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The Penn State Public Health Program recognizes the importance of grounding public health programs in public health practice and ensuring a foundation in practice-based teaching from a program’s inception. In the development of the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree for the Penn State Public Health Program, faculty developed a three-pronged approach to the DrPH competency development process to inform the DrPH program development and implementation. The determination of job competencies and the expected performance level required for successful employment, as well as the programmatic sequence which allows for mastery of competencies are critical factors in this process. First, key informant interviews will be conducted with stakeholders representing federal, state, and local governmental public health, non-profit organizations, private for-profit organizations, and universities in the Mid-Atlantic region to better understand critical skills and abilities and non-cognitive traits DrPH graduates should possess. Interview participants will be identified using purposive and snow ball sampling. Second, findings from a recently completed public health workforce assessment will inform critical public health practice skill and content needs. Finally, based on findings from key informant interviews and the public health workforce assessment, a survey will be developed and disseminated to Penn State public health faculty to further define competencies based on faculty perspectives, faculty expertise, and programmatic strengths. Qualitative data will be analyzed and coded through the constant comparative analysis method. We will present findings, as well as the resulting competencies.
Keywords: practice-based competency development, Doctor of Public Health