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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

M. Ann Ricksecker, MPH¹, John Cella, MPA², Lisa Tilley, MSW², Katherine C. Maus, ACSW, LSW³, and Marie James, CRNP⁴. (1) Health Federation of Philadelphia, 1211 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-246-5295, aricksecker@healthfederation.org, (2) Philadelphia Department of Public Health, AIDS Activities Coordinating Office, 1101 Market Street, 9th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (3) Division of Maternal, Child and Family Health, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, 1101 Market Street, 9th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (4) Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, 1101 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

The national initiative to create and support public health core competencies, now over 5 years in the making, is broadly defined thereby allowing flexibility in developing approaches in response. One approach is to utilize the core competencies to support the professional development of the existing public health workforce. One urban health department has implemented a multi-element strategy with two operating divisions as well as the executive leadership, thereby building a critical mass to operationalize the efforts internally. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has developed leadership in two divisions, as well as the Commissioner's Office, who are implementing an internal public health core competencies effort. While the elements of project design are common and shared, the stages of implementation and results vary depending on the length of implementation as well as the expectations of the staff involved. The Health Federation of Philadelphia has staffed the strategic process with the health department which has included the elements of: a) assessing the audience/division, b) negociating leadership buy-in, c) determining internal leadership within the workforce, d) facilitating discussion as to agreed upon competencies statements, e) assessing the workforce needs to accomplish stated competencies, and f) providing workplace interventions to support improvement. Evolving from one division five years ago to multiple divisions and involvement of the commissioner's office today, the lessons learned include observed benefits for division staff, health department leaders, and the community served.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the participant will be able to

• Discuss the application of public health core competencies in supporting the existng workforce.
• Identify key elements that can be used to develope the strategy.
• Translate the stated strategies to other public health workplaces.

Keywords: Professional Development, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered