Welcome to the Public Health Education Group
Public Health teaching in the Clinical School is led by the Public Health Education Group which sit in the University Department of Public Health and Primary Care.
The Public Health Education Group are responsible for the development and delivery of the Public Health teaching for the pre-clinical (years 1 -3) and clinical medical students (years 4 -6) at the University of Cambridge.
The clinical course covers the breadth of public health including the wider determinants of health, health improvement, health protection and health services. The aim is to ensure all students understand a population approach to health and the importance of this to their future role as a doctor.
Public Health Education Group Team
Contacts for the group:
- Director of Public Health Teaching: Dr Anne Swift
- Assistant Director in Public Health Teaching: Dr James Smith
- Assistant Director in Public Health Teaching: Dr Kirsteen Watson
- Senior Teaching Associate – Research Methods: Dr Charlotte Tulinius
- Teaching Associate in Medical Statistics and Assessment: Dr Mary Fortune
- Senior Teaching Associate: Dr Kalman Winston
- Senior Teaching Associate: Dr Mei-Li Komashie
We also have a dedicated Improving Health teaching faculty made up of members from different Public Health areas and clinical students which help with the development of the curriculum as well as being involved with the teaching.
Please contact the Improving Health Administrator if you would like to be involved.
Course Structure
Pre-Clinical (years 1-3)
The Introduction to the Scientific Basis of Medicine (ISBM) course is a 2nd MB subject taken by medical students in their first year. It serves as an introduction to the core sciences underlying much of modern clinical practice – epidemiology and biostatistics. These are areas of knowledge and skills required for the informed reading of research evidence and its translation into best clinical practice.
Further information about these courses can be found at the following link: https://www.biology.cam.ac.uk/undergrads/MedST/Current/Course/Years1and2.
Clinical Course (years 4-6)
Public Health is taught through the Improving Health course. The majority of the content is delivered in Review and Integration weeks which sit between the larger placement blocks. In addition sessions are delivered in:
- Introductory Course (first two weeks)
- Year 4 Core Clinical Method Blocks
- Shared seminars with General Practice Education Group and Ethics and Law
- Year 4 Student Selected Components
Year 4
Core public health knowledge including evidence based medicine, health inequalities, understanding health systems, disease prevention/health improvement, health protection, and occupational health.
Year 5
Expansion of year 4 learning with more applied topical subjects including global health, palliative care, violence and child health, diversity and making change happen.
Year 6
Focus on subjects directly applicable to role of junior doctor including resource allocation and quality of care.
Cambridge Graduate Course
CGC students receive the Year 4 content in year 2 of their course. They then join the standard course for the teaching in Year 5 and Year 6 (years 3 and 4 of the CGC course).
Assessment
Improving Health is assessed along with Ethics and Law in Year 6 via a SAQ (Structured Answer Question) written paper.
All resources for the course can be found on the Clinical School’s VLE: https://vle.medschl.cam.ac.uk/login/index.php (password restricted).
Student Selected Component
For students who are looking to research Public and Global Health further long side the Clinical Course then the Year 4 SSC is one option.
We can offer a wide range of subjects relating to Public and Global Health.
Previous Projects – https://www.phpc.cam.ac.uk/files/2020/01/Past-SSC-Projects-for-MedEd.pdf
If you are interested in offering an SSC placement or you are a student looking to undertake your SSC in Public or Global Health please contact the Improving Health Administrator.