Handler Arden, Klaus Jaime, Long-White Deneen, Roth Marcia, Greenleaf Rebecca, Sappenfield Olivia R, Cilenti Dorothy
Community Health Sciences, University of Illinois School of Public Health, 1603 W. Taylor, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
University of Illinois School of Public Health, Chicago, USA.
Matern Child Health J. 2018 Feb;22(2):154-165. doi: 10.1007/s10995-017-2412-y.
Objective As part of the National MCH Workforce Development Center, an innovative internship program placed MCH undergraduate and graduate students in summer practica in state Title V agencies. Graduate student mentoring of undergraduates and leadership and professional development training and support are key features of the program. The objective of this paper is to report on the results of the evaluation of the MCH Paired Practica Program in its pilot years, 2014-2016. Methods Students completed pre and post internship questionnaires which included closed as well as open-ended questions. In addition, the Title V state health agency preceptors completed a questionnaire at the end of each summer. Results Over the 3-year pilot project, a total of 17 teams participated. Students were from 6 of the 13 graduate Centers of Excellence in MCH programs in Schools of Public Health and two undergraduate MCH Pipeline Programs. There were 11 participating states. After the practicum experience, there was a significant increase in students' confidence in a number of measures related to working in complex, dynamic environments and in their ability to contribute to improvements in MCH population health. Students reported having more confidence in their ability to function effectively as an informal/formal MCH leader (p = 0.02), more confidence in their ability to contribute to improvements in MCH population health (p = 0.04), and being more prepared to enter the workforce after the practicum experience (p = 0.07), although there was no significant change in students' (n = 22) interest in seeking a job in a Title V agency or a community based organization with a MCH focus. Nearly 60% of the students did state at the posttest that they would likely seek additional education in MCH. Overall, the Title V preceptors (n = 14) were very positive about the program although in some instances there was less confidence in the knowledge and skills of the undergraduate students. Conclusion The MCH Paired Practica Program is a unique effort to go beyond the academic training of undergraduate and graduate MCH students to provide them with direct exposure to the field, as well as leadership, mentorship, and professional development training. While some challenges emerged related to differences in skills between undergraduates and graduate MCH students, participating students demonstrated clear improvements in their leadership skills including increased confidence in their ability to take initiative, provide opinions and feedback, to function informally or formally as leaders, and to contribute to improvements in MCH population health.
目标 作为国家妇幼保健劳动力发展中心的一部分，一项创新实习项目安排妇幼保健专业的本科生和研究生在州立第五章项目机构进行暑期实习。研究生对本科生的指导以及领导力和专业发展培训与支持是该项目的关键特征。本文的目的是报告2014 - 2016年试点阶段妇幼保健配对实习项目的评估结果。方法 学生完成实习前和实习后的调查问卷，其中包括封闭式和开放式问题。此外，第五章州卫生机构的带教老师在每个夏季结束时完成一份调查问卷。结果 在为期3年的试点项目中，共有17个团队参与。学生来自13所公共卫生学院妇幼保健卓越研究生中心中的6个以及两个本科妇幼保健衔接项目。有11个参与州。实习经历后，学生在与在复杂、动态环境中工作相关的多项指标以及他们为改善妇幼保健人群健康做出贡献的能力方面，信心显著增强。学生报告称，他们对自己作为非正式/正式妇幼保健领导者有效发挥作用的能力更有信心（p = 0.02），对自己为改善妇幼保健人群健康做出贡献的能力更有信心（p = 0.04），并且在实习经历后更有准备进入职场（p = 0.07），尽管学生（n = 22）对在第五章机构或专注于妇幼保健的社区组织求职的兴趣没有显著变化。近60%的学生在测试后表示他们可能会寻求更多的妇幼保健教育。总体而言，第五章的带教老师（n = 14）对该项目非常认可，尽管在某些情况下，他们对本科生的知识和技能信心较低。结论 妇幼保健配对实习项目是一项独特的举措，超越了妇幼保健专业本科生和研究生的学术培训，为他们提供了直接接触该领域的机会，以及领导力、指导和专业发展培训。虽然出现了一些与妇幼保健专业本科生和研究生技能差异相关的挑战，但参与项目的学生在领导技能方面有明显提升，包括对自己主动采取行动、提供意见和反馈、作为非正式或正式领导者发挥作用以及为改善妇幼保健人群健康做出贡献的能力更有信心。
