The academic courses listed below are offered through the UMDNJ-School of Public Health (UMDNJ-SPH) and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy (RU-EJBSPPP).
To register for these courses please visit the UMDNJ-SPH website.
Public Health Preparedness I - Agents of Mass Exposure, Injury or Destruction
A didactic, graduate and undergraduate, 3-credit course (one of five in the Public Health Preparedness Certificate Program) offered through the UMDNJ-SPH and RU-EJBSPPP. The instructors are Drs. Glenn Paulson, George DiFerdinando, Mitchell Erickson, and Jill Lipoti. Students learn about the unique characteristics of technological materials that have the potential to cause widespread harm to individuals and public health. Technical properties of each type of so-called weapon of mass destruction are discussed, and their mechanism and capacity to disrupt society and health are described. Scenarios for exposure of large numbers of people to harmful agents, the mechanism of injury and the effects to health, the impact of damage or destruction to property and the environment, and various means of protecting the public and public health response workers are presented. Capabilities and methods to identify deleterious agents and approaches to mitigation and application of countermeasures are described. The importance of psychological and psychosocial aspects is discussed.
Public Health Preparedness II - Emergency Management and Response
A didactic, graduate and undergraduate, 3-credit course (one of five in the Public Health Preparedness Certificate Program) offered through the UMDNJ-SPH and RU-EJBSPPP. The instructor is George DiFerdinando, MD, MPH. Students are introduced to public health emergency preparedness and response at the local, regional, state, and federal levels. The course addresses planning for public health response to natural (severe weather, earthquakes) and technological (transportation crashes, chemical spills) disasters, as well as to intentional attacks using chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive agents. Formalized systems are reviewed, to include the Incident Command System, the National Incident Management System, and the National Response Plan. Students learn both the theory and practice of emergency management. The roles different public health agencies have in response and the challenges they face including; specific readiness based on threat (infectious diseases, environmental); critical populations (mental health emergency readiness, special needs, and vulnerable populations); public health crisis leadership and risk communication; and the use of the key public health competencies in emergencies (surveillance and information systems, training and evaluation, assurance, epidemiology, health education, etc.) are discussed throughout the course. Learning takes place in a classroom with group exercises that practice public health response to events.
Public Health Preparedness Certificate Program
Under the direction of the NJCPHP Co-PI Dr. George DiFerdinando, the UMDNJ-SPH in conjunction with the RU-EJBSPPP Undergraduate Programs offers a Public Health Preparedness Certificate Program. This certificate program provides participants an opportunity to develop competencies in public health preparedness. The program is intended for public health workers, for professionals interested in careers in public health, and for others who would like to acquire the understanding and skills necessary to conduct successful preparedness activities relating to public health. Students learn an "all hazards" approach to emergency response, an understanding of public health and medical aspects of agents of mass injury or destruction, to analyze public health problems using a systems approach, to review and discuss critically written health education materials, how to characterize hazards to target populations, the roles of the various tools used to analyze health impacts, and the epidemiological approach to prevention.
For more information on the certificate program please visit:
UMDNJ - School of Public Health: Certificate in Public Health Preparedness
or
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy: Public Health Preparedness Certificate Program