Abstract
Public health ethics began to emerge in the 1990s as a development within bioethics. Public health ethics education has been
implemented in schools of public health in recent years, and specific professionalism and ethics competencies were included
in the Master of Public Health (MPH) competency set developed nationally and adapted by individual schools of public health
around the country. The University of Texas School of Public Health approved the present set of MPH competencies in 2005.
After 4 years of experience, we now report information measuring the extent to which “Professionalism and Ethics” competencies
and subcompetencies are being met in the MPH degree program. To this end we have audited the MPH “Professionalism and Ethics”
competency forms for FY2009 MPH graduates (n = 61). Eight courses, including required MPH core courses plus the practicum and culminating experience, were found to have
substantial professionalism and ethics content. Further, 67.2% of graduates met eight or more of the 13 competencies and subcompetencies,
but only 36.1% met all thirteen, indicating a need to identify topic areas to be added to, or enhanced in, the MPH curriculum.
In addition, these findings will inform ongoing efforts to enhance ethics education in our health science center. Assessment
of these competencies and subcompetencies is an essential step in strengthening ethics education at our institutions and in
better preparing our graduates for a challenging future. We report our efforts here to demonstrate one way of carrying out
programmatic assessment of ethics education in a school of public health.
implemented in schools of public health in recent years, and specific professionalism and ethics competencies were included
in the Master of Public Health (MPH) competency set developed nationally and adapted by individual schools of public health
around the country. The University of Texas School of Public Health approved the present set of MPH competencies in 2005.
After 4 years of experience, we now report information measuring the extent to which “Professionalism and Ethics” competencies
and subcompetencies are being met in the MPH degree program. To this end we have audited the MPH “Professionalism and Ethics”
competency forms for FY2009 MPH graduates (n = 61). Eight courses, including required MPH core courses plus the practicum and culminating experience, were found to have
substantial professionalism and ethics content. Further, 67.2% of graduates met eight or more of the 13 competencies and subcompetencies,
but only 36.1% met all thirteen, indicating a need to identify topic areas to be added to, or enhanced in, the MPH curriculum.
In addition, these findings will inform ongoing efforts to enhance ethics education in our health science center. Assessment
of these competencies and subcompetencies is an essential step in strengthening ethics education at our institutions and in
better preparing our graduates for a challenging future. We report our efforts here to demonstrate one way of carrying out
programmatic assessment of ethics education in a school of public health.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-10
- DOI 10.1007/s10805-011-9130-7
- Authors
- Cynthia L. Chappell, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 1200 Herman Pressler St., STE 644, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Nathan Carlin, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Medical School, 6431 Fannin St., JJL 410, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Journal Journal of Academic Ethics
- Online ISSN 1572-8544
- Print ISSN 1570-1727