Undergraduate public health education for engaged citizenship and a changing workforce

The purpose of this presentation is to describe the evolution of an undergraduate public health program over its 30 year history highlighting adjustments to changing societal needs. Twenty-five years before the IOM report called for the need for undergraduate public health education, the University of Michigan-Flint enrolled its first cohort of students in a B.S. in Health Care program. The generic name of this program was intentional to offer flexibility for future refinements. In the early years, most of the enrolled students were nurses and allied health professionals, products of hospital based training programs and/or associate level education. In response the program was designed to integrate students' professional experiences into the curriculum. In later years, the student population shifted toward traditional aged students with non-health care work experience seeking entry level health industry jobs, or admission to graduate health profession programs. Resultant changes in curricular content, staffing, and new partnerships will be described. Strategies to address challenges will be highlighted: teaching epidemiology to undergraduate students; identifying appropriate internship sites; making the public health perspective meaningful for aspiring clinicians; gaining acceptance of public health courses into a new university-wide general education program; developing and nurturing partnerships to ensure a classroom “practice” perspective; and, insuring that all students understand the interplay of social justice and public health.