Public Health Leadership, Collaboration, and Negotiation: Learning by Doing

Public health leadership requires a complex set of skills encompassing critical thinking, evaluation, planning, collaboration, and negotiation. Effective leaders mobilize stakeholders for change, facilitate decisions during crises, and anticipate unintended consequences. These skills are not easily attained through traditional classroom instruction, however, can be effectively taught through experiential learning. Since 2016, the University at Buffalo has taught Master of Public Health (MPH) students leadership skills through hands-on, practice-based immersion activities using innovative experiential learning methods in a foundational two-credit competency-based course titled Public Health Leadership, Collaboration and Negotiation. Using a scaffolded approach in the course, learners are introduced to leadership skills through in-class workshops. They then apply tools such as Memorandums of Understanding, gap analyses, stock and flow maps, and work plans to address public health issues. Throughout the course learners emulate roles within real organizations, role play navigating challenging topics, and create work deliverables that foster collaboration and community engagement, and facilitate decision-making for course assignments. This paper presents results from a study examining effectiveness of a course designed using experiential learning theory to build these skills in MPH students. Data from students, employers, and alumni, as well as course outcomes and post-degree jobs were analyzed. Results suggest that the pedagogical approach utilized in the course to strengthen leadership, collaboration, and negotiation skills through hands-on, immersive activities helps prepare students to be effective public health leaders and program managers.