London South Bank University (LSBU) offered a masters’ course in public health and health promotion for more than thirty years. So, when expertise in practitioner training was sought to support those working towards the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) Practitioner Registration Scheme, the Public Health Education& Training team (PHET@LSBU) were well-placed to deliver. Developed to meet UKPHR standards, the Public Health Practitioner Masterclasses offer vocationally relevant education to support the Public Health workforce.
First commissioned by the London Public Health Academy in 2020 for London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex workforce cohorts with demonstrable success, the Masterclasses were then further developed and commissioned across the country – with PHET@LSBU initially delivering Masterclasses to cohorts across East of England, the Midlands and Northwest, followed by Wessex and the Northeast. Since October 2022, with the addition of new facilitators and refreshed content, 400 practitioners have been supported on their journey to professional registration.
The Masterclasses
An independent professional standards body, the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) provides regulation to public health practitioners, specialists, and specialty registrars from across the UK. UKPHR voluntary registration – and the regular renewal of registration – ensures that core public health competencies are embedded in aspiring and experienced Public Health Practitioners’ professional knowledge and practice.
Health Education England, now NHS England, provides localised practitioner development schemes, offering support programmes for individuals to develop their portfolio for registration. On behalf of regional cohorts, they were specifically looking to commission a delivery partner to aid in their practitioner UKPHR training.
How PHET met that need – are masterclasses the answer?
Sitting within the Institute of Health and Social Care at LSBU, the Public Health Education & Training team (PHET) was formally founded in 2022 as a specialist function, supporting the training and professional development of Public Health Practitioners in the UK, with education and training delivery work prior to this occurring for over 20 years. PHET has considerable experience in designing and delivering public health learning programmes ranging from half-day workshops to short courses, including masterclasses designed to meet the specification of the commissioners, the learning outcomes desired by the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) and the identified needs of the participants.
To meet the brief from the London Public Health Academy, the PHET team drew on experience from their previously successful projects and proposed a comprehensive suite of online Masterclasses catering to the wide and varied development and educational needs of those within the sector.
Key topics addressed included:
- Public Health Policy & Context
- Ethical and Professional Public Health Practice
- Epidemiology and Risk
- Evidence for Public Health
- Planning, Implementing and Evaluating Public Health Interventions
Focused on the needs of participants and mapped to UKPHR standards, PHET designed the Masterclasses to both meet the knowledge specifications required and provide participants the evidence they need for registration on the UKPHR Public Health Practitioner registration scheme.
Delivery
Highly adapted to and experienced in online delivery, following the University-wide transition to online learning during the pandemic in 2020, the PHET team’s focus was to execute a balance of enabling participation and managing online engagement. To achieve this, the masterclasses are limited to 25 practitioners per session. This ensures those present are engaged and responsive to opportunities for interactive learning, small-group discussions, reflections, and activities. Participants are also equipped with further reading materials, to foster a continuation of self-led learning.
Collating data and responses
Evaluation is conducted in real time and is ongoing. Following each Masterclass, participants are asked to complete an anonymous online evaluation form. All Masterclasses score highly in relation to how well the Masterclass meets the learning objectives; support participants to evidence knowledge of the UKPHR standards; are organised and delivered; and are applicable and relevant to participants’ practice.
Voices from the Masterclass: Who found it useful?
Engagement in the Masterclasses has been excellent, and feedback demonstrates that the style and content is pitched appropriately for those preparing for UKPHR registration.
Meeting the varied learning experiences, backgrounds and experience of participants is challenging, but reflective of the incredibly diverse sector. Those attending the Masterclasses have been at differing stages of their careers – from those who have already completed a master's in public health to those newly entering the Public Health profession and the wider Public Health workforce. Participants report that the Masterclasses offer a clear overview that is helpful in clarifying concepts and approaches. For some, this is new material and for others it is seen as an important opportunity to review and develop existing knowledge. The sign posting to onward learning and resources is appreciated, and participants welcome the introduction to tools and models relevant to their practice. The opportunities provided to discuss and share ideas with colleagues are also seen as valuable. Participants identify diverse ways that they would use the learning in their practice.
“I am very much grateful to learn in these sessions, what a brilliant opportunity to think of subjects which I might not necessarily have known how to approach otherwise, especially as I do not have any background in PH or health previously to joining the team”
“Thanks so much for sharing your expertise in such a clear and warm way. The sections were nicely broken down and whilst it has been a long time since I have approached data in this way, I was made to feel that this is all accessible “
“I really enjoy these sessions; they are very helpful, and I would definitely recommend this to others working in Public Health”
Outcomes
The Masterclasses are commissioned through local workforce development schemes across the UK. Masterclasses so far have served London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, the East of England, the Midlands, the Northwest and Northeast, and Wessex. The team has so far delivered Masterclasses to 16 cohorts, and the current series is scheduled through to April 2025.
The total number of participants that have taken part so far is 400.
PHET Team
The Masterclasses team, Professor Susie Sykes, Professor Jane Wills and Dr Catherine Jenkins, are practitioners in their respective fields and highly experienced qualitative researchers on a range of issues related to public health, health promotion and health literacy.
Susie Sykes
https://researchportal.lsbu.ac.uk/en/persons/susie-sykes
@susie_sykes_
Jane Wills
https://researchportal.lsbu.ac.uk/en/persons/jane-wills
Catherine Jenkins
https://researchportal.lsbu.ac.uk/en/persons/catherine-jenkins
@CathLynneJ
Find out more about our training and development opportunities: asksbi@lsbu.ac.uk
Contact the PHET team for more information:
ihscphet@lsbu.ac.uk
