Residency in Public Health A. Lesley McLaren, MD, MPH Program Director Associate Professor Board-certified in preventive medicine and family medicine, Dr. McLaren is the Medical Director of the Family Medicine Program at Deaconess Hospital. The residency in Public Health prepares physicians for careers in maintaining and improving individual health through organized community activities and programs. The physician will be prepared for responsible positions in public or private settings. Residents will work with the Missouri Department of Health which offers a nationally recognized epidemiology program, as well as other traditional public health activities, and with the St Louis City and County Health Departments and the State Department of Mental Health. Residents will gain expertise in epidemiology, rural health, and communicable and chronic disease surveillance.
Residents participate in one or more research projects throughout the two years of training.
The general goal of the Patient, Physician, and Society Course is to provide students with a holistic perspective on issues of health and illness in individuals, families, and other human population groups. This perspective attempts to integrate biomedical, ethical, cultural, psychological, economic, legal, and political factors in the study of normal development in the life cycle, health promotion, disease and disability prevention, and health problems in the community. In addition, students will be introduced to some basic clinical skills for assessing health status of individuals, families, and communities. Much of the training of students in the health professions traditionally has been organized along lines of separate scientific disciplines and conducted within the relatively narrow interests of separate academic departments. A special effort is necessary to provide students with an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in a more integrated fashion.