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Abstract: Integrating public health into medical curricula poses a substantial challenge to educators. However, the needs of trainees and the population requirements of accrediting bodies provide a compelling call to action to improve how tomorrow''s medical practitioners are prepared to incorporate public health into their practices. This article provides insights about the nature of the challenges, and it identifies opportunities and practical approaches to integrating public health content into medical school curricula. The paper incorporates authors'' opinions with a synthesis of the discussions from a workshop at the 2010 “Patients and Populations: Public Health in Medical Education” conference. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Calls for more public health education for medical students date back at least 150 years. In recent years, medical schools have increased their required coursework in core public health topics such as epidemiology, biostatistics, and behavioral determinants of health. Some schools have created more in-depth alternatives, including combined or concurrent master''s degrees; MD/PhD programs with a public health track; certificates in public health; or complete re-envisioning of the school into an integrated medical and public health institution. In 2009 the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine began a Public Health Area of Concentration (AOC) that provides an optional, integrated curriculum that includes key elements of research, practice, and leadership. The AOC is a partnership between two schools at the University of Pittsburgh—Medicine and Public Health—and the local county health department. The result is a program that provides mentorship and training over 4 years of education designed to mend the long historical divide between the skills and constituencies of individual and population health. In addition, the AOC is relatively easy and inexpensive to implement and is modular in nature. The Public Health AOC is a simple model for incorporating many key aspects of public health into medical education and can be duplicated by any university that is willing to create partnerships and work across boundaries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]