Wenzel Sophie G, Ky Pelagie, Holt Nicole, Austin Erika L
Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jun 11;13:1610306. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1610306. eCollection 2025.
Strong leadership capacity, including both knowledge of leadership theories and having the requisite leadership skills, is essential for effective public health practice in an increasingly complex and politically challenging environment. Master of Public Health programs are well-positioned to provide this leadership training to future leaders. Using high impact educational practices and principles of adult learning, Virginia Tech's Public Health Program created a master's level Public Health Leadership and Interprofessionalism class. Topics covered include leadership, interprofessionalism, negotiation, ethics and professionalism, adaptive leadership, systems thinking, models of team effectiveness, communication, change management, workplace diversity, strategic planning and personal leadership. All students completed a baseline self-assessment for all program competencies upon program matriculation and again at the time of their graduation. We found a statistically significant increase in all competencies covered in the leadership class. In addition, we identified five overall topics that students said were crucial in their public health practice: understanding strengths-based leadership, focusing on dynamics of team effectiveness and team roles, understanding the role of communication as a leadership tool, and applying negotiation and interprofessionalism skills. Overall, we have evidence that the class was effective and provided students with concrete skills that they can refer back to once they enter the public health workforce.
强大的领导能力，包括对领导理论的了解和具备必要的领导技能，对于在日益复杂且充满政治挑战的环境中开展有效的公共卫生实践至关重要。公共卫生硕士项目非常适合为未来的领导者提供这种领导力培训。弗吉尼亚理工大学的公共卫生项目运用高影响力的教育实践和成人学习原则，开设了一门硕士水平的公共卫生领导力与跨专业协作课程。涵盖的主题包括领导力、跨专业协作、谈判、伦理与专业精神、适应性领导、系统思维、团队效能模型、沟通、变革管理、职场多样性、战略规划和个人领导力。所有学生在入学时以及毕业时都针对所有项目能力完成了一次基线自我评估。我们发现领导力课程涵盖的所有能力均有统计学上的显著提升。此外，我们确定了五个学生表示在其公共卫生实践中至关重要的总体主题：理解基于优势的领导力、关注团队效能和团队角色的动态、理解沟通作为领导工具的作用以及应用谈判和跨专业协作技能。总体而言，我们有证据表明该课程是有效的，并且为学生提供了他们进入公共卫生工作岗位后可以回顾的具体技能。
