Darwin Brown, MPH, PA-C James F. Cawley, MPH, PA-C
Colleen Wight, MA, PA-C
` Intro
◦Presenters
◦MPH core requirements and focus areas
◦Potential pros/cons (common ones from all 3 programs)
` Presentation of each program
◦Description of program ◦HistoryHistory
x Motivation for including an MPH x Evolution
◦Pros/Cons at the Program ◦Growing pains/Stumbling blocks ◦What we do – Curriculum ◦Pearls
` Wrap-Up: Summarization ` Q&A
` School of Public Health vs Public Health
Program
` Five core areas of public health knowledge
◦Biostatistics ◦Epidemiology ◦Epidemiology
◦Environmental health sciences ◦Health services administration ◦Social and behavioral sciences
` PA faculty member
` Officer in the US Public Health Service ` State epidemiologist
H lth i ti ti / t ff
` Health care association executive/staff ` Occupational medicine clinician/specialist ` Clinical research staff/investigator ` Practice/hospital administrator ` Health care planner/policy analyst
` Longer training program, 2.5 to 3.5 years ` More expensive education
` Packed curriculum (no down time)
◦Impact on academically disadvantaged students ◦Compression of PH and PA curriculum
` Will it be cost effective
` Recruitment of potential students ` Marketplace issues
- Debt load and specialty jobs
` Expands career opportunities ` The “downstream” effect ` Public Health credential
`Strengthens curriculum in the current ARC-PA
Standards
◦B1.06: medical care to diverse populations
◦B2 10: Instruction on medical literature interpretation ◦B2.10: Instruction on medical literature interpretation ◦B2.12: Instruction in concepts of public health
` Are the professions complimentary? ` Will it ultimately make a difference?
Will d id b ?
Darwin Brown, MPH, PA-C
` Well established PA Program
` Poor Public Health infrastructure in state
MPH P d l d i 2000
` MPH Program developed in 2000
` College of Public Health established in 2008 ` Dual Degree proposed in 2009
` PA Program interest initially in 2001 ` New Dean of CPH, previous experience ` Providing a primary care focus on PH ` Provides graduates with dual perspective
R l i d f b h i
` Institutional and Community support
` Experienced leadership in place
` Primary care with PH perspective graduates ` Primary care with PH perspective graduates ` Recruitment option
` Improved patient care in rural areas ` Interprofessional collaboration with FNP
` 3.5 year program
` Year 1: PA Didactic education
` Year 2: MPH core and Concentration courses ` Year 3+: PA Clinical rotations, MPH Service
L i i d C t
Learning experience and Capstone
` SL & Capstone
◦Rural community for 4 months
` Develop institutional and community support
intially
` Plan, Plan, Plan and provide details early on ` Identify a couple of champions
Colleen Wight, MA, PA-C
` Private, Jewish institution
◦Established in the Jewish tradition of service
` Institutional Evolution
◦1997: COM
◦2003: Joint MSPAS/MPH Program ◦2004: COE
◦2006: COP
◦2007: Independent MPH developed
`2002: MPH initially online course (45 units) `2003-2007: Joint program (30 PH units+12 PA )
◦“Generalist” track + PH field study
`2007-present: Independent/Dual degree
◦Global or community health track
◦ For CEPH accreditation have required student:faculty ratios
Community Health Track (Joint students)
`Core courses (5): ◦Epidemiology ◦Biostatistics
◦Health Services Administration x(management & policy)( g p y) ◦Social & Behavioral Health ◦Environmental Health `Community track courses (4)
Year 1: (16 months semesters I-IV)
◦Didactic (MSPAS & PH)
Year 2: (12 months semesters V-VII)
◦PH courses (6 weeks)
◦PA Clinical rotations (7 x 6 wks)
Y 3 (4 th t VIII) Year 3: (4 months semester VIII)
◦6 week PH field rotation ◦PH Capstone
◦Elective rotation (6 weeks) ◦MSPAS Summative course
` Integration of public health - consistent with
mission
` Attracts students who are committed to
mission
` Provides graduates with a dual perspective ` Provides graduates with a dual perspective ` If student fails out of PA program, potentially
` Full integration of PA and MPH programs
◦different faculty
◦different policies (philosophical differences) ◦different accreditation requirements
` Academically rigorous ` Academically rigorous ` Growing pains ` Revamping curriculum
` If running curricula simultaneously,
scheduling can be a problem
` Faculty, students and the institution need to
be committed to the concept
` Faculty need to work together
` PA Program attrition rate may increase
` Founded in 1987, the GWU PA/MPH Program
was the first PA/MPH program established
` Jointly sponsored
` Awards the MSHS for the PA program, and the
MPH from the SPHHS
` Over 90 graduates, the majority of whom are
in active practice as PAs
Benzie, K, Miller, K, Cawley, JF, Heinrich, JJ. Interest in Physician Assistant/Public Health Dual-Degree Programs. Perspective on Physician Assistant Education, 2003; 14:40-41.
` Founded as part of the establishment of the
MPH program at GWU; School established in 1997
` Three year integrated curriculum ` Three year integrated curriculum
` The “default” MPH track is the COPC track ` The Program’s primary philosophy
` GWU PA-MSHS/MPH Program
`The PA/MPH degree broadens the educational
perspective
`Not a “burden”
`Provides in-depth coursework in PH topics
` Integrating the curricula
` Cross-credited courses, more are better
A f “ di i ”?
` Areas of “cross-crediting”?
Benzie, K, Miller, K, Cawley, JF, Heinrich, JJ. Interest in Physician Assistant/Public Health Dual-Degree Programs. Perspective on Physician Assistant Education, 2003; 14:40-41.
` A three year program
` Students may select from among 6
departments/tracks within the SPHHS - Community-Oriented Primary Care (COPC)Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) - Maternal and Child Health, HP/DP
- Health policy, global health - Epidemiology
` Keys to successful PA/MPH programs:
- Logistics
- Number of cross-credited courses - Reasonable tuition costs
` The addition of an MPH degree will always
enhance one’s PA career in health care – either as a clinician or as something else
` The trend to better “merge” the disciplines of
public health and medicine
` Changes at institutional levels
` Public health concerns – such as chronic
diseases – are closely linked to the problems most commonly seen in clinical practice
` Clinicians need to appreciate the larger
picture of population-based health
Shortell, S.M., Swartzberg, J.The Physician as Public Health Professional in the 21stCentury. JAMA 2009;300:2916-2919.
` Programs that aim to integrate public health
into the training of clinicians are on the forefront of health professions education
` Obstacles such as logistics cost and length ` Obstacles such as logistics, cost, and length
of education can be overcome in the design and implementation of such “dual degree” Programs
` Standards, 4thEdition. Accreditation Review
Commission for Physician Assistants, 2009.
` Shortell, S.M., Swartzberg, J.The Physician as
Public Health Professional in the 21st Century. JAMA 2009;300:2916-2919.y J ;
` Accreditation Criteria for Schools of Public
Health
◦http://www.ceph.org/pdf/SPH-Criteria.pdf
` Accreditation criteria for Public Health
Programs
