Overview

• Public Health I consists of two interconnected courses, aVLOZ0141c (seminars) and aVLOZ0141p (lectures), both delivered during the first semester.
• Seminar evaluation is based on the Points System, while lecture evaluation culminates in a final exam scheduled for December 2023 and January 2024.
• Passing the Points System is a prerequisite to sit for the final exam.
• Public Health I - practice aims to furnish first-year medical students with a fundamental grasp of critical concepts in clinical epidemiology and social medicine.
  
• Notably, this course aligns with the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), equipping students to excel in the USMLE Part I, specifically in the section of Biostatistics, Epidemiology/Population Health, & Interpretation of the Medical Literature.
  
• The course materials are sourced from the United Kingdom Faculty of Public Health (UK-FPH) examination preparation materials, recognized as the Public Health Textbook®.
  
• This comprehensive training empowers students in their academic and professional pursuits in public health and medicine, ensuring they are well-prepared for success on an international scale.
  Course Instructions
  
  

Attendance Rules

Seminars Attendance:

• Compulsory attendance for seminars.
• A minimum of 4 seminars must be attended.
• Arrival required 10 minutes before the seminar in front of the room.
• Arriving within 5 minutes after starting is permissible but marked as "latecomer."
• Two late arrivals equal one seminar absence.
• It is not permissible to arrive after 5 minutes from the start.

Lectures Attendance:

• Lectures attendance is entirely optional.
• Strongly recommended but not mandatory.

Evaluation System: Points System

The Points System consists of 18 points that are claimable through attending (and actively participating in) the seminars and successfully fulfilling the assignments.

• Attendance (and active participation) of each seminar will award the student 1 point (x6 points), and successful fulfilment of each ROPOT assignment will award the student 1 point (x6 points).
• In addition, students are entitled to gain 2 points from ROPOT assignments of the lectures.
• The final group project can award the student up to 4 points, and the project will be presented in the last week of the course.

ROPOT Assignments

• A total of 8 ROPOT assignments will be offered throughout the semester: 6 for seminars and 2 for lectures.
• The ROPOT assignments are online exams of 20 multiple-choice questions with a single correct answer that are offered for 30 minutes.
• The ROPOT assignments of Public Health I is a single-login application, meaning that the application can not be repeatedly accessed.
• The ROPOT assignments will be released on the following day of each seminar, and students will be expected to submit the assignment within seven days of its release. The students must answer at least 14 out of 20 questions correctly to acquire the ROPOT point. In case of scoring below 14, the student will have the opportunity to re-take the ROPOT assignment in the following week. In case of not submitting the ROPOT assignment on time (during one week of its release), the student reserves no right to re-take the ROPOT assignment.
• The ROPOT assignments are designed as a self-assessment tool to help students to evaluate their progress.
• The key to success in these assignments lies in thorough preparation and readiness. It is crucial to open the ROPOT only when fully prepared, employing a calculator and white sheets as necessary. It is strongly advised not to use any unauthorized aids during the assessments.
• However, it is essential to note that attempting to retake Public Health I in 2024 can be facilitated by using a smartphone or unreliable internet connections, relying on assistance from fellow students, seeking leaked questions, or undertaking the assignment solely for point accumulation.

Study Resources

Public Health I - practice resources are divided into required and recommended (optional) resources.

The required resources are:

• FLETCHER, Grant. Clinical Epidemiology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Wolters Kluwer Health, 2020. 288 pp. ISBN 978-1-9751-0955-4. info
• FPH, Faculty of Public Health. Public Health Textbook. London: Faculty of Public Health (FPH), 2023. info (URL)
• Various scholarly articles.

The recommended resources are:

• Bonita R, Beaglehole R, Kjellström: Basic epidemiology. 2nd edition. Geneva - Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2006. 212 pages. ISBN 978-92-4-154707-9. (URL)
• U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice: Third Edition. An Introduction to Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics. October 2006 - Updated May 2012. SELF-STUDY Course SS1978 (URL)

Final Exam

• Specific instructions for the Public Health I - lecture final exam will be released in November 2023.
  
• The final exam will be held in December 2023 and January 2024. No exams will be scheduled after January 31, 2024.
• The final exam consists of 30 multiple-choice questions (24 questions based on seminars and six based on lectures) with a single correct answer.
• Each student will be entitled to register for the final exam once they reach the 14th point in the seminar evaluation system (Points System).
• The dates and rooms of the final exam will be announced in November 2023.
• The list of formulae will be printed on the last page of the exam paper: