How would you work to improve the health of an entire community, rather than just one person at a time? We NEVER talked about this when I was in medical school, not even during our tiny public health course. I could wax poetic concerning all the reasons for focusing on health needs of individuals rather than on groups. I could cite, for example, financial reimbursement systems that recognizes only health services for individuals, or how our society tends to place a higher value on personal well being as opposed to corporate success. But ultimately, I find that our attraction to individual health is a matter of modeling. Our professors instruct us with this disposition, so we in turn practice in this way, and further instruct our own protégé to follow in our ways.
I later experienced first hand in urban China and rural Angola how such a approach is both inefficient and ineffective in addressing widespread health issues. Passionate about sharing my discoveries, INMED just published the International Health Leadership Self-Paced Course. This course requires only about three hours to complete, and embodies what I learned the hard way through years of experience.