PHDA testimonials

If you would like to specify which course(s) you would like to see testimonials for, you may do so by selecting the course(s) from the list below and hitting the APPLY filter button. You may select more than one course. Otherwise, the testimonials are listed below, in random order.

PHDA full testimonial

How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll in the PHDA course(s) you chose?: I learned about the PHDA program through researching continuing education certificates focused on population-level health administrative analysis. I was motivated to do so as I am particularly interested in health services research during the end-of-life phase.
Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?: Overall, I had a positive program experience. I greatly appreciated the asynchronous format as it allowed me to develop my skills without risking my other professional commitments. I found PHDA05 (Longitudinal Analysis and Multi-level Modelling of Population Health Data) to be the most rewarding as it exposed me to higher level quantitative analyses. In addition, I found PHDA03 (Population Health and Geographic Information Systems) very interesting as it provided applicable GIS uses for health services research.
How do you plan to apply your new skills in your work/research?: I believe the skills I have learned through this program will be directly relevant to my current research interests. Also, I plan on increasingly incorporating GIS analyses in my health services research, in order to understand another dimension of care accessibility during the end-of-life phase.
What do you think were the strengths of the course(s) you completed? Please provide examples.: The collaborative activities throughout the various courses were greatly appreciated, despite the asynchronous format!
Would you recommend PHDA courses to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in completing these courses?: Absolutely – the PHDA program is a great program for anyone who is interested in further exploring population-level analyses. For prospective students, I recommend honing on your SAS skills prior to program completion. While not necessary, having prior experience using SAS is beneficial to successfully completing courses.
Any additional comments that you would like to add?: Overall, my experience was largely positive. The instructors are very knowledgeable and accessible to students, and the program staff are always helpful!

PHDA Overall program/course experience

"The program’s strength emerged from how the courses were offered sequentially (eg: PHDA 03 and then PHDA 04) and the incorporation of Lab work into the course curriculum which provided the opportunity for more practical knowledge to be gained. Another strength is the friendly learning environment and willingness of the instructors to go an extra mile to assist students to understand concepts and course materials."

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PHDA Overall program/course experience

"Strengths of the PHDA courses included hands-on application of concepts (through the labs), responsive and supportive instructors, and reading materials that helped with learning the concepts. For example, the final projects in PHDA 03 and PHDA 04 allowed us to develop a practical research question, clean and analyze the required datasets, produce maps and analyses, and interpret results, which would mirror a typical project in the workplace."

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical Information Systems

"The PHDA 03 course involved a lot of work, but was structured in a way that it was easy to work through each module. The instructor provided step by step instructions for each module about how to use ArcGIS. By the end of the course, I went from someone with zero experience in GIS to someone who can understand how to interpret maps, basic tools in ArcGIS, and how to apply GIS to public health issues."

PHDA 01 Working with Administrative Data

"The Working with Administrative Data was one of the courses that provided me with the greatest benefits. As I was completing the PHDA 01 course, my workplace, the New Brunswick Institute for Research Data and Training, was just receiving its first health data set. Having had the opportunity to use BC’s administrative datasets such as the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) provided me with a first glance at what our provincial data would look like, and how I could manipulate and analyze them."

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PHDA testimonials

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