| Course | PHE 500 Principles of Public Health |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 9 |
| Paper type | graduate discussion post on the public health workforce |
| Length | About 350 words, 3 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MPH |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PHE 500 Module 9
Module Nine Discussion
Two Nurses and a Phone
Our county's rabies program looks like a system on paper. In practice, it is two nurses and a phone. Last summer they handled more than four hundred calls, authorized 214 vaccine courses and took turns sleeping with the on-call phone beside the bed.
The rest of the team is just as thin. One animal control officer covers four townships and works weekdays only. Our epidemiologist works part time and also handles overdose and foodborne illness data. The state laboratory is excellent but two hours away, so samples travel by courier. If one nurse had left in July, the response would have slowed for everyone.
This is not unusual. Using the largest national survey of the governmental public health workforce, Sellers et al. (2019) described a workforce facing a wave of retirements without enough succession planning, salaries that make recruitment difficult and many workers who intended to leave. They also noted the growth of undergraduate public health education, which could feed the pipeline if graduates can be drawn to local agencies. Decades ago, public health capacity was described as uneven and underfunded (Institute of Medicine, 1988); in small counties, that unevenness comes down to a few names.
Three changes could make our program less fragile. Cross-training a third staff member, perhaps a school or communicable disease nurse, in rabies exposure assessment would provide backup. A regional on-call rota shared with two neighboring counties would spread nights and weekends. And a summer internship for public health students from the nearby state university would give students real work and give the department a recruitment path. None of these needs new money on the scale of a new program, but each needs leaders to treat the workforce as part of the system. I would also ask the board to count staff turnover as a measure of program health, alongside cases and vaccine courses. Strong partnerships, which Castrucci (2021) tied to the essential services, can also share staff across agencies.
For classmates: in your issue, who would answer the phone if one key person left, and how would you find out before it happens?
References
Castrucci, B. C. (2021). The "10 Essential Public Health Services" is the common framework needed to communicate about public health. American Journal of Public Health, 111(4), 598-599. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306189
Institute of Medicine. (1988). The future of public health. National Academy Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/1091
Sellers, K., Leider, J. P., Gould, E., Castrucci, B. C., Beck, A., Bogaert, K., Coronado, F., Shah, G., Yeager, V., Beitsch, L. M., & Erwin, P. C. (2019). The state of the US governmental public health workforce, 2014-2017. American Journal of Public Health, 109(5), 674-680. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305011
What the PHE 500 Module 9 instructions ask for
For Module Nine, PHE 500 asks you to discuss the public health workforce. Write about one page using two or three APA 7 sources, and respond to classmates. Describe the people who carry out the work on your issue, including their roles, numbers and workload. Connect what you see locally to national evidence on the workforce, such as retirements, pay, training and diversity. Explain how workforce limits affect the rest of the public health system and its ability to deliver the essential services. Propose practical steps to strengthen the workforce, and invite classmates to examine how fragile their own issue's workforce might be. Keep proposals practical.
How this PHE 500 Module 9 discussion example is built
In this PHE 500 post, a central Pennsylvania county's rabies program turns out to be two nurses and a phone, plus one weekday animal control officer, a part-time epidemiologist and a distant state laboratory. Sellers and colleagues' national survey findings on retirements, pay, recruitment and growing undergraduate public health education explain the strain, and the Institute of Medicine's warning about uneven capacity still fits. The student proposes cross-training a third nurse, a regional on-call rota shared with neighboring counties and summer internships for public health students, and asks classmates who would answer their phone if one person left. Turnover is proposed as a program measure. Each fix is low cost and could start within a year.
Where the PHE 500 Module 9 rubric puts the points
Graders of the PHE 500 workforce discussion usually look for a concrete description of the people doing the work, accurate use of national workforce evidence, a clear link between workforce limits and system performance, practical and specific proposals and correct APA 7 citations. Posts that score highest show how a few positions can make or break a program. Graders mark down posts that discuss the workforce only in general terms or propose solutions with no path to funding. Tight prose and an ending that sends peers to examine their own staffing round out stronger posts, and useful replies earn credit. Linking staffing to the essential services is a plus.
PHE 500 Module 9 help: the mistakes that cost points
Workforce posts for PHE 500 often lose points by citing national shortages without connecting them to a real program, or by proposing large new hires with no funding. If your issue is different, such as tuberculosis control, restaurant inspection or overdose response, share the prompt and what you know about who does the work locally, and the post will connect that picture to national evidence and propose practical steps. Staff lists on a health department website are often enough to begin. Our PHE 500 workforce posts focus on fixes a small agency could start within a year. Staffing is tied to the essential services. Fixes are sized for small budgets.
Get PHE 500 Module 9 written to your instructions
Share the PHE 500 Module 9 prompt and what you know about who does the work on your issue. The post will describe the local workforce, connect it to national evidence, show how limits affect the system and propose practical steps, closing with a question for peers. Expect delivery in about two days; your first is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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PHE 500 Module 9 questions, answered
Where can I find a free PHE 500 Module 9 Discussion sample?
This page carries the full PHE 500 Module 9 post on the small workforce behind a county rabies response and how to strengthen it.
What challenges does the public health workforce face?
National surveys point to retirements without succession plans, low salaries, recruitment difficulties and many workers intending to leave.
Why does workforce size matter for public health programs?
In small agencies, a few people carry entire programs, so one departure can slow the response for everyone.
How can small health departments strengthen their workforce?
Cross-training, shared regional coverage and partnerships with colleges for internships and recruitment are practical options.
What is PH WINS?
The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey, a large national survey of governmental public health workers.