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Community health service planning in the education of medical students
Author(s) -
DISLER P. B.,
HOFFMAN M. N.,
KLOPPER J. M. L.,
EPSTEIN L. M.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1986.tb01191.x
Subject(s) - medical education , rehabilitation , service (business) , perspective (graphical) , community health , epidemiology , medicine , psychology , health services , nursing , public health , physical therapy , environmental health , computer science , artificial intelligence , population , economy , economics
Summary Few medical students gain practical experience in practical epidemiology during their undergraduate years or understand how this science is a prerequisite to decision‐making in the health services. In an attempt to overcome this deficit a group of clinical students was asked to measure the incidence of cerebro‐vascular disease in the Cape Peninsula over a relatively short period in order that rehabilitation facilities could be planned for affected patients. The exercise proved extremely fruitful for both the staff and the students. For the latter it not only met the objectives outlined above but also forced them to enter the community and so gain a perspective of all health services provided. We suggest that this technique, which can be applied to many topics, is a useful way of introducing students to these important concepts.