Online Program

334749
Historical Perspectives: The role of Project IMHOTEP in developing the next generation in Public Health Science


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

April Brown, Public Health Sciences Institute, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA
Cynthia Trawick, PhD, Public Health Sciences Institute, Morehouse College, Atlanta
William Jenkins, PhD, MPH, Institute of African American Research, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapell Hill, NC
 issues: The Negro Health Movement of 1915 created a variety of community initiated activities to improve the health of African Americans. Federal support for the Negro Health Movement ended in 1954, and by the 1960s there was clear need for a new generation of African Americans focused on community health problems. To date, the public health workforce is ill-equipped to meet the needs of our steadily diversifying nation. This discrepancy is expected to reach crisis proportions unless substantial investments are made in pipeline programs targeting underrepresented minorities. description: For the more than 30 years, Project IMHOTEP has developed a cadre of public health scientists and practitioners with skills, commitment, and concern for underserved communities. The first of its kind, Project IMHOTEP was designed to increase diversity in the Public Health sciences. Over an 11-week period, students are exposed to Public Health and are required to engage in hands-on skills training through coursework and independent research. lessons learned: IMHOTEP has trained well over 600 students in its 30+ years of existence, producing a number of federal health agency supervisors, professionals, and academics. Recent IMHOTEP alumni are among the new generation of public health professionals as they excel at top-tier institutions of public health. Still, efforts to decrease demands on students and preceptors while maintaining quality have been challenging. recommendations: There should continue to be high expectations of IMHOTEP students. It would be useful to develop an alumni panel that could identify opportunities to assist with participants’ professional development.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the success of Project IMHOTEP in contributing to the public health work force from a historical perspective. Identify key steps for moving forward with program success in diversifying the public health workforce.

Keyword(s): Professional Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been actively involved with IMHOTEP program administration since 2013. My primary responsibility as Survey Research and Data Center Manager in the Public Health Sciences Institute is the tracking and surveillance of IMHOTEP alumni in order to monitor academic and professional outcomes.
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.