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MEDICAL STUDENT SECTION
What is Preventive Medicine?
What do Preventive Medicine physicians
do?
How do I do a Preventive Medicine
residency?
What is the curriculum of a Preventive
Medicine residency?
Medical
Student Section Resources
Future Leaders in
Preventive Medicine Travel Grant
Questions?
Please email
the MSS.
What is Preventive Medicine?
Preventive Medicine is one of 24
medical specialties recognized by the
American Board of Specialties (ABMS).
Preventive Medicine encompasses multiple
“population-based” and clinical
approaches to health
care. Preventive Medicine is
defined by a set of
core competencies that include:
-
Biostatistics/epidemiology
-
Management/administration
-
Clinical
Preventive Medicine
-
Occupational
health/environmental health
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What do Preventive Medicine physicians
do?
Physicians
who are board certified in Preventive
Medicine hold a variety of positions from
chief medical officers of private
corporations, to directors of state/local
health departments, to policy makers
within governmental organizations, to
program developers for multi-national
NGOs, to many other positions (see the
“Careers in
Preventive Medicine” slide show).
Career paths include managed care,
public health, occupational medicine,
aerospace medicine, clinical medicine,
informatics, policy development,
academic medicine, international
medicine, and research. These
positions are located in all
levels of government, educational
institutions, organized medical care
programs in industry, as well as
voluntary health agencies and
professional health organizations.
Preventive
Medicine physicians operate in a variety
of settings, but common to these
settings is an approach to health that
looks at systemic and population-based
interventions to improve the health of
individuals.
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How do I do a Preventive Medicine
residency?
Preventive Medicine is either a two
or three year residency program offered
at over 75 institutions around the
country (See the
Residency Directory). The residency can be done in
lieu of or in addition to a traditional
clinical residency. It is a two year
residency/fellowship if you do a traditional
clinical residency (e.g. internal
medicine, pediatrics, etc.) first. It is
a three year residency if you choose to
go straight from medical school into
preventive medicine. Certain
institutions also offer Preventive
Medicine residencies in combination with
a traditional clinical residency through
a 4 or 5 year dual program.
To pursue a
Preventive Medicine residency directly
after medical school, you must do
a transitional year or prelim (PGY1) year at an
institution of your choice (which you
apply to through the ERAS match during
your fourth year of medical school) and then
apply to Preventive Medicine residency
programs during that prelim/transition
year. A handful of Preventive
Medicine programs offer PGY1 positions
at their institution. Most Preventive Medicine
residencies do not use the ERAS match.
Rather, you apply directly to the
program (see the programs website links
in the Residency Directory below).
To pursue a Preventive Medicine
residency/fellowship after a traditional
clinical residency (e.g. internal medicine,
surgery, pediatrics, etc.), you simply apply in
the year prior to when you would like to
start the Preventive Medicine
residency/fellowship, which will then
take two
years to complete.
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What is the curriculum of a Preventive
Medicine residency?
The first year of a Preventive
Medicine residency is an MPH (Masters in
Public Health) year. The second year of the residency
is called the “Practicum Year” and is
often individualized to the
participant’s career goals/area of
concentration. Each program has a
slightly different curriculum with
various focus areas and opportunities.
There are certain
standardized requirements that every
resident must fulfill. These are called
“Core Competencies.” In addition,
there are three specialty areas within Preventive
Medicine residencies:
Your Practicum Year is based on the
specialty you choose. When you complete your
Preventive Medicine residency, you take a
board certification exam. Half of this exam tests
core competencies that all Preventive
Medicine physicians must know. The
second half of the exam is based on your
specialty area (either Public
Health/General Preventive Medicine,
Occupational Medicine or Aerospace
Medicine).
To find out more about
residencies and careers in Preventive
Medicine, explore the links below.
Become a member of the
Medical Student Section (MSS) of the American College
of Preventive Medicine to gain access to
opportunities and collaborations within
Preventive Medicine.
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Questions?
Please email
the MSS.
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