Experiential Teaching for Public Health Practice, by Bud Nicola and Amy Hagopian, editors. University of Washington. 2018. pp. 1-192, Sharjah, UAE: Bentham Science Publishers.

Experiential Teaching for Public Health, edited by Bud Nicola and Amy Hagopian, 2 University of Washington (UW) faculty members, provides a comprehensive and replicable description of a novel educational program for public health students. It is based on the MPH in Community Oriented Public Health Practice (COPHP), started in 2002, offered at the UW School of Public Health. This program is anchored in problem-based learning (PBL), replacing the lecture mode. The method is grounded in the competencies necessary for a public health education. Since 2005, more than 200 students have been successfully enrolled in the COPHP program.

This book will be useful for teaching programs that are planning to transition to PBL. Students learn from examining real practice problems embodied in cases developed by the UW faculty. Key programmatic areas include population health, community development, quantitative and qualitative research areas, environmental health, health behavior, and health promotion.

This e-book tells the story of the program design and lessons learned as faculty and students have shaped the program over the last 15 years. Most courses utilize at least 1 case taken from real-life public health situations at the state, national, or global level. The program enables teachers, including those from the practice community, to be "problem posers," stimulating and guiding group student discussion.

Developing an effective program requires a sound administrative system and an evaluation program. These elements are included in the book. Features of the book include a structured template outlining the basics of PBL programs, examples of types of cases for each curricular area, and a focus on health equity and social justice.

Of particular interest to me was to learn that student applicants to the program come and observe this method of teaching at UW during their interview process. Those of us who have had experience teaching public health have learned the value of using examples in the form of cases. The advantage of this new book is that it provides in a single volume comprehensive guidance for using PBL in teaching the skills for public health practice.

-Lloyd F. Novick, MD, MPH

Editor