Self-assessment of competence in public health management as a measure of effectiveness of postgraduate training.
The main goal of the postgraduate training in public health is to make already experienced students develop appropriate competence to deal with health problems existing and emerging within different spheres of social reality. The task involves the checking on and evaluation of the students' learning process and the didactic qualifications of teaching personnel. A serious problem is posed here by the specificity of the postgraduate training in the course of which new competences have to be transmitted in the context of competence already possessed, which should be also improved refreshed, revised etc. Moreover, the influence of the experience and attitude components is here stronger than in the case of undergraduate studies. All these need to be reflected in the curricula, teaching methods, and assessment procedures. In the introductory part of the paper the authors discuss briefly an approach to and the adopted definition of professional competence. The body is devoted to the assessment of competence acquired and the methods applied after a 2-year postgraduate studies for public health managers. Seventeen types of competence transmitted to the students were made the points of reference in a special self-assessment questionnaire. The respondents were asked to assess the contribution of particular courses to the acquisition or improvement of each type of competence. The results obtained in a group of students suggest that some modifications and improvements in the educational objectives and programmes should be introduced.
Indulski
J A
JA
School of Public Health, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lódź, Poland.
Boczkowski
A
A
D004500:Education, Graduate; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D011044:Poland; D011361:Professional Competence; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D012647:Self-Assessment