The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #73843

Richard Riegelman, MD, PhD, Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, 2300 Eye Street NW #119, Washington, DC 20037, 202-994-4772, sphrkr@gwumc.edu

Schools of Public Health by history and philosophy have been graduate institutions. The Council on Education for Public Health does not set minimum requirements or evaluate performance of undergraduate programs offered by Schools of Public Health. However, forces are at work encouraging the growth of undergraduate programs . These forces include 1)the bioterrorism scare of 2001 which resulted in an enormous expansion of interest in and understanding of public health 2)Medical Schools have come to appreciate the need for an educational background beyond the traditional science premed curriculum and now often view majors such as public health to be appropriate for applicants. 3) From the university perspective, undergraduate education has increasingly become interdisciplinary. Public health education inherently draws from a broad range of science, social science and humanities..4) The study of public health is a logical foundation for postgraduate study in such fields as law, business, human services, and international affairs. 5) It is increasingly being recognized that the skills taught as part of public health education are generic skills useful in a variety of fields. 6) There is increasing recognition, that a large proportion of the public health workforce has little or no formal education in public health. For some this is a primary reason for the development of undergraduate public health education and argues for academic/ practice partnerships to train the future workforce at the undergraduate level.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Understand the forces at work encouraging the growth of undergraduate degree programs in Schools of Public Health
• 2. Understand the spectrum of philosophies and goals underlying undergraduate programs offered through Schools of Public Health
• 3. Understand the differences in administrative structured for offering undergraduate degree programs and the implications of these administrative differences

Keywords: Education, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.