Bashkin Osnat, Tulchinsky Theodore Herzl
1Department of Public Health, School of Health Professions, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel.
2School of Health Professions, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel.
Public Health Rev. 2017 Apr 3;38:11. doi: 10.1186/s40985-017-0057-4. eCollection 2017.
In this paper, we describe the development process of the first undergraduate public health baccalaureate program, in the Ashkelon Academic College in Israel. Expansion of degree-granting colleges in Israel is part of the democratization of higher education providing access to and increasing educational opportunities for groups underrepresented in universities. The main objectives of the program at Ashkelon Academic College have been to open accessible and affordable career opportunities for current workers in the health system and for new entries to health careers for academic advancement in a peripheral and relatively poor region of the country.
The program focuses on well-established and literature-based learning goals of public health education but also includes basic medical sciences, incorporation of arts and sciences into public health, development of critical thinking and quantitative skills, experiential field learning, and integrative learning for facing global health challenges. The curricula of the program is composed of seven modules including introductory courses, methodology courses, health organization courses, epidemiology courses, courses related to core content of public health, elective courses and practicum. The first class will graduate in 2017; this will allow for final approval of the Council of Higher Education of Israel and possible revision of curriculum. A second BA program is now seeking approval in Israel and cooperation with post-graduate schools of public health is developing.
Our program is in keeping with trends in Europe and the USA to broaden public health education, to reduce inequality of career opportunity, to expand the workforce, and to promote public health.
在本文中，我们描述了以色列阿什凯隆学术学院首个本科公共卫生学士学位项目的发展历程。以色列授予学位的学院的扩张是高等教育民主化的一部分，为大学中代表性不足的群体提供了接受教育的机会并增加了教育机会。阿什凯隆学术学院该项目的主要目标是为卫生系统的在职人员以及新进入卫生职业领域的人员，在该国一个周边且相对贫困的地区创造可及且负担得起的职业发展机会，以实现学术进步。
该项目专注于公共卫生教育既定且基于文献的学习目标，但也包括基础医学科学、将人文和科学融入公共卫生、批判性思维和定量技能的培养、体验式实地学习以及应对全球卫生挑战的综合学习。该项目的课程由七个模块组成，包括入门课程、方法课程、卫生组织课程、流行病学课程、与公共卫生核心内容相关的课程、选修课程和实习。首届班级将于2017年毕业；这将使以色列高等教育委员会最终批准并可能修订课程。第二个文学士项目目前正在以色列寻求批准，并且与公共卫生研究生院校的合作也在发展。
我们的项目符合欧洲和美国拓宽公共卫生教育、减少职业机会不平等、扩大劳动力队伍以及促进公共卫生的趋势。
