A One-Year Online Public Health Residency Program Supports Early-Career Professionals' Confidence, Competency, and Career Satisfaction.

Abstract

Context: There has been significant and persistent staff turnover in the nation's public health workforce, leaving the country with a largely inexperienced workforce. Emerging public health system uncertainties further fuel vulnerability to the workforce. Public health professionals, particularly those without advanced degrees, typically build competencies through employment. This informal approach can leave gaps in knowledge and competencies necessary for practice, which can negatively impact confidence and career satisfaction.

Program: The New to Public Health Residency Program (N2PH) is a comprehensive, online, public health-focused residency program designed to support early-career public health professionals working in governmental public health organizations. It is designed after hospital-based nurse residency programs and intentionally adapted to the field of public health.

Evaluation methods: This study evaluated the experience of 103 early-career public health professionals working in governmental public health departments who participated in N2PH cohorts 5 through 10. Quantitative and qualitative programmatic data from 6 measurement tools including the Modified Version of the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies), pre-and-post-session Knowledge Check Assessments, the Adapted Casey-Fink Nurse Retention Survey, Program Completion Surveys of residents and supervisors, and 1-Year Alumni Survey of program graduates were examined for all 6 cohorts.

Results: Mean Core Competencies scores increased substantially, and post-session Knowledge Check Assessments increased by 9 percentage points on average. Career satisfaction started high and remained relatively consistent by the end of the program. Supervisors reported that their employee had applied what they learned to their job.

Discussion: Findings suggest that a 1-year, online, public health-focused residency program enhances competence and confidence of early-career public health professionals. Career satisfaction can be influenced by residency programs but is strongly linked to organizational infrastructure and culture. A thriving public health workforce requires strong organizational culture, supportive supervisors, and comprehensive residency programs.