How to judge a public health graduate?

At the end of a master course, you are happy that, finally, you've got the degree.

How do you know how much have you learnt?

Some friends told me they forgot almost everything. It's funny, but true.

It is sensible to think right the way of a reviewing plan. The plan should base on knowledge and skills that a graduate in public health should have acquired. As you have spent many months to study public health, it should be fairly easy to review all the stuffs. Think about spending the summer right after the course for reviewing purpose. Don't relax too soon, and you will be well paid off.

Each program has their own 'point of view' to judge a public health graduate. Look at your own program to build your review criteria.

Here is the view from the Masters of Public Health at University of Essex:

 

A. Knowledge and Understanding

A1 : Advanced understanding of key concepts related to public health protection and promotion
A2 : Knowledge of how to monitor and control the populations' health
A3 : Knowledge of the relationships between relevant academic theories and practice of public health
A4 : Knowledge of how to critically appraise the public health evidence base and practice
A5 : Advanced understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods
A6 : Understanding of how to conduct original research including relevant ethical and legal issues
A7 : How to reflect upon ones own professional practice

 

B. Intellectual / cognitive skills

B1 : Systematically gather and critically review evidence
B2 : Translate research evidence into practical activities in treatment and service management (evidence-based practice)
B3 : Interpret and implement relevant policy statements
B4 : Plan, undertake and report an independent research project to a high professional and ethical standard
B5 : Write well-structured and well-argued essays

 

C. Practical skills

C1 : Perform advanced and systematic search for information relevant to specific topics
C2 : Produce a research proposal to a professional standard and submit an application to an ethics committee
C3 : Carry out, with supervision, health research to a high professional standard
C4 : Process and analyse data using a software package (e.g. SPSS or WinMAX)
C5 : Plan and present their work in an appropriate manner

 

D. Key skills

D1 : Able to write clearly and effectively; able to communicate effectively verbally in a group; able to summarise and communicate complex findings to others; able to communicate with professional and lay audiences appropriately
D2 : Use of Internet; use of word processing packages; use of spreadsheets and statistics packages; use of presentation packages; use of data analysis software
D3 : Ability to read and interpret tables of data and statistics; ability to use statistics to analyse data; familiarity with packages for handling and analysing data
D4 : Able to choose the appropriate method of enquiry in order to address a range of practical and theoretical problems. This includes review and use of appropriate past literature, consulting appropriate experts, or designing an appropriate piece of research work.
D5 : Able to work in a team with others to agree and work towards goals; able to work successfully with other disciplines; able to practice reflectively and facilitate this in others
D6 : Able to learn from feedback and respond appropriately and effectively to supervision and guidance; able to work pragmatically to meet deadlines; able to critically evaluate own performance and to practice reflectively

 

If you answers are 'yes' to all of the above issues, you are really really ready to take a well-paid position. Many employers would like to 'buy' you with a good price.

Well, you don't need to be 'yes' to all the issues, but consider either review or practice the perceived 'weak' knowledge/skills in order to get better job.

Public Health guides

This website has hundreds of good public health guides. Public Health Library & Informatics serves the information needs of Michigan's public health practice community. Librarians are available to help with information gathering tasks such as program and policy planning, research, and grant writing. All members of the practice community are invited to visit the library. Most University of Michigan electronic resources, including databases and electronic journals, are available for you to use from PHLI computers. You are also welcome to use our book and journal collection in the library. Copiers are available for your use. http://www.sph.umich.edu/phli

http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/sGXLS

Differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches

Qualitative Analysis with Nvivo 7

Qualitative Analysis with Atlasti in One Hour

Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards, deadline 30/04/2008

 

Session 2008/09

What are the Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards?

The Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards are a national initiative to bring outstanding students from Brazil, China, India, Hong Kong, Russia, South Africa and the developing world to the UK to study for PhD degrees in top-rated research environments. The Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards are open to top-quality science, engineering, medicine, social sciences and technology students. More information on the background to the Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate awards has been made available by the Research Councils on: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/hodgkin/ Further details about the application criteria for the University of Leeds and the possible areas of study at Leeds are detailed below.

The Awards are jointly funded by the UK Research Councils and industrial partners. For those starting in Session 2008/09, the scheme will pay overseas rate fees and a maintenance stipend for a maximum period of 3 years (£12,940 a year for Session 2008/09). Funding beyond the first 12 months is subject to continued satisfactory progress.

To be eligible, you must hold a very good first degree (the equivalent of a UK first class honours degree*) from a prestigious institution. You must also meet the University's English language requirements which are IELTS band score 6.0 (with not less than 5.5 in listening and reading and not less than 5.0 in speaking and writing) or paper based TOEFL 550 (with 4.0 on the Test of Written English TWE) or computer based TOEFL 220 (with an essay rating of 4.0) or internet based TOEFL iBT 83 (with not less than 18 in listening, not less than 20 in reading and speaking and not less than 21 in writing). The requirements may be higher in some disciplines. For some subjects, you may also need the equivalent of a UK Master's degree in a relevant subject.

