Analysis of current job offers published in publicly available sources devoted to first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health

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1 JOURNAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC OF PUBLIC HEALTH, HEALTH, NURSING NURSING AND AND MEDICAL MEDICAL RESCUE RESCUE No. No.3/2018 (63-67) Analysis of current job offers published in publicly available sources devoted to first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health (Analiza aktualnych ogłoszeń o pracę publikowanych w ogólnodostępnych źródłach, dedykowanych absolwentom I stopnia studiów kierunku zdrowie publiczne) N Wichrowska 1,A,D, G Juszczyk 2,B, I Cieślak 3,C, J Gotlib 3,E,F Abstract Introduction. Public Health is a multidisciplinary major combining knowledge of different fields, such as medicine, health science, social science, economic science, and management science. Public Health graduates are entitled to take on employment at different levels and in different bodies of the health-care system, including state, local, non-governmental or private institutions, as well as EU structures. The aim of the study. The study aimed to review current job offers in Warsaw devoted to first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health. Materials and methods. The study enrolled a total of 60 job advertisements found on the Internet and with the help of the Career Office of Warsaw Medical University. The present authors analysed job advertisements found between October 2015 and April 2016 that met the conditions defined in the profile of first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health. Results. Most job offers tailored to the profile of first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health may be found in three sectors of the labour market: public institutions (35%), pharmaceutical sector (27%), and healthcare entities (17%). A Bachelor's degree in Public Health (43%) was the most welcome level of education among the job offers analysed in the present study. Professional experience of a potential employee was described as "necessary" in more than half job advertisements (56%). Conclusions. Public institutions offered first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health the greatest opportunities for employment. Both first-cycle students and graduates in Public Health should develop their skills of good organisation of work, communication and analytical thinking. Teaching programmes need to focus more on providing Public Health students with the knowledge of MS Office as well as teaching them English. Key words - public health, place of work, recruitment, employment. Streszczenie Wstęp. Zdrowie publiczne jest interdyscyplinarnym kierunkiem, który integruje wiedzę z różnych dziedzin, m.in. medycyny, nauk o zdrowiu, nauk społecznych, ekonomicznych oraz nauk o zarządzaniu. Absolwenci kierunku mają uprawnienia do podejmowania pracy na różnych szczeblach oraz w różnych ogniwach systemu opieki zdrowotnej,w tym m.in. w instytucjach państwowych, samorządowych, pozarządowych i prywatnych oraz w strukturach unijnych. Cel pracy. Celem badania był przegląd aktualnych ogłoszeń o pracę w Warszawie, dedykowanych absolwentom studiów I stopnia kierunku zdrowie publiczne. Materiał i metody. Badaniem objęto 60 ogłoszeń rekrutacyjnych pracodawców znalezionych za pośrednictwem Internetu, a także przy pomocy Biura Karier Warszawskiego Uniwersytetu Medycznego. Autorzy badania poddali analizie ogłoszenia o pracę, zgromadzone w okresie od października 2015 roku do kwietnia 2016 roku, które spełniały warunki określone w sylwetce absolwenta I stopnia studiów kierunku zdrowie publiczne. Wyniki. Najwięcej ogłoszeń rekrutacyjnych, dopasowanych do sylwetki absolwenta licencjata zdrowia publicznego, można znaleźć w trzech sektorach rynku pracy: instytucjach publicznych (35%), w branży farmaceutycznej (27%) oraz w podmiotach leczniczych (17%). W analizowanych ogłoszeniach rekrutacyjnych najbardziej pożądanym wykształceniem jest licencjat kierunku zdrowie publiczne (43%), W ponad połowie ogłoszeń rekrutacyjnych, pracodawcy określali doświadczenie zawodowe u potencjalnego pracownika, jako wymagane (56%). Wnioski. Absolwenci studiów licencjackich kierunku zdrowie publiczne największe szanse na zatrudnienie mają w instytucjach 63

