Short CommunicationImproving public health competencies through required practice experience
Section snippets
Self-reported response
Nineteen students completed internships for SLU CPHSJ in fall 2015. Eighteen (95%) reported responses for internship type (full/part time), setting (local/international), pay (paid/unpaid), and concentration. These responses were reported through the initial required internship agreement form. The majority of students completed part time internships (57.9%), were unpaid (73.7%), and worked locally (78.9%). Concentrations varied, but the majority of students were epidemiology concentrators
Self-reported competency improvement
Self-reported competency change showed 49.5% improvement rate overall with a mean improvement of 0.53 ± 0.69. Core MPH competencies improved at a rate of 64.8% with mean improvement of 0.71 ± 0.65, compared to non-core competencies which showed a 47.1% improvement rate with a mean improvement of 0.50 ± 0.69. Concentration competencies showed a 61.0% improvement rate with mean improvements of 0.63 ± 0.66, compared to non-concentration competencies which had an improvements rate of 48.2% and mean
Covariate analysis
Multiple regression analysis was performed on the three available covariates (type, setting, pay) to test any possible correlation with competency improvements. Students' individual competency improvement rates were regressed against internship type, setting, and pay. Regression analysis showed no significant correlation between competency improvement and any of the covariates. Respectively, internship type, setting, and pay had P-values of 0.906, 0.884, and 0.156.
This study attempted to
Ethical approval
The research project was found to be exempt by Saint Louis University IRB.
Funding
The project was not funded by any grants.
Competing interests
The authors disclose that they are either employed by or otherwise affiliated with the College for Public Health & Social Justice of Saint Louis University.
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