Essentials of the Profession II

The Essentials of the Profession course introduced students in Year I to core principles of clinical epidemiology, health policy, medical ethics and professionalism, population health, and social medicine. That course taught students how to think critically about medical knowledge and how to understand the social and political contexts of health and health care in the United States. Essentials II: Advanced Social and Population Sciences for Medicine builds on this foundation and includes a novel collaboration with Harvard Business School to discuss Healthcare Delivery and Leadership. The course is structured to integrate across disciplines; incorporate PCE and post-PCE clinical experiences; and evaluate and design solutions. Course objectives include the following: Interpret and critique data from various sources to explore and improve population health problems and employ clinical epidemiology concepts to critically appraise population health research studies; Identify the complex interplay of social and structural forces that affect health and health care to improve clinical care and advance health equity; Assess the health policy context in which our health care system operates and how it informs and impacts clinical practice, while discovering opportunities for innovation and reform; Discuss and appraise the ethical principles that underlie clinical care, research, and professionalism, and apply these principles to ethical issues in practice. Understand, apply and critique the key tenets of value-based health care and their application to health care organization, delivery and assessment. Teaching occurs in large and small groups. Course Manager: Tim Gailius.