* Please note that a lower-rated first degree together with the subsequent acquisition of a masters level degree will not normally be accepted at the equivalent of a UK first class honours degree.

The Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards are intended to support new PhD students, and the majority of students applying for DHPA funding are expected not to have started their PhD studies. However, it is recognised that some students may have commenced their PhD studies with the intention of applying for Scholarships and funding for the start of the following session. Applicants who have already commenced PhD studies are eligible to apply for an award under the Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award Scheme provided that they did not commence PhD study before 1 October 2007.

The closing date for the following awards is 30 April 2008.

One award is provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (www.epsrc.ac.uk) and Jaguar and is available in the Institute for Transport Studies in the broad area of 'driver distraction/vehicle automation/human-machine interface'.

One award is provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (www.epsrc.ac.uk) and Morganite Electrical Carbon Limited and is available in the School of Process, Environmental & Materials Engineering (Institute for Materials Research) in the broad area of 'carbon nanomaterials for achievement of high conductivity thermal interfacing'.

One award is provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (www.epsrc.ac.uk) and GlaxoSmithKline and is available in the Department of Colour Science in the broad area of 'preparation, characterisation and delivery of internasal pharmaceutical products designed for high throughput assembly'.

One award is provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (www.epsrc.ac.uk) and Shell Global Solutions (UK) and is available in the School of Mechanical Engineering in the broad area of 'factors affecting combustion of sustainable engine fuels'.

One award is provided by the Medical Research Council (www.mrc.ac.uk) and Heart Research UK and is available in the School of Mechanical Engineering in the broad area of 'developing a novel real time computational model of heart failure to be used to test heart assist devices'.

One award is provided by the Economic and Social Research Council (www.esrc.ac.uk) and 1Spatial and is available in the Leeds University Business School in the broad area of 'interoperability and information sharing during major incidents: planning for the London Olympics'.

The Scheme is not open to UK or EU students or those eligible to pay UK rated fees. Only students from certain countries are eligible to apply. A full list of all the eligible countries is available on the Office of Science and Technology website at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/35/9/2488552.pdf - please check this list to see if you are eligible.

Please contact us on scholarships@leeds.ac.uk if you are not sure if you are eligible to apply.

How do I apply for a Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award at Leeds?

If you would like to apply for a Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award to start at Leeds in October 2008, you should apply on the University of Leeds Dorothy Hodgkin application form.

The application form is available at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/rds/postgraduate_scholarships/dhpa-forms.html

The deadline for applications for the above Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards is 30 April 2008 . If you are a new applicant for study at Leeds you must also have applied to the University for a place on the PhD programme that you wish to study before applying to the competition. Information on the Schools and Departments at the University of Leeds is accessible from the following web page (but first please consult the list of Schools and Departments at Leeds that are eligible to recruit students for DHPA Scholarships - see above): http://www.leeds.ac.uk/students/postgraduates.htm - To see the list of Schools click the COURSEFINDER link and then click SUBJECT GUIDE to access the list of subjects covered by the Schools at the University. Then click for further information on each School. The application form to study for a research degree is also accessible from this web page.

Postgraduate scholarships in UK - a list of websites

Websites provide scholarships information in UK

http://www.acu.ac.uk
http://www.chevening.com
http://www.dfid.gov.uk
http://www.dsc.org.uk
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport
http://www.fulbright.co.uk
http://www.prospects.csu.ac.uk
http://www.scholarhip-search.org.uk
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/ors
http://www.ukcosa.org.uk/funding/index.htm

How does your supervisor judge you?

Have you ever asked yourselves how your supervisor/academic advisor judges you?

Each supervisor has her/his own way to help you overcome a thesis writing task or a similar task. In many times, they suddenly ask you some questions that make you become aware of new, normally very interesting, things.

In order to ask the 'right' questions, they have some criteria to judge your ability, your learning progress.

 

But what if you can't find, or are not given a supervisor? How do you know that you are really learning?

There are some tips in psychology that I think very helpful. These are what supervisors talk with each other about their students' progress.

