Enhanced Skill Set Through NEPHIP Internships such as NEPHIP are pivotal in developing essential professional skills, including skills in communication, data analysis, critical thinking, and project man- agement. Internships also promote cultural awareness, leadership, and adaptability, thereby better preparing students for diverse professional environments and future career challenges (Hu et al., 2016; Levy et al., 2015). As demonstrated by programs such as the one at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, integrating these skills with reflective practices prepares students for real-world sit- uations and helps define their post-academic goals (Crowell, 2018). Methods We designed a questionnaire to examine the influence of NEPHIP on the academic and professional trajectories of former interns in environmental public health. The question- naire was distributed to individuals who were NEPHIP interns between 2015 and 2021. To maximize reach, the questionnaire link was sent directly to 138 former interns using their available contact information and shared with 15 university program directors to share among their alumni. In total, 45 responses were received, yield- ing an approximate 29% response rate. As an incentive, we offered via a random drawing free NEHA memberships and conference reg- istration for the NEHA Annual Educational Conference & Exhibition. Questionnaire Measures The questionnaire was developed to evaluate changes in knowledge and skills, career deci- sions, and professional development resulting from the internship experience. The question- naire included multiple-choice, Likert-scale, and open-ended questions. Multiple-choice questions predominantly were used to gather quantifiable data. These included: • internship details (e.g., year, academic level, location), • educational pursuits post-internship, • employment status and sector, • ratings of the internship’s impact on vari- ous aspects of skill and career develop- ment, and • demographic information. Open-ended questions collected qualita- tive information. These questions allowed
respondents to provide detailed insights on topics such as: • description of how the internship mode (virtual, in-person, hybrid) impacted their experience, • explanation of how NEPHIP influenced their work-related decisions or career path, • recommendations for improving the NEPHIP program, and • additional comments about their NEPHIP experience. Analyses A combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses was conducted. Descriptive statis- tics were conducted for multiple-choice and Likert-scale questions to calculate frequen- cies, percentages, and means as appropriate. To assess if there were differences between in-person and virtual internship experiences, multiple Mann–Whitney U tests were used. This analysis focused on specific questions that measured: • overall learning experience, • relevance of internship content to current career, • acquisition of job-relevant knowledge and skills, and • development of specific competencies. For the last point related to specific com- petencies, outcomes were also contrasted between interns who pursued careers in environmental public health and interns who chose other paths. Further, thematic analysis was conducted with open-ended question responses to identify recurring themes and patterns in responses about the internship’s impact on career decisions, recommendations for improvement, and overall experiences. Results The following results integrate the quantitative and qualitative findings from the question- naire to provide a comprehensive understand- ing of NEPHIP’s impact on career choices. Respondent Demographics Of the 45 responses, there was representa- tion from each year of the program, with the most respondents having participated in NEPHIP in 2017 (Figure 1). At the time of their internship, most respondents reported being an undergraduate student (69%): 4% were sophomores, 38% were juniors, and 27% were seniors. One person reported they
were getting their second bachelor’s degree at the time of their NEPHIP experience. The geographic locations in which respon- dents completed their NEPHIP internships covered all U.S. regions (i.e., the West, South- west, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast). Figure 2 shows the geographic representation of the states where the host sites were located. Approximately 62% of respondents stated that they did their internship with a local agency or department, whereas 36% did their internship with a state agency or department. Mode of Internship Most (76%) of the respondents had in-person internships, 22% had a virtual internship, and one person (2%) reported their intern- ship was hybrid. Of the in-person or hybrid internships, 76% reported they had to relo- cate to complete their internship. Learning Experience In terms of preparing them for a career, respondents rated their NEPHIP learning experience using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = poor to 5 = excellent). Most respondents reported their learning experience as excel- lent (62%) or good (36%). One respondent (2%) rated their learning experience as aver- age, and no one rated it as below average or poor (Figure 3).
Career Skills Gained During Internship
Respondents who joined the workforce (regardless of whether they pursued careers in environmental public health or not) after participating in the program indicated that they continued to apply skills and knowledge from their internships. The most frequently used skills included interpersonal skills in a professional context, data collection and analysis, and critical thinking (Table 1). Further, the questionnaire used two questions with a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not at all to 5 = a great deal) to assess NEPHIP’s relevance to subsequent employ- ment of participants (Figure 4). Regard- ing how closely their position related to what was learned during the internship, 31% of respondents said it related “a great deal,” 28% said “very much,” and 22% said “somewhat,” indicating a strong alignment for most participants. In terms of acquir- ing knowledge and skills needed for their
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March 2025 • Journal of Environmental Health
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