Steps towards Enabling Health Professionals through Future Skills

Abstract

[EN] Education in public health must enable professionals to work in the health sector for as long and as fulfilled as possible. Yet, new requirements are constantly arising in the health sector, which continuously change the required competences, e.g. rapidly changing technological possibilities and increasing interdisciplinarity. Several challenges arise: education in public health needs awareness of required competences and their rapid change, but addressing them in education entails an in-depth understanding of what they actually are.To tackle these issues, a teaching concept was developed that builds on self-reflection of to-be professionals in public health. This concept includes characterizing typical professional situations and deducing required (future) competences for mastering these situations.Additionally, beyond rising awareness to future skills, applying this teaching concepts yields data that support a better understanding of required competences and their importance across professions. A case study resulted in initial competence profiles for several professions in public health.