2 publicznych. Zarówno studenci, jak i absolwenci studiów I stopnia zdrowia publicznego powinni rozwijać swoje umiejętności w zakresie dobrej organizacji pracy, komunikatywności oraz umiejętności analitycznego myślenia. W programach nauczania powinno położyć się większy nacisk na kształcenie studentów zdrowia publicznego w obszarach znajomości pakietu MS Office oraz języka angielskiego. Słowa kluczowe - zdrowie publiczne, miejsce pracy, rekrutacja, zatrudnienie. Author Affiliations: 1. Medical University of Warsaw, Faculty of Health Science, major: Public Health 2. Division of Public Health, Faculty of Health Science, Medical University of Warsaw 3. Division of Teaching and Outcomes of Education, Faculty of Health Science, Medical University of Warsaw Authors contributions to the article: A. The idea and the planning of the study B. Gathering and listing data C. The data analysis and interpretation D. Writing the article E. Critical review of the article F. Final approval of the article Correspondence to: Prof. Joanna Gotlib PhD, Division of Teaching and Outcomes of Education, Faculty of Health Science, Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61 Str., PL Warszawa joanna.gotlib@wum.edu.pl Accepted for publication: September 5, I. INTRODUCTION ublic Health is a multidisciplinary major combining knowledge of different fields, such as medicine, health science, social science, economic science, and management science. The goal of this major is to prepare students to take action aiming at disease prevention, extension of life and improvement of its quality, health promotion as well as understanding and explaining the correlation between health and socio-economic factors. During the recruitment process of white collar workers, employers more often pay attention not only to the level of education and knowledge of a potential employee, but also to their interpersonal, organisational, professional, language, and computer skills [1]. Since 1993 Public Health has been a major at Polish universities. At the beginning, only one university offered a degree programme in Public Health, in 2007 there were 12 universities teaching this major, and now there are 55 such schools. The number of students of Public Health increased by more than four times between 1999 and Nevertheless, teaching standards for Public Health in Poland were introduced only in 2007 [2-3]. Public Health graduates are entitled to take on employment at different levels and in different bodies of the health-care system, including state, local, nongovernmental or private institutions, as well as EU structures. Job offers may be found, among others, in: healthcare entities (hospitals, Public Health Care Centres, Non-Public Health Care Centres, private clinics, etc.) government and self-government administration (agencies, Polish National Health Fund, Ministry of Health), State Sanitary Inspection, research institutes, insurance sector, education pharmaceutical sector Considering the variety of job offers for first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health, the present study attempted to analyse advertisements published in publicly available sources thoroughly in order to illustrate their employment opportunities on the current labour market. The main aim of the study was to review current job offers in Warsaw devoted to first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health. A detailed aim of the study was to illustrate employment chances and opportunities of graduates and to define qualifications of potential employees expected by employers. P Material II. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study enrolled a total of 60 job advertisements found on the Internet (among others, on the website on websites of public administration bodies, hospitals, and medical institutes) and with the help of the Career Office of Warsaw Medical University. Methods The present authors analysed job advertisements found between October 2015 and April 2016 devoted to Public 64

3 Health graduates. Job offers chosen for the analysis contained requirements compliant with skills and competences of first-cycle degree graduates. The search was limited to the healthcare sector, pharmaceutical industry, insurance sector, and public administration. The job advertisements offered graduates in Public Health employment in Warsaw. III. RESULTS Most job offers tailored to the profile of first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health were found in three sectors of the labour market: public institutions (35%), pharmaceutical sector (27%), and healthcare entities (17%). See Figure 1 for a percentage distribution of job offers by different branches of the labour market. Figure 2. Percentage distribution of job offers in public institutions compared to the remaining sectors (n=60) A Bachelor's degree in Public Health (43%) was the most welcome level of education among the job offers analysed in the present study and a Master's degree in public Health was preferred in 20% of all advertisements. See Figure 3 for a distribution of job offers by the level of education preferred by employers. Figure 1. Percentage distribution of job offers by different branches of labour market (n=60) The greatest number of potential jobs in public institutions was offered to Public Health graduates by the Polish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System (AOTM) - 14%, followed by the Ministry of Health (MZ) - 10% and National Institute of Public Heath National Institute of Hygiene (PZH) - 7%. See Figure 2 for a percentage distribution of job offers in public institutions compared to the remaining sectors. Figure 3. Percentage distribution of job offers by level of education preferred by employers (n=60) Professional experience of a potential employee was described as "necessary" in more than half of the job advertisements (56%). Most job advertisements offered permanent work (88%) and casual work was offered only by 12% of all job offers. See Table 1 for a percentage distribution of particular skills and knowledge of Public Health graduates required in the job advertisements analysed in the present study. The 65

