Population-based medical education: Linkages between schools of medicine and public health agencies

Purpose. To examine the educational linkages between medical schools and public health agencies (PHAs); characterize programs for medical student placement at PHAs; explore attitudes toward using PHAs as student teaching sites; and investigate factors that facilitate or hinder such placements. Method. A 20-item questionnaire was mailed in the summer of 1994 to all 134 allopathic medical schools in the United States (for schools with more than one campus, each campus was counted as a separate school). The chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to assess associations between variables. Results. A total of 108 schools (81%) responded. Of these, 68 (63%) reported having a program that places some or all students at PHAs. The most common facilitating factors were proximity of PHA(s) (84%), faculty interest in public health (76%), support of the PHA director and personnel (67%), and faculty appointments for public health personnel (63%). Two barriers differentiated schools having a PHA placement program from those not having one: lack of faculty interest (p = .001) and lack of a designated PHA contact person (p = .002). Conclusion. An unexpectedly large number of schools placed students in PHAs to receive training. However, medical schools are not utilizing the full potential of PHAs as teaching sites.