Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2013 Mar 1;104(2):e108–e110. doi: 10.1007/BF03405669

A Look to the Past as We Look Ahead: The Specialty of Public Health Medicine in Canada

Lawrence C Loh 1,✉, Bart J Harvey 1
PMCID: PMC6973683  PMID: 23618198

Abstract

In February 2011, the medical specialty of Community Medicine was renamed as Public Health and Preventive Medicine (PHPM) to better reflect the roles and responsibilities of physician specialists in this field. While physician involvement in public health began in the early 20th century, the development of the formal PHPM specialty has closely paralleled the evolution of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. At present, despite shortages identified in light of public health crises, recent specialist graduates in PHPM have reportedly experienced some difficulties finding optimal employment. This paper reviews the history and current situation of PHPM specialists, raising awareness of the issues in order to promote greater specialty planning coupled with improved integration and collaboration between clinical services and public health initiatives.

Key Words: Public health, preventive medicine, community medicine, history of medicine, education, medical, specialty, medical

Footnotes

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

References

  • 1.Anderson DO. Certification in public health—Training for obsolescence. Can J Public Health. 1972;63(5):405–13. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.City of Toronto. An Infectious Idea: 125 Years of Public Health in Toronto. 2012. [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Anderson DO. Proposed changes in certification in public health and preventive medicine. Ann Royal Coll Phys Surg Can. 1972;5(4):217–20. [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Royal College of PhysiciansSurgeons of Canada. Objectives of Training in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. 2003. [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Hamlin C. Predisposing causes and public health in early nineteenth-century medical thought. Soc Hist Med. 1992;5(1):43–70. doi: 10.1093/shm/5.1.43. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Franks-Buckley T. Liverpool During the Industrial Revolution 1700–1850 [Kindle edition] New York, NY: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.; 2012. [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Gorsky M. Local leadership in public health: The role of the medical officer of health in Britain, 1872–1974. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007;61(6):468–72. doi: 10.1136/jech.2006.046326. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8.Rutty C, Sullivan S. This is Public Health: A Canadian History. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Public Health Association; 2010. [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. History and Heritage. Available at: http://www.royalcollege.ca/public/about/history (Accessed July 9, 2012).
  • 10.Royal College of PhysiciansSurgeons of Canada. Regulations and Requirements of Graduate Training Relating to the Examinations for the Diploma of Fellow or Certification in a Specialty. Ottawa: RCPSC; 1951. [Google Scholar]
  • 11.Dickson R. Council proposes single qualification and new approach to fellowship. Ann Royal Coll Phys Surg Can. 1970;3(3):171–80. [Google Scholar]
  • 12.Warren MD. The creation of the Faculty of Community Medicine (now the Faculty of Public Health Medicine) of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom. J Public Health Med. 1997;19(1):93–105. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubmed.a024596. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 13.Steele R. The evolving specialty community medicine in Canada. Community Med. 1982;4(1):45–47. doi: 10.1007/BF02549062. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 14.Canadian Residency Matching Service CaRMS. CaRMS 1994–2001 Community Medicine Application and Match Data. 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 15.Bhutta ZA, Chen L, Cohen J, Crisp N, Evans T, Fineberg H, et al. Education of health professionals for the 21st Century: A global independent Commission. Lancet. 2010;375(9721):1137–38. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60450-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16.Government of Ontario. R.R.O. 1990. 1990. Health Protection and Promotion Act. [Google Scholar]
  • 17.The College of PhysiciansSurgeons of Ontario. Expectations of Physicians Intending to Practise as Medical Officers of Health. 2002. [Google Scholar]
  • 18.MOH Competencies Working Group. Minimum Competencies for Medical Officers of Health (MOH) in Canada. 2012. [Google Scholar]
  • 19.Russell ML, McIntyre L. Boundaries and overlap: Community medicine or public health doctors and primary care physicians. Can Fam Phys. 2009;55(11):1102–1103. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 20.Harvey BJ. The issue of public health. Can Fam Phys. 2009;55(11):1057. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 21.Schabas R. Public health: What is to be done? CMAJ. 2002;166(10):1282–83. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 22.Ontario Medical Association. Policy Paper: Guarding the Health of Citizens: The Crucial Role of the Medical Officer of Health. 2005. [Google Scholar]
  • 23.National Advisory Committee on SARSPublic Health. Learning from SARS — Renewal of Public Health in Canada (The Naylor Report) Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada; 2003. [Google Scholar]
  • 24.Kondro W. Dire need for medical officers of health. CMAJ. 2006;174(3):297–98. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.051633. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 25.Royal College of PhysiciansSurgeons of Canada. Examining Specialist Physician Employment. 2010. [Google Scholar]
  • 26.Public Health Physicians of Canada. Career Opportunities. 2012. [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique are provided here courtesy of Springer

RESOURCES