4 knowledge of MS Office (85%) and English (75%) were mentioned most often. Those skills were followed by the ability to analyse data and use basic statistical software (45%) and then by the ability to make presentations (38%). Table 1. Percentage distribution of particular skills and knowledge of Public Health graduates (n=60) Skills and knowledge Job offers knowledge of English 75% knowledge of MS Office 85% knowledge of the functioning of the healthcare system 30% ability to search for medical information 30% knowledge of the legal basis of public health 28% knowledge of epidemiological issues 13% knowledge of EBM and HTA 15% ability to develop health programmes 3% skills of analysing data 45% knowledge of administrative procedures 12% skills of making presentations 38% a category B driving license 27% See Table 2 for a percentage distribution of particular competences required at the time of recruitment for a particular position. Good organisation of work (73%) and communication skills (68%) were most often sought after by employers. Table 2. Percentage distribution of particular competences in job offers (n=60) Competences Job offers Analytical thinking skills 50% Management skills (initiative, independence) 50% Good organisation of work 73% Team-working skills 38% Communication skills 68% Ability to work under pressure 30% IV. DISCUSSION Research concerning labour market analysis is essential for the assessment of the need for specialists in a particular field on the current labour market and for the evaluation of their job opportunities. It allows for obtaining data on the labour market, which gives the opportunity to adjust teaching programmes to the requirements of current employers. A study conducted in 2013 by the Career Office of Warsaw Medical University enrolled a total of 46 Public Health graduates. Respondents assessed to what extent their studies had prepared them as far as certain skills were concerned. Most study participants (72%) said that their studies gave them very low to medium preparation as far as IT skills were concerned. 74% of the respondents assessed their knowledge of foreign languages as medium or low and 78% of the graduates said that their interpersonal skills were high or medium [4]. In the present study employers were most interested in the knowledge of MS Office and foreign languages. Meanwhile, data obtained by the Career Office of Warsaw Medical University demonstrated that the knowledge of MS Office and foreign languages among the graduates was rather low. Both studies showed a high level of interpersonal skills among respondents and a significant demand from potential employers for the above mentioned skills. The Career Office study participants pointed to the fact that there was a need to put more emphasis on the development of skills associated with public speaking. 28% of job offers analysed in the present study demanded the knowledge of legal basis of public health, and 39% of the graduates participating in the study by the Career Office assessed the development of this particular skill as high. Data collected by the Career Office of Warsaw Medical University comprised a list of competences that were valid for a future employer. These included, among others, the following: independence, good organisation of work, presentation and public speaking skills, cooperation in a team, and quick learning [4]. However, in the present study, employers most often sought after the following features: good organisation of work, communication and analytical thinking skills, independence, and team-working skills. There are some significant similarities between both study results. In March 2013 the Board for Admission, Quality Assessment of Education and Graduates of the Medical University of Lublin conducted a study entitled "Analysis of labour market needs for Public Health". The study by the Medical University of Lublin demonstrated that the following competences were reoccurring in job advertisements: team-working skills, communication skills, analytical thinking skills, ability to analyse and draw conclusions, knowledge of English, good organisation of work, independence, and creativity [5]. Competences preferred in job offers analysed in the present study were reflected in the 66

5 study by the Medical University of Lublin. Creativity, which was not so much desired by potential employers in the present study, constitutes an exception here. Yet, a study entitled "Public Health graduates success or failure on labour market?" conducted at Warsaw Medical University showed that experience gained during the course of studies strengthened the position of 46% of the respondents, which is nearly half of the total [6]. In the present study, professional experience was required in 56% of all job offers and it constituted an additional advantage in 17% of job advertisements. In the present study, 12% of all job advertisements offered casual work, which provided a student with an opportunity to take on employment during the course of education and thus gain some professional experience required later by employers. [online] [cited 2016 Oct 29] Available from: URL: [2] Wdowiak L, Bojar., Juszczyk M. Kształcenie przeddyplomowe w zakresie zdrowia publicznego w Polsce. Zdr Publ 2007;117(3):293-6; [3] Cianciara D. Kompetencje pracowników zdrowia publicznego w Polsce aktualne wyzwania. Probl Hig Epidemiol. 2007;88(2):121-7; [4] Sokolnicki J. Badania opinii pracodawców oraz opinii absolwentów zdrowia publicznego. Warszawa; Biuro Karier Warszawskiego Uniwersytetu Medycznego, ; [5] Zespół ds. Rekrutacji, Oceny Jakości Kształcenia i Absolwentów Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Lublinie. Analiza potrzeb rynku pracy dla kierunku zdrowie publiczne [World Wide Web]. Lublin: umlub; c2016 [online] [cited 2016 Oct 29] Available from: URL: [6] Korektor Zdrowia. Absolwent kierunku Zdrowia Publiczne sukces czy porażka na rynku pracy? [World Wide Web]. Warszawa; c2016 [online] [cited 2016 Oct 30] Available from: URL: V. CONCLUSIONS Public institutions, pharmaceutical industry, and healthcare entities offered first-cycle degree graduates in Public Health the greatest opportunities for employment. Good organisation of work, communication and analytical thinking skills as well as initiative and independence were most preferred by employers. Therefore, those competences need to be further developed by both first-cycle degree students and graduates in Public Health. The knowledge of MS Office and English as well as skills of analysing data (with the use of statistical software) and making presentations were, to a large extent, expected by employers from their potential employees. Therefore, teaching programmes should place more emphasis on teaching these particular issues to students. Professional experience constituted a very important factor improving job opportunities. Thus, Public Health students need to take on casual work and high quality internship as soon as during the course of studies. VI. REFERENCES [1] Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości. Bilans Kapitału Ludzkiego [World Wide Web]. Warszawa: parp; c