Public Health Lessons: Practicing and Teaching Public Health

The following four cases represent events that actually occurred at the local, statewide, national, and international levels. A general, succinct overview is provided of each case with references listed should the reader want to access additional resource materials. The concise format of these cases is intended to generate questions. Following the general overview of each case, I examine the lessons learned from the practitioner and educator perspective and I list the skills necessary to address the issues in the case. The reader will note that there are skills that are essential for the public health practitioner to master, whether one is in an internship, entry-level position, or the director of a public health organization and so these skills are consistently listed. I encourage the reader to regularly keep abreast of the news locally and abroad and to set aside time before a staff meeting or supervisory group meeting, or use the first few minutes of a class to discuss these issues. Ask your workforce or students, “Are we ready to handle such an event if it were to occur here?”; “What resources would we need to have accessible?”; “Have we partnered with the correct agencies in the community?”; “Do we have an established, trusted presence in the community?”; “Who else do we need on our team?”; “Do we need training in a specialty area, e.g., emergency preparedness?”; “What skills have we mastered and what skills do we need to obtain?” The discussion-based questions are endless but one runs the risk of not being prepared, either individually, or in their agency, should they not discuss how public health events are occurring around us daily. I encourage you to adapt these selected cases to use in your organization and/or classroom. Discussing these issues and reviewing the lessons learned will only help us to be better prepared public health practitioners and educators of public health students.