Training the Next Generation of Leaders in Clinical Preventive Services
Profiles from the AHRQ Research Centers for Excellence
When Michelle Prahl Wretling was first hired at The Center for Research in Implementation Science and Prevention (CRISP) at the University of Colorado, her main task was to help develop a toolkit about using text messaging in healthcare research. At the time, she was working on her Masters in Rhetoric and Teaching of Writing and considering whether or not to apply for graduate school in Public Health, so this was a great opportunity for Wretling to combine her background in writing with her interest in health.
Wretling was pleasantly surprised at how involved she was able to be in the toolkit's development. With guidance and oversight by Lisa Schilling, MD MSPH, the Health Information Technology CORE lead at CRISP, Wretling conducted the literature review, helped develop the outline, and drafted most of the initial text for the toolkit. The Text Messaging in Healthcare Research Toolkit is now available online. Later, Wretling was hired as a Project Manager at CRISP, and helped to organize and manage a series of seminars and a dissemination and implementation (D&I) workshop. This day and a half workshop was held in October 2013 and featured national D&I experts such as Russell Glasgow, Ross Brownson, and Julie Lowry. Wretling also helped produce a training guide and online learning module for the workshop, which will both be available online.
Wretling has continued working at the center and is currently pursuing her degree in public health at the University of Colorado at Anschutz Medical Center. She says she has learned a great deal from her colleagues at CRISP, and her experience there has "been a great opportunity," which has both "broadened my experience and focused my interest." In particular, she credits her experience working at CRISP with sparking her interest in D&I research. And, because it brings together her background in education and communication and her interest in health, D&I research feels like a great fit for Wretling as she progresses in her career.
For more information about The Center for Research in Implementation Science and Prevention and its training program please visit the Web site: http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/programs/crisp/Pages/default.aspx
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