PHDA testimonials

I learned about the program while pursuing work at the BC Cancer Agency.  It was good timing as I was not sure about my professional development plans for that year. I saw the program as a good opportunity to development new skills I could use in my work where I have a Population Health related role. Although I have experience in this area, I had no formal training working with layered data sets. The Working with Administrative Data course outline looked good as it included making a data dictionary and use of admin data; the other courses looked very relevant to my work needs too.

I decided to take the program as I was looking for in-Canada certificate level courses I could take to further advance my knowledge in preparation to pursue further graduate level training. As a research coordinator based in Kelowna, I did not have many local professional development opportunities in the area of population health so the online structure of the program was very beneficial for me.

Overall the program was really a very good experience. The courses I took included: PHDA 01 Working with Administrative Data, PHDA 02 Epidemiological Statistics, PHDA 03 Population Health and GIS and PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation. I wouldn’t rate one course as better than the other as I feel they all contributed very well to my overall learning. I am happy that I took PHDA 01 before PHDA 02 as I didn’t have strong SAS skills and PHDA 01 includes an introduction to SAS skills from the very beginning. I would therefore recommend that if people don’t have SAS experience they should take PHDA 01 before PHDA 02. I also found that PHDA 06 was one of the most practical courses. I was able to apply the skills that I was learning to a program evaluation that I was leading within the Infection and Control Department at Interior Health Authority. Being able to directly apply the knowledge I was gaining in the course made an amazing difference to my skill development. Overall, it was a great learning experience and really provided valuable overarching guidance to my work. It supported my work in finalizing a questionnaire for stakeholders and reporting findings to Interior Health.

One of my ongoing projects at work involves assessing trends in surgery wait times for lung cancer patients. This work involved analysis of local data as a pilot project looking for trends in regional variations; I used techniques learned in PHDA 01 to facilitate this analysis.

I also found the PHDA 02 Epidemiological Statistics course really assisted my skill development in multivariate modeling. Similarly, the PHDA 03 Population and GIS course provided me with a skill set that I would have had difficulty learning on my own. I was able to apply training from these two courses to some of my current work that is assessing how we can improve quality of life related follow-up for British Columbian cancer patients after they have received their treatment.  For example, I was involved with a study that looked at using internet technologies as a means of following up with patients that had been treated with radiation for their prostate cancer. We were interested in seeing how follow-up for British Columbian patients differs with different levels of access to resources based on their geographical location. Our project showed that internet based means of health monitoring might be a feasible option, although participation rates were much lower in regional areas with limited access to high quality wireless internet connectivity. The analysis would have been much more difficult without the skills that I had learned in the PHDA program.

Anyone looking to build on their experience in Population Health in a practical sense or those working in the field would find this program an excellent opportunity. I would also recommend the program to those working on their Masters or PhD’s in areas of Population Health. I found the structure of the program was good. The workload wasn’t more or less than I expected. If individuals haven’t taken an online course before, they may feel a heavier workload initially. I think the 12 week time frame for each of the courses was good.  Extending the time beyond 12 weeks could get confusing and less than 12 weeks would not be enough time to cover all the course content adequately. For myself, I was very glad to complete the certificate within one year.

I would definitely recommend this program to others interested in working in this field and I have recommended the program to several individuals, including graduates pursuing a career tract in health analytics and medical statistics/epidemiology.  For those with an interest in health analytics and with a technical background in computer science, I think the PHDA courses can support the development of more practical and applied clinical tools and skills. For those with an interest in epidemiology or health services research, the teaching on use of large databases and study design was very informative.  In addition, the PHDA 06 course assists with learning useful skills for individuals wishing to transfer from a clinical to an administrative or quality improvement role.

For those who are interested in applying to the program, I would recommend that they look at the course outlines and choose ones that are relevant to their work place or educational needs.  For those working on their PhD’s or Masters, they could look into how some of the courses might be able to be part of their studies. I think for graduate students, many of the courses could be really helpful. It is a unique program for individuals working in British Columbia as it enables individuals to use BC specific data.

I was looking at programs that were more data-oriented because my data skills were not quite high enough to get a good data-centric job. So, while I was finishing my MA, I figure PHDA would serve me well. Plus, the tuition was much lower because I was a student!

I found the Working with Administrative Data (PHDA 01) was a good course. It was less intensive and slower paced than the other PHDA courses. I took this course last because of my time frame for completing four courses. It would probably have been better to take this course earlier on.  The Population Health and GIS (PHDA 03) course was the most interesting course I took. The labs were easy to follow and I enjoyed the final project.  When I first enrolled in the program, I thought that PHDA 01 and PHDA 03 would be the most valuable courses for my skill development but in the end it was the Health Evaluation and Program Monitoring (PHDA 06) course that really helped me land a job after graduation. PHDA 06 was different from the other PHDA courses. It felt a bit like a satellite course in the program as it included a health evaluation project rather than data analysis lab work. I learned a lot from the peer review process we used.

I just started working after graduation, but so far, I have applied evaluation skills that I learned from the Health Evaluation and Program Monitoring (PHDA 06), including logic models, evaluation methodology, gantt charts and interview guides. My current role, as an Evaluation Lead, will also include some data analysis, so the Working with Administrative Data (PHDA 01) and Epidemiological Statistics (PHDA 02) courses will be helpful for that too.

I think the BC-specific focus is the main strength. I came out understanding more about the data available to help with BC-specific health policy. Perhaps, this doesn’t help attracting students outside of BC, but is great for our province’s capacity for good health decision making.

I have recommended this program to others. However, I also warned them that it was a lot of work – especially Epidemiological Statistics (PHDA 02). I think my estimated hours per week for this course were at least 15.  I also found the group work in PHDA 02 more time consuming than the other PHDA courses.  The work in the Secure Research Training Lab (SRTL) can also increase the amount of time you need to spend on the courses depending on group work or your knowledge of the subject matter.

I saw a poster for the programme advertised on my campus, and found the course selection to be highly relevant to my doctoral studies.

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. 

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.

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.

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!

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!