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Number 2: Health Behavior Change at the Individual, Household and Community Levels presented by Peter Winch at Johns Hopkins University
This is an interesting change-of-pace course that should be an enjoyable and relevant experience for most Pre-Meds out there. Unfortunately, Medical Schools vary on the number of hours that are spent teaching things related to Epidemiology but this is where a lot of the causes of a disease or a condition can be found. The types of behaviors you engage in now, whether that could be exercising regularly now or trying fad diets could have an adverse effect on your health and predispose you to a number of health risks within the next decade.
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In Medical School, one of the highlights of your studies is dealing with Epidemiology for two reasons; it's easy and it's relevant. It is fascinating to learn how some of our choices can increase our relative risk for diseases by multiples of 5 and any additional information from this course could greatly impact your message to a patient when it comes time to educate them on their conditions. Unfortunately, the United States is horrible as a whole in teaching patients about preventative techniques to ward off ailments in their future. Instead, it is much more of a reactionary system where your treatment begins after a significant health incident. For example, in Europe, it is common to educate patients from the age of 20 about the risks of fatty diets to their health and have annual control visits and medical intervention if necessary to prevent a heart attack from happening. In the US, however, much less effort is placed on the preventative ways to reduce the risk of heart problems and patients often receive their first line of treatment in the operating room. The same holds true for patients not able to control their weight but use bariatric surgery or liposuction to shed the 200 excess pounds they are hauling along instead of meeting with dietitians routinely and constructing exercise programs to follow.
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Studying this prior to Medical School can ensure that you are approaching Medicine with a broader outlook on healthcare so you can educate a patient and benefit society as a whole as soon as you start seeing patients.

Number 3: The Stanford Mini-Medical School
This is a great course to shed light onto what to expect when you get into the grind of Medical School. Stanford University offers free on-line webinars that a student can enroll in and listening to lectures from esteemed professors in the Medical community. These mini-courses change during each semester so a student can cover a variety of topics and learn about interesting or valuable research investigations that are being done to improve healthcare globally.
You are able to cherry-pick through the lectures and decide what lectures are more specific for your interests. You will be able to eye-witness what a classroom experience is like in Medical School so you can have some idea of what to expect. The professors are experts in their field and present the material in a very easy-to-understand format so you will master a concept quickly.
I have used the Stanford on-line course myself and can attest that it will be worth your while. The professors are entertaining and are able to expertly weave material that you may have learned in your Undergraduate studies into how it practically applies to Medicine.
- 1.) http://www.thepalife.com/238-free-online-science-math-and-pre-medical-courses/
- 2.) http://oli.cmu.edu/courses/free-open/anatomy-physiology/
- 3.) http://ocw.jhsph.edu/index.cfm/go/viewCourse/course/healthbehaviorchange/coursePage/index/
- 4.) http://med.stanford.edu/minimed/fall/
- Photo courtesy of thechoprasglobaleducation: www.flickr.com/photos/thechoprasglobaleducation/21214313850/
- Photo courtesy of wonderlane: www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/6519357875/
- Photo courtesy of wonderlane: www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/6519357875/
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