228816 Training high school educators to teach public health concepts and careers

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 2:45 PM - 3:00 PM

Cyndi Billian Stern, MA, MPH , Billian Stern Consulting, LLC, Farmington, CT
Kristin Sullivan, MA , Planning and Workforce Development Section, Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, CT
     
ABSTRACT

In response to the health worker shortage in Connecticut and the rising trend of youth health challenges and risk-taking in the state, the CT Public Health Association developed the Mentoring Organization Registry (MOR). Through the MOR, educators and their students access guest speakers, project advisors and job shadow hosts to introduce the next generation to the field of public health. To date 21 organizations, statewide and local, have joined the MOR, opening their doors and giving their time to introduce public health concepts and careers to middle and high school educators and students in over 70 communities in CT. This early exposure helps to build AND diversify the public health workforce.

In 2009-2010, the MOR developed a series of presentations and workshops for middle and high school educators. Each teacher reaches over 100 students. The MOR's workshop: “Teaching 21st Century Skills through Public Health” has provided educators from 30 communities with the tools they need to integrate public health concepts and careers into the required educational framework. The MOR has effectively strengthened partnerships between local public health professionals and their schools.

This presentation will describe the strategies, tools, and lessons learned in creating a strong public health-public school partnership that leads to a prepared future workforce.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss effective educator recruitment/ engagement strategies, including targeting school districts with high minority populations. 2. Describe public health concept and career workshop components for high school educators. 3. Describe recruitment and training for public health organizations that provide work-based learning experiences for educators and students. 4. Identify lessons learned from the MORs recruitment and training activities.

Keywords: Public Health Curriculum, Public Health Careers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Section Chief of Planning and Workforce Development at the CT Department of Public Health and I am the founding co-chair of the CT Public Health Association's Mentoring Organization Registry. I have presented nationally and statewide on topics covered in this paper.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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