Prompt 1: Reflect on the MPH program competencies. The 22 competencies are located in your week 7 supplemental resources. Does the knowledge you gained in the MPH program reflect these competencies? Select three competencies you think you have mastered and explain why.
Click here to access the competencies.
Prompt 2: Which three competencies will you benefit from the most in your career? How will the knowledge you gained from your MPH program help you to advance your career in public health?
Prompt 3: Scenario: You work in hospital epidemiology or infection prevention at a hospital in downtown Los Angeles. The emergency room at your hospital is chronically overcrowded, and patients often sit on gurneys in the hallways until a bed is available.
You just learned that a patient who has tuberculosis has been in the ER for the last four hours rather than in an isolation room, and he has been in the hallway violently coughing.
- What immediate steps should you take to prevent tuberculosis becoming an HAI at your facility?
- What could be done in the future to prevent this situation from occurring?
- What other information would be helpful as you make decisions in this scenario?
- Respond to at least two (2) of your classmates’ or your instructor’s posts. Your responses should include elements such as follow-up questions, a further exploration of topics from the initial post, or requests for further clarification or explanation on some points made.
Please each prompt should have its refences
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction: In this assignment, I will answer three prompts related to the field of public health. I will start by reflecting on the MPH program competencies, then I will identify three competencies that I believe will benefit me the most in my career and explain how my MPH program knowledge will help me in this regard. Lastly, I will address a scenario related to tuberculosis prevention in a hospital setting.
Prompt 1: Reflect on the MPH program competencies. The 22 competencies are located in your week 7 supplemental resources. Does the knowledge you gained in the MPH program reflect these competencies? Select three competencies you think you have mastered and explain why.
The MPH program competencies are essential for students to gain knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to become successful public health professionals. Through the MPH program, I acquired valuable skills that reflect several of these competencies. Specifically, I believe I have mastered competency #2: Analytical/Assessment Skills, competency #11: public health biology, and competency #15: leadership and systems thinking.
Competency #2 involves applying critical thinking and assessment skills to analyze public health issues and develop evidence-based solutions. Throughout the MPH program, I gained these skills through coursework, research, and practical experience. I have successfully applied these skills to assess community health needs, design health promotion programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions.
Competency #11 involves understanding the biological and environmental factors that affect population health. I gained this competency through coursework in epidemiology, environmental health, and infectious disease. I have used this knowledge to identify risk factors for disease transmission, develop screening and vaccination programs, and control outbreaks.
Competency #15 emphasizes the importance of leadership, communication, and systems thinking in public health. Through coursework and practical experience, I have learned to apply these skills to effectively manage public health programs, collaborate with stakeholders, and develop policies to promote health equity.
Prompt 2: Which three competencies will you benefit from the most in your career? How will the knowledge you gained from your MPH program help you to advance your career in public health?
The three competencies that I believe will benefit me the most in my public health career are competency #8: Policy Development/Program Planning Skills, competency #16: Professionalism and Ethics, and competency #21: Program Evaluation. These competencies correspond to key skills and attributes that are essential for achieving success in the public health field.
Competency #8 involves developing public health policies and programs that are based on scientific evidence, are feasible, and are culturally sensitive. This competency will help me advance my career by allowing me to design and implement evidence-based interventions that are tailored to the needs of specific populations. Through the knowledge and skills that I gained from my MPH program, I can conduct a needs assessment, develop a comprehensive program plan, and engage stakeholders to support policy and program initiatives.
Competency #16 involves maintaining high ethical standards, exhibiting professional behavior, and adhering to public health laws and regulations. As a public health professional, I will need to exhibit ethical and professional behavior consistently. The knowledge and skills gained in the Ethics and Public Health Law courses, as well as the practical experience gained in the MPH program, will help me to approach ethical and legal issues with a qualified perspective, promote professional behavior and maintain public trust.
Competency #21 focuses on designing, implementing, and evaluating public health programs to assess their effectiveness, efficiency, and impact. This competency will be useful in my career as it will enable me to monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions and modify them as needed. Through my MPH program, I have gained knowledge and skills in evaluation methods and data analysis, which will be essential to conduct the evaluation of programs and interventions to ensure that they achieve the desired outcomes.
Prompt 3: Scenario: You work in hospital epidemiology or infection prevention at a hospital in downtown Los Angeles. The emergency room at your hospital is chronically overcrowded, and patients often sit on gurneys in the hallways until a bed is available. You just learned that a patient who has tuberculosis has been in the ER for the last four hours rather than in an isolation room, and he has been in the hallway violently coughing.
The prevention and control of tuberculosis in healthcare settings are critical components of tuberculosis control strategies aimed at reducing the burden of the disease in the population. In this scenario, to prevent tuberculosis from becoming an HAI at the facility, the following immediate steps should be taken:
• Immediately isolate the patient in a private room with negative pressure rooms while awaiting further medical attention.
• Ensure that the patient wears an N95 respirator mask while in the isolation room for source control.
• Conduct an immediate assessment of the patient for tuberculosis infection and ensure that the appropriate diagnostic test or tests are performed swiftly.
• Conduct contact investigations to identify any other patients and healthcare workers who may have been exposed while in contact with the patient.
• Initiate the appropriate treatment and follow-up plan for the patients identified by the contact investigation.
To prevent this situation from occurring in the future, several strategies could be implemented, such as:
• Improving surveillance and early detection of tuberculosis among patients in the emergency room and throughout the hospital.
• Developing protocols for immediate isolation of patients with suspected or confirmed tuberculosis as soon as they present to the emergency department or other healthcare facilities.
• Increasing resources to develop and maintain tuberculosis isolation rooms.
• Implementing effective tuberculosis infection control measures, including proper ventilation, negative pressure rooms, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Additional information that would be helpful in making decisions in this scenario includes a detailed understanding of the medical and travel history of the patient, the stage of tuberculosis infection, the extent of the patient’s symptoms, and the results of any diagnostic tests. Obtaining this additional information can help to inform the appropriate isolation precautions, ensure prompt treatment of tuberculosis infection and limit transmission to other patients and healthcare workers.
Responses to classmates:
1) I agree with your assessment of the immediate steps that should be taken to prevent tuberculosis from becoming an HAI in this scenario. However, I am wondering how you propose to improve surveillance and early detection of tuberculosis among patients in the emergency room?
2) Your suggestions for strategies to prevent this situation from occurring in the future are valid. Still, I would add that additional training for healthcare personnel on tuberculosis prevention and control measures would also be helpful to enhance appropriate application of isolation and infection control measures.
