In my honest opinion, the Practice Lab element to the MPH program could use more organization and communication from program staff. Though we were informed the practice labs would play a part later on in the program, it was not clearly indicated what this would entail and rather the “Practice Lab” assignments appeared to be something for that current course specifically. Retrieving and reflecting on an assignment that we completed multiple semesters ago is difficult when maintaining the work load of each semester. I feel that it would be more beneficial to the student to include the practice lab assignments within the APE or ILE courses as they would be more current and reflection is more accurate and beneficial to the student.

Competencies Achieved:

MPH 7 – Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’
health.

I feel that I was able to complete this competency in the Lead Poisoning Practice Lab as it encouraged me to analyze the impact on the community and the affects on their overall health. This is a skill I can utilize in my future professional career in public health as I will likely need to assess population needs and approaches to solving these needs effectively.

HPRO 4 – Construct effective approaches to communicate or disseminate health
promotion content to relevant audiences.

This competency was achieved during the practice lab projects as I had to analyze and determine the most effective approach to the health concern depending on the target audience. For instance, targeting lead exposure in children required collaboration with area pediatricians and parent education.