Population Health and Systems Science: Medical Student Feedback on a Novel Approach That Follows a National Curricular Framework

Authors

Jeffrey Levin, University of Texas at TylerFollow
Gary Beck Dallaghan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Chaynee Atwood, University of Texas at Tyler
Vanessa Casanova, University of Texas at Tyler
Cynthia Ball, University of Texas at Tyler
Theresa Byrd, University of Texas at Tyler
Emmanuel Elueze, University of Texas at Tyler
Michael Kennedy, University of Texas at Tyler
Dalia Nessim, University of Texas at Tyler
Peter Pendegrass, University of Texas at Tyler
Yordanos Tiruneh, University of Texas at Tyler

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2025

Abstract

Introduction: Population Health and System Science, a longitudinal course at a new medical school in northeast Texas, incorporates case-based learning and experiential field visits during an 18-month pre-clerkship phase. The course integrates content from public and population health, preventive medicine disciplines, and health administration and leadership. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey assessed student self-reports on achievement of session objectives and introduction to national core curricular, cross-cutting, and systems thinking domains. Results: Of 36 students, 33 responded. Most rated objectives favorably. Open-ended responses highlighted relevance to future practice and requested more content on biostatistics, epidemiology, health equity, and healthcare economics, financing, and policy. Discussion: Findings suggest the course effectively introduces key concepts, with opportunities to enhance foundational content in measurement, policy, and financial aspects of healthcare. Future studies should investigate application during required clinical rotations.

Description

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us. sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Persistant Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/4919

Publisher

SAGE

Permanent Email Address

Jeffrey.Levin@uttyler.edu

Recommended Citation

Levin, Jeffrey; Dallaghan, Gary Beck; Atwood, Chaynee; Casanova, Vanessa; Ball, Cynthia; Byrd, Theresa; Elueze, Emmanuel; Kennedy, Michael; Nessim, Dalia; Pendegrass, Peter; and Tiruneh, Yordanos, "Population Health and Systems Science: Medical Student Feedback on a Novel Approach That Follows a National Curricular Framework" (2025). School of Medicine Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 24.