"PHDA 03 and 04 provided useful tools for me. I had always wanted to learn to use ArcGIS software to explore health data, and have both a geography and clinical background, so PHDA 03 and PHDA 04 were especially interesting."
PHDA testimonials
PHDA 04 Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection
PHDA full testimonial
- How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?
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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?
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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?
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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.
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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?
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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?
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Great program overall – all very relevant to my profession.
PHDA Overall program/course experience
"The program’s strength emerged from how the courses were offered sequentially (eg: PHDA 03 and then PHDA 04) and the incorporation of Lab work into the course curriculum which provided the opportunity for more practical knowledge to be gained. Another strength is the friendly learning environment and willingness of the instructors to go an extra mile to assist students to understand concepts and course materials."
PHDA Overall program/course experience
"The program has given me valuable skills and practice in a variety of statistical software. The PHDA program team including professors, IT and admin staff were all very helpful and a very supportive part of my program experience. I also enjoyed studying with fellow colleagues who had a broad range of work and research skills. The calibre of student in all my PHDA courses was very impressive and many were very willing to share their knowledge and analytic expertise. For this reason I really benefited from the partner and group work in many of the courses. Although the online format of the courses came with some weakness (as you don’t get to connect with people in person), I really appreciated how the asynchronous delivery provided flexibility to work and take courses at the same time."
PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation
"The Health Evaluation and Program Monitoring (PHDA 06) course 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 have applied evaluation skills that I learned from this course, including logic models, evaluation methodology, gantt charts and interview guides."
University of British Columbia, 201-2206 East Mall, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z3
Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN) member
International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) member
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