Tools of the Trade 2009

Tools of the Trade: Practical Skills for Managers

  


“I can apply everything I learned on a daily basis! I have continual challenges in my job regarding policy and moving staff and community partners through difficult change.”

—participant, 2007

There are certain tools and skills that leaders, managers, and supervisors find fundamental to the successful practice of public health, and to the development of cross-sectoral public health preparedness. However, traditional public health curricula rarely include training in the use of these tools or the development of these skills. Such tools and skills include, for example, how to give an effective presentation (e.g., using Microsoft® PowerPoint®); how to effectively run a meeting; how to engage the professional media (e.g., via a press conference); how to communicate effectively with legislators, the public, the healthcare community, et al.; and how to use modern communications technologies (e.g., web sites, Facebook, Twitter) to share information and engage the community. In this course, students will learn about and actively employ a variety of broadly useful “tools of the trade” that can enhance their effectiveness as public health professionals.

Patrick O’Carroll, Jack Thompson

Objectives

  1. Couple proven public speaking principles to modern presentation software (MS® PowerPoint®), to deliver effective public presentations.
  2. Employ new techniques (e.g., tabletop exercises) and modern technologies (e.g., virtual meeting applications) to enhance public health preparedness and other initiatives that require effective, far-reaching collaboration.
  3. Describe how to employ a set of “new media” technologies (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) to engage the community in various aspects of public health practice.
  4. Manage and facilitate a meeting with colleagues in an inclusive, purpose-driven and effective manner.
  5. Use modern information technologies (e.g., web sites, mailing list servers, web conferencing) to deliver and receive information and training.
  6. Speak and respond to questions effectively at a formal press conference.

 

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