Join the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages) for the American Public Health Association 139th Annual Meeting being held October 28-November 2, 2011 in Washington, DC. Four Council on Linkages sessions will highlight current activities related to the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, the Academic Health Department Learning Community, and recruitment and retention.

Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Ron Bialek, MPP, Council on Linkages Director, and Jack Moran, PhD, CQM, Senior Quality Advisor to the Public Health Foundation, will present “How to Focus Your Training and Professional Development Efforts to Improve the Skills of Your Public Health Organization.” This interactive session will occur on October 31st from 8:30-10:00 am in Meeting Room 5 of the Renaissance Hotel. The presenters will address the prioritization of workforce development needs given current challenges faced by the public health field. Participants will be guided through a quality improvement exercise demonstrating how to prioritize and use the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies) to help public health organizations fulfill their roles, with presenters and participants sharing their own learning experiences and success stories to provide insight into how to build Core Competencies skill levels.

During “Competencies to Practice Toolkit: A Repository of Workforce Development Resources for Public Health,” Janet Place, MPH, Co-Chair of the Council on Linkages Core Competencies Workgroup, will provide an update on the development of tools to aid public health professionals in using the Core Competencies. Come learn about the variety of tools being developed including job descriptions, “e.g.s” to clarify competencies, examples that demonstrate attainment of competence, and self-assessments. The session will be held October 31st from 4:50-5:10 pm in Room 157 of the Washington Convention Center.

 

Academic Health Department Learning Community
The Academic Health Department (AHD) Learning Community will meet in-person for the first time during “Academic Health Department Learning Community: A New Opportunity for Academic-Practice Collaboration.” The meeting will occur on November 1st from 8:30-10:00 am in the Renaissance Hotel, Meeting Room 4, and offers an opportunity for public health professionals to learn more about the AHD Learning Community and the AHD model. C. William Keck, MD, MPH, Chair of the AHD Workgroup, will be joined by Bryn Manzella, MPH, Director of Quality Improvement for the Jefferson County (AL) Department of Health, and Charles Hamilton, DrPH, Director of the MPH Program for the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, in discussing real-life examples of successful AHDs. Both current and prospective AHD Learning Community members are encouraged to attend and share their experiences with developing, expanding, and sustaining AHDs. Additional information about the meeting, including the full agenda, is available on the meeting webpage.

Recruitment and Retention
“Key Findings from a Council on Linkages Survey of Public Health Workers” will be presented by Jeff A. Jones, PhD, Scientific Advisor to the Council on Linkages Survey. This presentation will highlight findings from the Council on Linkages’ survey of public health workers from across the nation to determine how and why they entered the public health field and reasons they have remained in that workforce. A discussion of how these findings support development of evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies will follow. This session will take place November 1st from 8:50-9:10 am in Room 158A of the Washington Convention Center.

 

In addition to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) continued support for the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently awarded funding to help the Council on Linkages address items outlined in its Strategic Directions, 2011-2015. Specifically, the HRSA funding will support identifying methods and tools to improve and measure the impact of training; identifying cross-cutting competencies for public health and primary care; and utilizing the Academic Health Department (AHD) Learning Community to address better integration of public health and primary care. CDC’s ongoing support allows the Council on Linkages to continue developing and disseminating tools to assist public health professionals with using the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals and enhancing the AHD Learning Community, among other activities.  

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) is pleased to announce the addition of two new staff members for the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages): Kathleen Amos and Aleta Hong.

 

Kathleen Amos, MLIS is the Project Manager for the Council on Linkages. She joined PHF in September 2010 as a fellow and worked with the Council on Linkages on a variety of initiatives, most notably the Academic Health Department Learning Community. She became Council on Linkages Project Manager in July 2011. Kathleen trained as a health sciences librarian and recently completed a fellowship with the National Library of Medicine.

 

Aleta ​Hong joined the Council on Linkages team in October 2011 as the Project Assistant. She comes to PHF following a research fellowship with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, where she studied Cushing’s Syndrome and the role of cortisol in gene expression.

 

Kathleen and Aleta are excited to be working with the Council on Linkages and look forward to your questions and ideas. Kathleen can be reached at [email protected] or 202-218-4418 and Aleta at [email protected] or 202-218-4424. Kathleen and Aleta will also be available at the PHF Booth (#6047) during the American Public Health Association 139th Annual Meeting on October 30th from 2-3:30 pm, October 31st from 1:30-2:30 pm, and November 1st from 12:30-2:30 pm. Drop by and say hello!