Preventive Medicine Training at UNC-CH
The University at North Carolina at Chapel Hill has had a preventive medicine training program for over thirty years. Sponsored by UNC Hospitals, the program is located in the Department of Social Medicine in the UNC School of Medicine. The program is accredited only for the academic and practicum phases of training; it does not provide the required clinical year.
The residency program has received a training grant to support resident stipends and tuition. The grant is focused on training residents in the areas of clinical preventive services (policy development and implementation); health care for rural and underserved populations; and injury/violence prevention and control. The program also has training support funds from the American Cancer Society for the area of cancer prevention and control. In addition, UNC Hospitals supports two additional years of training in preventive medicine for up to 3 residents per year who are currently in clinical residencies at UNC Hospitals.
The academic phase involves course work in the School of Public Health leading to the MPH degree through one of the departments in that school:
- Health Care and Prevention
- Epidemiology
- Health Policy and Administration
- Maternal and Child Health
- Health Behavior and Health Education
Each provides training in core areas of epidemiology, biostatistics, health services administration, environmental health, and clinical preventive services. Courses in additional topics vary by degree program. All MPH programs require a Master's paper and a comprehensive examination; most also require a practicum experience. Residents must fulfill all requirements for the MPH degree in order to successfully complete the residency program.
In the practicum phase of training, residents gain experience in preventive medicine and public health through rotations in governmental public health agencies (usually at the state or federal level), conducting research projects, teaching in the clinical epidemiology course for second year medical students, attending the weekly preventive medicine seminar series, and participation in other opportunities. The seminars explore innovations in the broad field of health promotion and disease prevention drawing upon local, regional, and national experts. UNC offers a wealth of opportunities for research and programmatic projects, working with faculty in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health, the UNC Healthcare System, the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, the Injury Prevention Research Center, and many others. Residents may have limited clinical activity, based on arrangements with a clinical department or setting.
Our statement of the Goals and Objectives of the program provides further detail.
More info: