From primary care to public health: using Problem-based Learning and the ecological model to teach public health to first year medical students.
We investigated whether a public health-oriented Problem-Based Learning case presented to first-year medical students conveyed 12 "Population Health Competencies for Medical Students," as recommended by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Regional Medicine-Public Health Education Centers. A public health-oriented Problem-Based Learning case guided by the ecological model paradigm was developed and implemented among two groups of 8 students at the University of California, Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, in the Fall of 2010. Using directed content analysis, student-generated written reports were coded for the presence of the 12 population health content areas. Students generated a total of 29 reports, of which 20 (69%) contained information relevant to at least one of the 12 population health competencies. Each of the 12 content areas was addressed by at least one report. As physicians-in-training prepare to confront the challenges of integrating prevention and population health with clinical practice, Problem-Based Learning is a promising tool to enhance medical students' engagement with public health.
University of California, Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, 570 University Hall #1190, Berkeley 94720, USA. corahoover1@gmail.com
Cora R
CR
Hoover
Candice C
CC
Wong
Amin
A
Azzam
D002983:Clinical Competence; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D017145:Models, Educational; D011320:Primary Health Care; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*