ME535 Preventive Medicine

This course is designed to introduce students to the discipline of health promotion and preventive medicine. Many illnesses that patients suffer from and succumb to could be avoided with timely and appropriate behavioral intervention, screening, and preventive measures. Benjamin Franklin understood this concept in 1736 when he famously stated that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. This Preventive Medicine course will give students the evidence-based knowledge and tools necessary to impart meaningful changes in their patients’ lives. Specifically, the student will be given the opportunity to: 1) gain familiarity with methods to promote overall health and well-being; 2) discuss the importance of identifying risk factors for disease; 3) explore commonly used preventive medicine guidelines; 4) discuss different types of commonly used screening tools; 5) understand common cancer screening guidelines, 6) gain familiarity with routine immunization schedules for both pediatric and adult patients; 7) discuss the importance of smoking cessation for all patients; 8) discuss the social determinants of health and how they impact patient well-being; 9) describe patient advocacy; and 10) discuss disease reporting and surveillance, the public health system, and population health.