Looking beyond the ivory tower to educate the future public health workforce: Engaging local public health system partnerships

The Institute of Medicine concluded that keeping the public healthy required not only a well-educated public health workforce but also an educated citizenry, thus leading to its recommendation that “all undergraduates should have access to education in public health.” In response to this call, the authors studied the feasibility and value in building a functional collaborative model between college faculty and practitioners from local health departments and boards of health to educate tomorrow's public health workforce and to promote a broader understanding of public health. Local and regional health departments and boards of health in New England were surveyed to: (1) establish a baseline of existing working relationships between them and nearby two- and four-year colleges; (2) examine their actual or perceived role as public health educators for undergraduates and residents within their local communities; (3) assess how they collaboratively promote public health workforce development; and (4) analyze how local practitioners employ the common essential public health services in contributing to a meaningful public understanding of “What is public health?” The authors suggest how effective collaborations facilitate a broad-based, universal appreciation of public health among undergraduates and the citizenry. This approach combining basic public health lessons with practical experience, expertise, and leadership offered by local boards of health and health departments fosters a real, stronger understanding of public health, its importance, practice, and relevance in today's society from a public health workforce and the broader community it seeks to serve.