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 Overall program/course experience

"I enjoyed all the courses. In particular, I found the GIS course very interesting and fun as I had never worked in this subject area before. I also benefitted from learning new SAS skills in other PHDA courses. Prior to taking the program, I had no knowledge of SAS.

The instructors were all very knowledgeable and experienced. They really supported students through engaging conversations and encouragement for our work assignments. The PHDA courses catered to both beginner students as well as those with experience in the field. Instructors were always willing to provide extra resources and support – the courses were never boring!"

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PHDA 01 Working with Administrative Data

"The course was well structured. Through the course, I learned: a formal approach to developing, structuring and answering a research question using administrative data; how to clearly define the study population; how to develop a flow chart to illustrate, and guide, the development of an analytical dataset; and SAS skills. It was an excellent course and a good refresher for me, as it has been 5 years since I’ve done data analysis. A number of course assignments required me to pair with a fellow student and undergo peer review of one another’s code. It was interesting to see how my peer structured their code to produce their dataset. I enjoyed and learned a lot from this exchange. The flexibility of distance learning meant that it was possible to complete work at my own pace and schedule. It was also helpful to learn from students in different locations, who worked in related fields but had different strengths, skills and perspectives.

Finally, this course gave me experience working with administrative datasets and tools that can be difficult to access on the job. The opportunity to work with samples of real data exposed me to some of the challenges I could face at work in learning, cleaning, formatting and analyzing the data. I would highly recommend this course and the PHDA program to my colleagues. It’s a well-structured and organized program and provides a good theoretical and practical approach to population health data analysis."

PHDA 05 Longitudinal Analysis and Multi-level Modeling of Population Health Data

"I found PHDA 05 (Longitudinal Analysis and Multi-level Modelling of Population Health Data) to be the most rewarding as it exposed me to higher level quantitative analyses."

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PHDA full testimonial

How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?: I saw a poster for the programme advertised on my campus, and found the course selection to be highly relevant to my doctoral studies.
Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?: The variety of courses provided learning opportunities for various software programmes, e.g., SAS and ArcGIS, while also teaching fundamentals of epidemiological statistics and other relevant bases for public health research. The use of geographical information systems in two courses was also of immense benefit.
How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?: The skills learned in this programme are highly and directly relevant to my doctoral research, and are being used on a near-daily basis. For example, I use both SAS and GIS to analyse various administrative datasets, and have found that the statistical background gleaned from this programmes has enabled me to read more critically and use more sophisticated analyses in my own work.
What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.: The diversity of courses is an immediate strength, as is the online format. Every instructor was highly engaged and enthusiastic, and was happy to have discussions about course material and further topics via e-mail.
Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?: I would (and already have) recommended the PHDA programme to colleagues and young researchers. However, I would emphasise setting aside time to do the readings and work carefully through code. Also take the opportunity to learn as much from the instructors as possible. The papers and lessons are useful references for the future as well. I wish I had kept them on paper!
Any additional comments you would like to add about the program or ways we can improve the educational experience?: No, but I want to thank the administrative staff for managing such an excellent programme. Also, I am very happy that they offer a graduate student rate! Many thanks!

PHDA full testimonial

How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?: I was browsing for some relevant programs that would complement my current job as an epidemiologist. This one caught my eye (and I went to UVic in the past) – the courses looked good, particularly the GIS ones which I wanted to learn as it hadn’t been part of my education up to that point.
Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?: It was really good. The coursework was comprehensive but not too time consuming. The GIS courses were fantastic and provided great information, and the other courses were also relevant to my work (the program evaluation course and the working with admin data course).
How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?: Yes – I signed up to learn GIS, and I have been able to use some of those skills in my job.
What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.: I liked the method of instruction – videos that walked you through the steps of an assignment accompanied by PDF’s, which I thought helped me learn efficiently.
Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?: Yes – in fact I have… I recommended this to colleague of mine at another health unit in Ontario who recently got hired as an Epidemiologist. She hadn’t had much education in the area and was looking for good programs so I mentioned this one, and she signed up.
Any additional comments you would like to add about the program or ways we can improve the educational experience?: Great program overall – all very relevant to my profession.

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PHDA testimonials

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