PHTP’s Guiding Principles
- There shall be a vibrant approach to research in all PHTP teaching;
- Micronesian communities and their inherent demographic and cultural characteristics will orient teaching, learning and practice in public health;
- PHTP will foster links with regional and overseas Institutions, in order to facilitate the academic and professional progression of PHTP graduates towards postgraduate studies and research;
- An evidence-based approach will guide, as much as possible, teaching, learning and practical work.
PHTP is arranged in a spiral staircase or stepladder approach, with multiple entry and exit points to enable students to enter according to competency, experience and level of academic capability. Each exit point will be a qualification with competencies to practice at different levels of public health work. As students progress up the staircase of knowledge, attitude and practice, they will move from the generic to more specialised public health specialty areas of practice, from generic to specialized competencies.
The PHTP-adopted strategy of “teaching anyone anywhere at anytime” caters for the scattered geography and multiple ethnicities of Micronesia.
In practice, it is envisaged that the Program will deliver courses and qualifications, combining these modalities:
- “Face-to-face” conventional teaching/ learning, with these options:
- Standard teaching/learning at COM-FSM National Campus (and, over time, State Campuses) with classes convening during daytime;
- Flexible teaching/learning, at COM-FSM facilities or elsewhere, with classes convening “after hours”, thus allowing continued work attendance by prospective students; the duration of a course, in this modality, may range between a minimum of 3 weeks, when classes convene from Monday through Saturday, to a longer time span, depending on class frequencies per week.
- The use of “smartboards” (Elluminate software), where available, will allow simultaneous delivery of hybrid “distance/ face-to-face” courses at multiple sites.
- The possibility of teaching/ learning at distance (no or minimal “face-to-face” teacher – students interaction) is being studied, and may become available in a not too distant future.
The basic disciplines for generic and specialized competencies in this public health academic program include:
- Applied Epidemiology/Health Research- centred on strategies for disease prevention and control in populations, biostatistics, study of determinants and causation of diseases, and research methodology.
- Environmental Health- based on air, water, soil chemical and biological contamination prevention and control including occupational health, housing and technology standards, waste management, environment impact assessment, food quality control, and pollution.
- Food and Nutrition- focused on public health nutrition, food services safety, nutrition policy, food production, security and recipe development.
- Health Promotion- based on health information, communications and education, behavioural sciences, community development and participation, and healthy policies.
- Health Services Management- based on the principles of management, assessment and planning of health systems, evaluation, and health economics.
This program fits into the academic qualification framework of COM-FSM, and uses existing COM-FSM courses and new courses in public health. It also takes into cross-crediting consideration (on a case-by-case basis) academic studies and work that students may have carried out elsewhere. Those who complete the 3rd Year Certificate of Public Health are expected to be able to gain admission into Bachelor of Public Health (BPH) and of Master of Public Health (MPH) at Institutions awarding those around the Pacific Rim.
There are four steps in this career ladder public health academic programme at COM-FSM, each requiring general education and public health studies. At the end of each step an exit qualification is awarded.
The entry criteria, course and credit requirements for each step are:
