Distinctions Between Medicine & Public Health
MEDICINE
- Primary focus on individual
- Personal service ethic, in the context of social responsibilities
- Emphasis on disease diagnosis, treatment, and care for the individual patient
- Medical paradigm places predominant emphasis on medical care
- Uniform system for certifying specialists beyond professional medical degree
- Lines of specialization organized, for example, by:
- organ system (cardiology, neurology)
- patient group (obstetrics, pediatrics)
- etiology and pathophysiology (infectious disease, oncology)
- technical skill (radiology, surgery)
- Biological sciences central, stimulated by needs of patients; research moves between laboratory and bedside
- Numerical sciences increasing in prominence, though still a relatively minor part of training
- Social sciences tend to be an elective part of medical education
PUBLIC HEALTH
- Primary focus on population
- Public service ethic, as an extension of concerns for the individual
- Emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion for the whole community
- Public health paradigm employs a spectrum of interventions aimed at the environment, human behavior and lifestyle, and medical care
- Variable certification of specialists beyond professional public health degree
- Lines of specialization organized, for example, by:
- analytical method (epidemiology, toxicology)
- setting and population (occupational health, international health)
- substantive health problem (environmental health, nutrition)
- Biological sciences central, stimulated by major threats to the health of populations; research moves between laboratory and field
- Numerical sciences an essential feature of analysis and training
- Social sciences an integral part of public health education