These CPD activities, compiled by Professor Anne Harris, aim to build occupational health practitioners’ skills in project management.
Occupational health professionals are regularly involved in managing projects as part of managing change, perhaps to resolve problems, make improvements, or develop health promotion initiatives. They are often also involved in managing change, and therefore an appreciation of how to manage a project is an important skill.
The following activities are designed to build on the material covered in this project management article, assisting you to further develop your project management skills.
Activity 1
Schwalbe (2015) gives an interesting overview of project management. Read the paper and relate this to the article you have just read.
Activity 2
Reflect on a project you have managed. Would you change your approach having read this article and the Schwalbe resource? If you are new to project management, identify a project that you might undertake and think about the process.
Activity 3
Read the following articles:
Santos, et al. (2014) Project Management success in health – the need of additional research in public health projects.
Brownlee (2019) Project Management Isn’t Just For Project Managers: 4 Skills You Need To Know
Fisher (2011) What practitioners consider to be the skills and behaviours of an effective people project manager.
Activity 4
Watch the following two TED talks, which are delivered by subject experts and provide different facets of project management.
A sixth sense for project management
Steering projects without long-term plans – Mission Impossible
