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Public Health Workforce

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Preparing the Public Health Workforce

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Abstract

Terms such as the public health workforce, certification, credentialing, and competencies comprise the “language” of public health practice but the challenges involved in preparing the public health workforce are extensive and range from not only defining the public health workforce but also identifying in what areas students and practitioners of this field should demonstrate competence. The challenges presented herein are not exaggerated but are very real for many public health systems. A broad view is one in which the public health worker is an individual who works to achieve the essential public health services. Yet, there are many public health practitioners who lack the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree and recent public health graduates who lack field experience. The Council on Linkages between Academia and Public Health Practice serves as our beacon for preparing a competent public health workforce. This body developed competencies in the core public health areas for the entry-level practitioner, program manager, and senior executive. This is our blueprint from which to start implementing some form of standardization in the public health workforce. A related controversial topic for many in public health practice and education has been the Certified in Public Health (CPH) credential. This is a relatively new option for public health students and graduates, and more recently for those who have an MPH degree and have been practicing public health for a while, to further assist with professionalizing the field. This chapter examines who comprises the public health workforce, issues inherent in enumerating the public health workforce, the Institute of Medicine (IOM)’s call to action to correct a dysfunctional public health system by preparing the public health workforce via education and training, and what initiatives contribute to developing a competent public health workforce.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Management and Policy, University of New Hampshire College of Health and Human Services, Durham, New Hampshire, USA

    Rosemary M. Caron

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  1. Rosemary M. Caron
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Correspondence to Rosemary M. Caron .

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Caron, R. (2015). Public Health Workforce. In: Preparing the Public Health Workforce. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07290-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07290-6_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-07289-0

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