Exploring an Educational Experience: Public Health and Social Sciences Course

Abstract

Social sciences are included among the topics covered in the public health residency training curriculum, and it is envisaged that medical residents will receive basic education in this field. Within this scope, a face-to-face training course was organized by the Department of Public Health at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine between February 3–7, 2025 with the participation of educators from relevant disciplines. Nine faculty members from four different universities contributed to the course. The instructors were academics working in the fields of public health, sociology, anthropology, psychiatry, and psychology. On the first day of the course, the training coordinator distributed notebooks to the nine participating residents and asked them to record their reflections on their learning experiences throughout the course, aiming to create participant-centered learning journals. In addition, after each session, a resident conducted 8–10-minute interviews with the instructor of that session, asking them to share their feelings and thoughts about the teaching experience. Informed consent was obtained, and the interviews were video recorded.In addition to collecting learning journals and participants’ reflections, approximately six weeks after the completion of the training (on March 19, 2025), a focus group discussion was held with eight residents who had attended the five-day course. The discussion was facilitated by a faculty member with a background in sociology and experience in qualitative research methods. The themes that emerged from participants’ narratives were the relationship between public health and social sciences, and suggestions for the continuation of the public health and social sciences course. Both residents and faculty members emphasized that the training would be beneficial in fostering new collaborations.