Professional education and training of public health and preventive medicine specialists in Canada

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Published: May 20, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7196/SAJPH.2024.v7i2.1869
Keywords:
Public health and preventive medicine; Canada; training; scope of practice

Main Article Content

J Pawa
Division of Clinical Sciences, Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) University, Canada; and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada
D Basu
Department of Public Health Medicine, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, South Africa; and University of Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract




Public health and preventive medicine (PHPM) specialist physicians focus on the population rather than individuals as their patients. These specialists assess the health status of a community and subsequently develop, implement and evaluate effective interventions at the population level to improve health. This work brings together their medical expertise, population health approach and management/ leadership skills. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) states that ‘the Public Health and Preventive Medicine or community medicine (as called previously) specialist uses population health knowledge and skills to play leading and collaborative roles in the maintenance and improvement of the health and well-being of the community’. It is a broad speciality that requires strong generalist skills including in preventive medicine, management, epidemiology, emergency response, health promotion, and health protection.




Article Details

How to Cite
Professional education and training of public health and preventive medicine specialists in Canada. (2024). South African Journal of Public Health, 7(2), e1869. https://doi.org/10.7196/SAJPH.2024.v7i2.1869
Issue
SAJPH Vol. 7 No. 2
Section
Forum
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Author Biography

J Pawa, Division of Clinical Sciences, Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) University, Canada; and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada

Dr. Jasmine Pawa is a Public Health and Preventive Medicine specialist physician. She works as a public health physician consultant to a range of public sector organizations and is the President of the national specialty society, Public Health Physicians of Canada.

She also supports the health care and operations teams in Nunavut as a Senior Medical Advisor within the Department of Health, with a focus on preventive care and population health. Prior to this, she provided locum coverage for the Deputy Chief Public Health Officer (DCPHO) role for the territory, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Born and raised in Alberta, her undergraduate studies included a minor in history prior to medical school and her residency in public health. She holds a master’s degree in health policy obtained in the UK jointly from the London School of Economics (LSE) and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). She is an assistant professor with NOSM University and an adjunct lecturer with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Her professional focus is on health policy and health systems, particularly at the intersection of health care and public health, and she has additional experience in qualitative methods. She’s committed to working with teams on integrating population health and medical expertise with the insights of community members – and shifting decision-making accordingly. 

How to Cite

Professional education and training of public health and preventive medicine specialists in Canada. (2024). South African Journal of Public Health, 7(2), e1869. https://doi.org/10.7196/SAJPH.2024.v7i2.1869

References

Public Health Physicians of Canada. What is public health and preventive medicine? 2023. https://www.phpc-mspc.ca/en/students/what-is-phpm/ (accessed 20 December 2023). 2. Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Public health and preventive

medicine. https://www.royalcollege.ca/ (accessed 20 December 2023).

Canadian Medical Association. Public Health and Preventive Medicine Profile. 2019. https:// www.cma.ca/sites/default/files/2019-01/public-health-e.pdf (accessed 20 December 2023). 4. The Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). The Match. https://www.carms.ca/

(accessed 20 December 2023).

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Final in-Training Evaluation Report

(FITER)/ Comprehensive Competency Report (CCR). 2023. https://www.royalcollege.ca/ rcsite/documents/ibd/public_health_and_preventive_medicine_fiter_e.pdf (accessed 20 December 2023).

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Format of the examination in Public Health & Preventive Medicine. 2023. https://www.royalcollege.ca/en/ credentials-exams/exam-formats/public-health-and-preventive-medicine-exam- format.html (accessed 20 December 2023).

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