Public health matters: Innovative approaches for engaging medical students

Abstract

The zeitgeist in both academia and the healthcare system supports the teaching of public health within the medical curriculum; there is also consensus at the political and pedagogical level. The challenge of ensuring engagement now needs to be met at the student-teacher interface.

The Role of Pedagogy in Clinical Education

“…Pedagogies used to disseminate health technologies highlight how the dissemination of health technologies to clinical professions and patients through apps, mobile solutions and distance learning not only democratises medical knowledge, but also personalises the pedagogical approaches to education, and leads to its diffusion globally [78]. Pedagogies used to teach population health talk speak to how the subject is being reformed to be taught as a transformative learning experience, which is cognizant of social justice concerns, and social accountability [42]. Lastly, the pedagogies used to further Patient and Public Involvement in medicine directly informs clinical tutors and others how to involve patients in all areas of medical education.…”

“…Moreover, they have the potential to become bespoke pedagogies in their own right, depending on the level of engagement a course uses. One of the main vehicles for the development of pedagogical innovations in this area is the Public Health Educators in Medical Schools (PHEMS) network, see Vyas, Rodrigues [42].…”

“…PHEMS have devised four innovative pedagogical approaches for engaging medical students in public health. These are (1) social accountability and community engagement, (2) making the course clinically relevant, (3) sticking to a core content, and recognising that assessment drives learning, and (4) use technology-enhanced learning [42]. Highlighting these four pedagogic approaches will help healthcare systems support the inclusion of population and public health in their curriculums.…”

Exploring threshold concepts in population health

“…In the UK, the General Medical Council now includes population health, illness prevention and health promotion as significant elements of their guidance . However, despite extensive efforts to integrate population health into undergraduate programmes, engaging students in such learning is notoriously challenging . This may partly be because students can misunderstand the nature and relevance of population health and have little contact with role models …”

Flipping social determinants on its head: Medical student perspectives on the flipped classroom and simulated patients to teach social determinants of health

“…Students then spend most of classroom time discussing their application to practice and policy. Innovations in this field aim to demonstrate the clinical relevance of public health by utilising technology enhanced learning to appeal to 21 st century learners (Vyas et al 2017).…”