assurance, I think I have them developed at a sufficient level based on my achievements and the feedback from the people with whom I collaborated.
Discussion of CU MPH Concentration Competencies Relative to Public Health Assurance and System Management Essentials
Apart from generally accepted skills established by the CEPH, there exist some additional competencies outlined by CU as specifically related to the university’s MPH program. These abilities include caring, professionalism, excellence, integrity, and service (CU, 2018). Out of these competencies, excellence, professionalism, and integrity seem to be the most vital in the process of assuring public health and system management. While working on the public health campaign aimed at preventing HIV among young adults, I had an opportunity to evaluate and improve my skills. As for me, systems management demands integrity and excellence since these skills allow a public health nurse to find the most appropriate approaches to healthcare problems prevailing in the target population. Integrity is important since it enables public health professionals to apply ethical and moral strategies to public health issues to help different communities (CU, 2018). Excellence is closely associated with the foundational competency of interprofessional practice. Excellence involves interprofessional collaboration that aims at enhancing the community’s health (CU, 2018). Thus, this competency seems crucial in the assurance of public health.
I was able to practice the mentioned skills while working on the systems management capstone project. In particular, a thorough review of interprofessional collaboration as a method of increasing excellence was provided by Franklin, Bernhardt, Lopez, Long-Middleton, and Davis (2015). Also, I enriched my knowledge of integrity when analyzing the mutual approach to HIV testing by different healthcare workers (Meyerson, Ryder, van Hippel, & Coy, 2013). As well as in the previous reflection, I must admit that concentration competencies outlined by CU are easier to master than the ones set by the CEPH. However, I have noticed a considerable improvement in the development of both groups of skills while working on the last project.
Application of Public Health Assurance and System Management Essentials to Public Health Practice
The acquisition of the mentioned foundational and concentration skills is useful when defining possible job options. Feeling confident about the competencies allows me to identify my job prospects as positive ones. In the course of working on the latest assignments, I increased my proficiency in the abilities that I regard as the most crucial. Based on the achievements made over the past few weeks, I can predict that it will be easy for me to work in an interprofessional team when necessary. Also, I learned how to develop a population-based project, which is a rather vital skill for a public health nurse. Overall, I think that the competencies that I developed and enhanced will provide me with the appropriate competitiveness in the job market.
Conclusion
The reflection allowed me to realize the advantages of the acquired competencies set by the CEPH and CU. Comparing to the previous reflection, I have increased my knowledge and enhanced my skills in system management and public health assurance. Policy-making, planning and management, leadership, communication, interprofessional practice, and systems thinking seem to be the most important foundational competencies at this point. The main concentration competencies about public health assurance, as for me, are excellence, professionalism, and integrity. I think that my level of knowledge is sufficient to occupy a good place in the job market.
References
Chamberlain University: College of Health Professions [CU]. (2018). Master of public health (MPH) capstone project and fieldwork practicum handbook. Web.
Council on Education for Public Health [CEPH]. (2016). Accreditation criteria: Schools of public health & public health programs. Web.
Franklin, C. M., Bernhardt, J. M., Lopez, R. P., Long-Middleton, E. R., & Davis, S. (2015). Interprofessional teamwork and collaboration between community health workers and healthcare teams: An integrative review. Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology, 2, 1-9.
Meyerson, B., Ryder, P. T., van Hippel, C., & Coy, K. (2013). We can do more than just sell the test: Pharmacist perspectives about over-the-counter rapid HIV tests. AIDS and Behavior, 17(6), 2109-2113.
Riegelman, R., & Kirkwood, B. (2018). Public health 101: Improving community health (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Slusser, M. M., García, L. I., Reed, C.-R., & McGinnis, P. Q. (2018). Foundations of interprofessional collaborative practice in health care. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.