Abstract:

The “Community Health Course” is based on approach in medical education that main fields of action for physicians are human settlements, not laboratories and consulting rooms. The Course is performed on 4th year of study and organised by Andrija Štampar School of Public Health. The Course is composed of seminars (18 hours) and practical (30 hours) and is performed in rural community 200 km far from Zagreb, throughout 6 days. Practical work takes place in different health care settings: out-hospital care (community nurses, family medicine, primary paediatrics care, occupational medicine); county public health institute (school medicine, social medicine, epidemiology and environmental health); local general hospital; practical health education in schools, kindergartens, retirement homes; practical with families in their homes and public health field research. The Course has been one of the best evaluated courses at School of medicine in Zagreb. The student’s essays are full of very emotional experiences from the practical, where they felt the real sense of working with people far away from clinics and laboratories. Living for a while in population and taking part in activities of the local health services gives them the opportunity to understand social, organizational and epidemiological determinants of health as well as the knowledge and skills necessary to improve it. Analysis of evaluation showed that students were mostly oriented to clinical specializations, before attending The Course. After The Course, students developed motivation for work in rural areas which could influence choice of their future specialization in family medicine or public health. They also recognised the importance of public health interventions and especially health promotion activities. Evaluation suggests that students recognize the value of community oriented course not just to keep it in memory as one of the most valuable experiences during their studies, but has influence on their professional attitudes.

Keywords:

Medical education, community health, rural health.