Planning the teaching of community health (COPC) in an MPH program

The Community Medicine approach, focussed on an active assessment of health status with a subsequent provision of health care directed to the community as a whole, is recommended today as a means for addressing the fragmentation of health services. In parallel, in recent years the Community Medicine approach has been incorporated in a growing number of health academic institutions. In this paper it is suggested that the teaching of Community Medicine should be an active process in a practical environmental in which students could be involved with real life situations. Our teaching methods are illustrated by the experience of the Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) Workshop of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine in Jerusalem. This Workshop is included in the curriculum after the core courses in the Israeli and in the International MPH Program at the Braun SPH. The central component of the workshop are the workgroups of 6-8 students with the assistance of a tutor member of the School's staff. The group, resembling a health team, focussed its work in the assignment of planning a proposal for the development of a community health program in the students' communities. The workshop is an illustration of the problem-based learning method carried out by public health workers of different professions background and with diverse practical experience reproducing a real life situation in a classroom environment. Repeated evaluations done by students has shown a positive assessment as measured by a reported adequate acquisition of knowledge, having an useful experience and practicing skills.