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?: I had completed my master’s in Public Health and was looking for training that would supplement my degree. In particular, I was interested in learning new skills in data analysis. A colleague had mentioned the PHDA program to me some time ago. Through a Google search, I found the program details and it looked like a good fit for me.
Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?: 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. I think I enjoyed the PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation course the most. Although I had taken an evaluation course in my Master’s program, I found the PHDA 06 course very good at clarifying information and dividing the evaluation process into very practical/applied steps/stages.
How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?: I plan to apply my new skills within future job/research projects. I am very interested in pursuing employment opportunities in the area of program planning and evaluation. I have had an interest in this area for some time and the PHDA 06 course really solidified my desire to work in this area.
What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.: The instructors were all very knowledgeable and experienced. They really supported students through engaging conversations and encouragement for our work assignments. Courses like the PHDA 03 Population Health and GIS provided step by step directions and support. 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! The program support and general design also supported student needs too.
Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?: Yes, I would definitely recommend this program to others. I would like others to know that both the course content and expertise of instructors provides a great learning experience.
Any other comments?: I had never done an online course before taking this program. I found the online environment provided a good learning experience. Both the Moodle and Secure Research Training lab environments worked well for me.

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical Information Systems

"I took the Population Health and GIS (PHDA 03) course and loved it! The opportunity to work with GIS technology and expand my skill set in this area was invaluable. It also helped to visualize the outbreak work I had been doing previously, and increase my understanding of what happens in these scenarios.

I plan to focus my work more specifically on infectious diseases, and the GIS skills I learned will be invaluable for visualizing and understanding their impacts more concretely.

There is great support by both the instructor and the course administrators. All of my questions were answered promptly and thoroughly. The coursework was challenging, but manageable for students like me working full time. The assignments were also very engaging, and all had practical applications."

PHDA 02 Epidemiological Statistics

"Epidemiological Statistics was a great refresher for advanced statistics using sample data sets and applied examples. It was a very useful and informative course."

PHDA Overall program/course experience

"One of the greatest strengths of the program is the access to the Secure Research Training Lab. It holds practical, well written, easy to follow lab activities in data analytics and a very used de-identified BC Heath Dataset as well as other health related training datasets for applied learning. This provided an excellent learning environment for professional development training in data analytics."

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PHDA Overall program/course experience

"It was really good for me to gain more experience working with large data sets and use a secure research environment to get used to the complexities of various kinds of datasets we come across daily. The spatial data and network analysis work, applied longitudinal analysis techniques and foundational SAS skills I learned really benefitted my research work. Now when I am faced with new problems, I feel better equipped and much more confident to handle them.

I have done some online courses before. I felt the courses in this program were well organized. The labs were very useful and very applied, instructors were always available to answer questions and the weekly or biweekly course modules provided structure but also some flexibility."

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PHDA testimonials

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