PHDA testimonials

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PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation
"For my current job role, PHDA 06 evaluation course reinforced work planning, stakeholder engagement planning, and reporting planning skills -- their corresponding activities are prevalent at my job."

Frederick Langshaw, Project Analyst, First National Health Authority

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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.

 

Dorian Lunny, Epidemiologist, Northwestern Health Unit

 

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 program when I tried to find a training program in the public health area. Later, one classmate also recommended that I enrol in the program. My motivation to take this program was to improve my analysis skills and use them in my work.

Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?

I learned how to use several popular software programs such as SAS, R, ArcGIS and Mplus. All of them are very helpful. The PHDA 06 course about Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation helped me evaluate my work program.

How do you plan to apply your new skills in your work/research?

Actually, I used SAS, R and ArcGIS in my work when I was taking the PHDA courses. I hope multilevel modelling analysis will be used in my future work as well.

What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.

The courses taught software skills in SAS, ArcGIS, Mplus and also used administrative metadata to teach us how to analyze those data. They matched the routine activities that I am involved in at my work place. The evaluation of the PHDA program is helpful to guarantee the high quality of program.

Would you recommend PHDA courses to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in completing these courses?

I would like to recommend PHDA courses to others. I believe the program is very practical and useful to those working in the public health field. It provides a good opportunity for the development of a future career plan.

Are there any additional comments that you would like to add?
The courses in the program are very helpful but it is not easy to finish them, especially when I had to work in the daytime and then do course studies after work and on the weekend. However, all courses are valuable. I have acquired the knowledge and skills which will forever help me in my work and study.

 

Wenti Xu, Data Analyst

 

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."

Abe Hafid, Statistical Analyst

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PHDA Overall program/course experience
"I would definitely recommend this program to my colleagues or others who would like to develop analytical skills and knowledge in data analysis and the use of health data.

I benefited by having an access to various analytic tools and different types/sources of health administrative data. They included a good balance of practice and theory. I did not find these kinds of courses were available to me when I was at University. In addition, I had very practical hands-on practice using statistical analytic tools such as SAS or ArcGIS which are not freely available for public use."

Youn Choi, Senior Researcher

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