Medical Education

Public Health

Primer on Population Health - A virtual textbook on Public Health concepts for clinicians.

The integration of Public Health concepts in clinical practice is essential to providing high quality healthcare. This Primer is tailored for medical students, students of other healthcare professions and all health professionals interested in improving their knowledge. Covering the population health objectives of the Medical Council of Canada, the Primer presents the population perspective of health that is relevant to clinical practice and illustrates how public health concepts can be used in clinical situations.

Public Health Interest Group Application

If your faculty of medicine campus doesn't already have a student-run Public Health Interest Group, funding could be available to help you get a group up and running. Please contact AFMC for more information � publichealth at afmc.ca

Creating a Public Health Interest Group (PHIG)
This document provides suggestions for creating and sustaining a student-run Public Health Interest Group.

Lessons Learned
Highlights many of the lessons learned from existing Public Health Interest Groups (PHIGs) to assist others in sustainability, recruitment and retention and activity planning.

Survey results from the AFMC Public Health Education Project
Survey results from a questionnaire distributed to members of the AFMC Public Health Educators Network (PHEN) and student-run Public Health Interest Groups (PHIGs). The survey purpose was to establish a baseline for evaluating the impact of the AFMC Public Health Education project. For the PHEN, this includes whether changes have been made to curriculum as a result of the revised Medical Council of Canada (MCC) population health objectives, and for the PHIGS, whether they are having an impact on increasing student interest and knowledge in public health. (March 2010)

An Environmental Scan of Best Practices in Public Health Undergraduate Medical Education - April 2009

Commissioned by the AFMC Public Health Task Group, the Nevis Consulting Group conducted an environmental scan to identify best practices in public health medical education and make recommendations based on their findings to help enhance public health education in Canada.

In the course of carrying out this work, interviews were held with public health course directors at all 17 Canadian medical faculties, as well as selected public health teaching experts in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. An extensive literature review was carried out looking for creative teaching and evaluation methods. As well as an examination of modern educational theory and practices that would work well in teaching public health to medical learners. The outcome of these investigations is reported in five volumes and an Executive Synthesis as follows:

Report 1: Peer-Reviewed Literature Scan
A scan of peer-reviewed literature on public health undergraduate education from Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and other parts of Europe.

Report 2: AFMC-Furnished Existing Literature Review
A review of existing publications/reports on topic areas of interest, including innovations in public health education, results of focus groups conducted with Canadian medical students on public health education and aspects of the integration of public health into the medical education curriculum. A brief discussion of relevant grey literature available from the World Health Organization's website is also included.

Report 3: Interviews with Canadian Medical School Representatives
A report detailing opinions gathered from telephone interviews with public health course directors at Canadian faculties of medicine on effective teaching methods and outcome measures, as well as those that have not worked as well.

Report 4: Interviews with International Experts
Opinions gathered on successful public health teaching methods in telephone interviews with six selected public health education experts from outside Canada.

Report 5: Strengths, Weaknesses and Applicability of Teaching Methods
An examination of educational theory or practices where pedagogical techniques are reviewed to see how various teaching methods may be applied to public health education. Also discussed is how public health concepts can be best taught and integrated within the larger undergraduate medical education curriculum.

Executive Synthesis
The Executive Synthesis document provides an overview of the findings reached in the more detailed reports above, together with a series of recommendations grouped together conveniently for consideration by Teachers of Public Health, Program Directors, Department Chairpersons, Deans, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

April 2009 Report on AFMC Public Health Education Initiatives
A report to the AFMC Board of Directors on the work undertaken from March 2008 to April 2009 by the AFMC Public Health Task Group and its Public Health Educators' Network to enhance undergraduate public health medical education.

AFMC Public Health Task Group and Public Health Educator's Network
An update on the main activities of both groups including an environmental scan on best practices in public health education; new public health learning objectives in the Medical Council of Canada licensing examination; the development of a “Primer on Public Health” for medical learners and faculty; a repository of public health learning resources; and student-run public health interest groups.
AFMC, March 2008

Medical And Health Science Students Collaborate on Public Health Interest Groups
By: Barbie Shore, Project Manager
Gravitas, December 2007

Update on the Public Health Task Group
FORUM, June 2006

Enhancing the Health of the Population: The Role of Canadian Faculties of Medicine
A Vision Paper Presented to the Council of Deans of Faculties of Medicine
from the Public Health Task Group and The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada April 2006

Recommendations to the Council of Deans
Concerning Social Accountability and Population/Public Health, May 1, 2005

Social Accountability - A Vision for Canadian Medical Schools: Update January 2005
FORUM, March 2005

The Social Accountability Initiative Moves Forward
FORUM, March 2005

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Medical Education

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