Public Health Education for Emergency Medicine Residents

Abstract

Emergency medicine (EM) has an important role in public health, but the ideal approach for teaching public health to EM residents is unclear. As part of the national regional public healthmedicine education centers-graduate medical education (RPHMEC-GM) initiative from the CDC and the American Association of Medical Colleges, three EM programs received funding to create public health curricula for EM residents. Curricula approaches varied by residency. One program used a modular, integrative approach to combine public health and EM clinical topics during usual residency didactics, one partnered with local public health organizations to provide real-world experiences for residents, and one drew on existing national as well as departmental resources to seamlessly integrate more public health-oriented educational activities within the existing residency curriculum. The modular and integrative approaches appeared to have a positive impact on resident attitudes toward public health, and a majority of EM residents at that program believed public health training is important. Reliance on pre-existing community partnerships facilitated development of public health rotations for residents. External funding for these efforts was critical to their success, given the time and financial restraints on residency programs. The optimal approach for public health education for EM residents has not been defined.

An example of public health training in emergency medicine

“…Despite the recognition that public health skills are necessary and expected of Emergency Physicians, there is limited literature on how to provide trainees with such skills. Betz et al described three different approaches taken by EM residency programmes in the USA: (i) adding public health topics into the didactic teaching programme; (ii) offering experiential rotations to sites such as the Department of Health or District Public Health Office; and (iii) integrating public health focus into existing educational activities . All approaches positively impacted trainee attitudes towards public health .…”

“…Betz et al described three different approaches taken by EM residency programmes in the USA: (i) adding public health topics into the didactic teaching programme; (ii) offering experiential rotations to sites such as the Department of Health or District Public Health Office; and (iii) integrating public health focus into existing educational activities . All approaches positively impacted trainee attitudes towards public health . No ideal approach was identified, but resultant recommendations included addressing trainees’ needs, minimising additional time demands, focusing on core public health topics and working with local public health partners to offer experiential learning …”

“…All approaches positively impacted trainee attitudes towards public health . No ideal approach was identified, but resultant recommendations included addressing trainees’ needs, minimising additional time demands, focusing on core public health topics and working with local public health partners to offer experiential learning …”

“…10 All approaches positively impacted trainee attitudes towards public health. 10 No ideal approach was identified, but resultant recommendations included addressing trainees' needs, minimising additional time demands, focusing on core public health topics and working with local public health partners to offer experiential learning. 10 The Public Health rotation described in this article follows the experiential rotation approach, which suits the rotation-based structure of ACEM training.…”

“…10 No ideal approach was identified, but resultant recommendations included addressing trainees' needs, minimising additional time demands, focusing on core public health topics and working with local public health partners to offer experiential learning. 10 The Public Health rotation described in this article follows the experiential rotation approach, which suits the rotation-based structure of ACEM training. Such a rotation is comparable to existing non-ED rotations to Medical Education or Administration, which allow interested trainees to augment their clinical skills with a differentiating but relevant non-clinical skillset.…”