 

Signs of Student’s Critical Thinking:

A. Affective (Emotional) Strategies

• 1 thinking independently
• 2 developing insight into egocentricity or sociocentricity
• 3 exercising fairmindedness
• 4 exploring thoughts underlying feelings and feelings underlying thoughts
• 5 developing intellectual humility and suspending judgment
• 6 developing intellectual courage
• 7 developing intellectual good faith or integrity
• 8 developing intellectual perseverance
• 9 developing confidence in reason

B. Cognitive Strategies - Macro-Abilities

• 10 refining generalizations and avoiding oversimplifications
• 11 comparing analogous situations: transferring insights to new contexts
• 12 developing one’s perspective: creating or exploring beliefs, arguments, or theories
• 13 clarifying issues, conclusions, or beliefs
• 14 clarifying and analyzing the meanings of words or phrases
• 15 developing criteria for evaluation: clarifying values and standards
• 16 evaluating the credibility of sources of information
• 17 questioning deeply: raising and pursuing root or significant questions
• 18 analyzing or evaluating arguments, interpretations, beliefs, or theories
• 19 generating or assessing solutions
• 20 analyzing or evaluating actions or policies
• 21 reading critically: clarifying or critiquing texts
• 22 listening critically: the art of silent dialogue
• 23 making interdisciplinary connections
• 24 practicing Socratic discussion: clarifying and questioning beliefs, theories, or perspectives
• 25 reasoning dialogically: comparing perspectives, interpretations, or theories
• 26 reasoning dialectically: evaluating perspectives, interpretations, or theories

C. Cognitive Strategies - Micro-Skills

• 27 comparing and contrasting ideals with actual practice
• 28 thinking precisely about thinking: using critical vocabulary
• 29 noting significant similarities and differences
• 30 examining or evaluating assumptions
• 31 distinguishing relevant from irrelevant facts
• 32 making plausible inferences, predictions, or interpretations
• 33 giving reasons and evaluating evidence and alleged facts
• 34 recognizing contradictions

Scientists discover more genes linked to diabetes

An international team of scientists has identified six new genes associated with type 2 diabetes, raising to 16 the total number of genes found to be implicated in diabetes. Intriguingly, one of the newly identified genes has also been shown to play a role in the development of prostate cancer.
'None of the genes we have found was previously on the radar screen of diabetes researchers,' commented Professor Mark McCarthy of the University of Oxford in the UK. 'Each of these genes therefore provides new clues to the processes that go wrong when diabetes develops, and each provides an opportunity for the generation of new approaches for treating or preventing this condition.'
Over 200 million people around the world suffer from type 2 diabetes, which is characterised by a breakdown in the systems which control blood sugar levels, leading to abnormally high levels of glucose in the blood. Exposure to high levels of glucose over many years is damaging to our vital organs, and in many countries type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke as well as blindness, kidney failure and amputations not related to accidents.
It most commonly affects overweight, sedentary people over the age of 40, although recent years have seen growing numbers of younger people developing the disease.
In this latest study, over 90 researchers from more than 40 centres in Europe and the US analysed genetic data from some 70,000 people in the hunt for small differences in the genetic code which could make some people more susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes than others. The work, which was partly funded by the EU, is published online in the journal Nature Genetics.
In total the scientists were able to identify six genetic variants associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The findings support previous research which suggests that a major element in the development of type 2 diabetes is a failure to regulate the number of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
'These new variants, along with other recent genetic findings, provide a window into disease causation that may be our best hope for the next generation of therapeutics,' said Francis S Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute in the US. 'By pinpointing particular pathways involved in diabetes risk, these discoveries can empower new approaches to understanding environmental influences and to the development of new, more precisely targeted drugs.'
The researchers underline the fact that each of these genes only increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by a small amount, and although their combined effects may be stronger, it is likely to be some time before genetic testing can be used to give predictions of disease risk in individual patients.
'Once we more fully understand the large numbers of genes now implicated in diabetes risk, it might become possible to identify people at particularly high risk before the disease takes root,' explained Professor David Altshuler of the Broad Institute of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. 'However, until we have evidence that using such information results in better health outcomes, widespread genetic testing would be premature.'
One surprise thrown up by the results was the finding that one of the genes found to be implicated in diabetes, JAZF1, has also been shown to play a role in prostate cancer. In fact JAZF1 is the second gene to be linked to both diseases; earlier research revealed that a single variant of a gene called HNF1B is associated with an increased risk of diabetes but a decreased risk of prostate cancer. In the case of JAZF1, the diabetes and prostate cancer variants are found in different parts of the gene and there is no known relationship between them.
'Genetic studies of this kind are revealing new and unsuspected connections between diseases,' said Dr Eleftheria Zeggini of the University of Oxford. 'This is now the second example of a gene which affects both type 2 diabetes and prostate cancer. We don't yet know what the connections are, but this has important implications for the future design of drugs for these conditions.'
EU support for the research came from the EU-funded EURODIA ('Functional genomics of pancreatic beta cells and of tissues involved in control of the endocrine pancreas for prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes') and EUGENE2 ('European network on functional genomics of type 2 diabetes'), both of which are financed through the 'Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health' thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

Contact person:

For more information, please visit:
http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk