Instruction Model Using Collaborative Tools That Promote Competence Attainment in a Health Professions Graduate Program

Competency-based education is widespread in graduate public health and health administration programs. The Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) amended its criteria for accreditation with more of an emphasis on skills-based curricula as opposed to solely a knowledge-based curricula so graduates would be ready to join the workforce with the requisite knowledge and skills. The purpose of this article is to describe two tools that promote select CEPH competence attainment via collaborative online pedagogical approaches. Specifically, the assignments utilizing these tools were designed to: (1) curate and evaluate primary resources for a selected health issue; (2) develop questions based on the research and information presented; and (3) communicate discipline-specific research in a concise, professional manner to the general population. The foundational CEPH competencies these assignments addressed include: evidenced-based approaches to public health, planning and management to promote health, policy in public health, and communication. As today's health professions students come to our educational programs from diverse professional backgrounds with varying levels of expertise, understanding how research and practice inform each other and how this relationship affects their daily work is an essential element that can be transported from one position to the next over the course of a career.