The Network of Public Health Educators in Medical Schools (PHEMS) and the Faculty of Public Health (Royal Colleges of Physicians) are developing recommendations for core competences in public health undergraduate medical education. The goal is not to develop a standardised curriculum for all schools, but rather to help participants ensure that essential concepts are taught to a uniformly high standard, meeting the requirements of Tomorrow’s Doctors 2009 (TD09) and accommodating changes in NHS structure. Workshop facilitators will present proposals to date and participants will be able to explore how to shape them to their own curricular setting.

 

 

Workshop Objectives

• Who is most effective at teaching: academics, practitioners, or teams?
• What constitutes essential public health knowledge and should be taught to fulfil the requirements of TD09? 
• Why should it be taught?
• Where are public health topics best taught: in clinics, in the community, in lecture theatres, by self-study? 
• When is it best taught: in early years or later ones, pre-clinical or clinical?
• How is it best taught? Students have varied learning styles, and need diverse opportunities for learning. Which pedagogical methods lend themselves to which aspect learning outcomes? How can we ensure appropriate forms of assessment? Do students need to understand the specific sub-disciplines of public health (epidemiology, health economics, social determinants, as delineated in TD09 ), or should they develop a ‘population perspective’, confidence in interpreting evidence , or focus on the clinical relevance of public health topics?