Reflection on the Training Pathway for Applied Public Health Talents under the Integration of Medicine and Prevention

Reflection on the Training Pathway for Applied Public Health Talents under the Integration of Medicine and Prevention | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Reflection on the Training Pathway for Applied Public Health Talents under the Integration of Medicine and Prevention Xiaomei Hong, Juan Wang, Lanlan Wu, Xiangquan Liu, Liming Li, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9102927/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In response to the new requirements for public health talent competency structures under the concept of integrated medical care and prevention, local medical colleges need to explore innovations in talent training models actively, strengthening the organic connection between theoretical teaching and practical training, in order to cultivate versatile, application-oriented talents with both clinical diagnosis and treatment capabilities and public health perspectives. Based on the practice of preventive medicine program development at Xiamen Medical College, this paper systematically explores the training pathways for application-oriented public health talents in the context of integrated medical care and prevention. By constructing an integrated curriculum system, optimizing teaching content, and enhancing comprehensive practical teaching, the training objective of "emphasizing medicine, excelling in public health, and strengthening skills" has been established, forming a regional characteristic educational mechanism. Practice has shown that this model has achieved significant results: graduate satisfaction with teaching quality reached 80.01%, with self-assessed performance particularly outstanding in clinical/public health practical abilities, sense of responsibility for promoting population health, and communication skills; over 80% of graduates are employed in public health and related fields, and they have received multiple awards in provincial and national academic and skills competitions. This training system effectively aligns with local public health service needs, demonstrates good educational outcomes, and provides a practical example for similar institutions to draw upon. Talent Training Program Public Health Integration of Medicine and Prevention Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Background The implementation of the "Healthy China 2030" strategy, coupled with the paradigm shift toward the biological-psychological-social medical model, has fundamentally redefined the role and expectations of public health personnel in China. This transformation necessitates a comprehensive overhaul of the public health talent training system to bridge the long-standing schism between clinical medicine and public health, a division that was starkly exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It exposing a critical schism between clinical medicine and public health that has long hindered an effective, unified response to health threats [ 1 – 2 ]. This division is not merely academic; it manifests in a workforce ill-equipped for the integrated service model now mandated by national policy, where primary care providers must simultaneously manage individual patient care and execute community-wide public health functions [ 3 ]. The core challenge lies in dismantling the entrenched "three emphases and three neglects" paradigm—prioritizing technology over humanities, prevention over clinical practice, and individuals over systems—which has produced graduates with robust theoretical knowledge but deficient practical, interdisciplinary, and systems-thinking skills [ 4 – 5 ]. A successful overhaul of the public health talent pipeline must begin with a radical curriculum reform that dissolves the artificial boundaries between basic medicine, clinical medicine, and preventive medicine. Current curricula often relegate clinical courses to a secondary status within preventive medicine programs [ 6 ]. This is a critical flaw, as frontline public health personnel are increasingly required to engage in activities that demand a deep understanding of disease pathophysiology and clinical management, from interpreting diagnostic tests during an outbreak to managing the complex comorbidities of patients with chronic diseases in a community setting [ 2 ]. The solution is to embed a robust clinical foundation within the preventive medicine curriculum, ensuring that future public health professionals possess the necessary medical literacy to communicate effectively with clinicians, understand the full spectrum of a disease's natural history, and contribute meaningfully to integrated care teams. Furthermore, the cultivation of these new professionals must be grounded in a biopsychosocial model of health, which necessitates a deliberate integration of the humanities and social sciences into a traditionally techno-centric curriculum [ 4 ]. A qualitative and quantitative study successfully constructed a general competency model for Chinese public health physicians, identifying key domains for managing public health emergencies and routine services [ 7 ]. Public health is fundamentally a human endeavor, requiring skills in communication, ethics, cultural humility, and collaborative governance that are not acquired through the study of epidemiology and biostatistics alone [ 8 ]. Training must equip students to navigate the complex social determinants of health, engage with diverse communities, and build the trust essential for effective public health interventions. This humanistic grounding is particularly crucial for grassroots personnel who serve as the primary interface between the health system and the community, where their ability to foster relationships and understand local contexts can be as important as their technical knowledge [ 9 – 10 ]. The concept of "the integration of medical care and prevention" provides a timely framework for this transformation, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary convergence and a focus on the entire life cycle of health and disease [ 11 – 12 ]. This requires moving beyond a narrow focus on infectious disease control to prepare professionals for the dual burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and emerging infectious threats [ 13 ]. An effective training model must therefore incorporate competencies in chronic disease management, health promotion, behavioral science, and health systems navigation, alongside traditional outbreak response skills. A competency-based approach, explicitly defining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for success in an integrated health system, can provide a clear roadmap for curriculum development and assessment [ 7 ]. A critical foundation for this new system is the explicit adoption of a competency-based framework. Research has moved beyond vague descriptions of roles to define the specific competencies required for modern public health practice. 1. Current Status and Challenges in the Development of Grassroots Public Health Talent Under the guidance of the "Healthy China 2030" strategy, interdisciplinary medical professionals with integrated medical and preventive capabilities have become pivotal in implementing the principles of health and healthcare work. However, the development of grassroots public health talent in China still faces numerous challenges, including imbalanced human resource allocation, irrational professional structures, and overall low levels of academic qualifications and professional titles [ 14 – 15 ]. The expansion of higher education institutions offering public health and preventive medicine programs—from merely 44 in 1998 to 142 undergraduate and 62 vocational colleges by 2024—reflects a quantitative response to workforce demands [ 16 ]. Yet this numerical growth has not translated into qualitative alignment with the evolving needs of the public health system. The core deficiency lies in the persistent "separation of prevention and treatment" embedded within curricular design and pedagogical practice. Preventive medicine programs, which should serve as the primary pipeline for integrated public health practitioners, often prioritize theoretical epidemiology and health policy at the expense of essential clinical competencies. Critical courses such as internal medicine, surgery, diagnostics, and clinical reasoning are frequently minimized or taught in isolation from population health contexts [ 17 ]. Consequently, graduates possess limited ability to interpret clinical presentations, understand therapeutic protocols, or communicate effectively with clinicians during outbreak investigations or chronic disease management initiatives. This educational bifurcation produces clinicians who lack the foundational knowledge to participate meaningfully in preventive strategies, such as vaccination campaigns, cancer screening programs, or antimicrobial stewardship [ 17 ]. The resulting professional dichotomy: "prevention professionals unfamiliar with diagnosis and treatment, and clinical professionals ignorant of prevention and control", where seamless coordination between clinical care and public health response was critical yet often hampered by mutual knowledge gaps [ 1 , 18 ]. In response to the aforementioned challenges, both national and local governments have introduced a series of policies to guide talent cultivation reform. The "14th Five-Year Plan for Health Talent Development" and the "Implementation Opinions on Health Talent Development in Fujian Province During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period" explicitly emphasize the need to strengthen the development of public health talent and enhance grassroots service capabilities. In 2025, the National Health Commission and other departments jointly issued the "Opinions on the Development of Interdisciplinary Strategic Talent in Medicine, Prevention, and Management," and the State Council approved the "Implementation Plan for the Healthcare Strengthening Foundation Project." These documents propose enhancing practical capabilities and scientific decision-making for responding to public health emergencies and cultivating interdisciplinary talent in medicine, prevention, and management. Therefore, breaking down the institutional barriers that separate prevention and treatment and advancing the development of a talent pool that integrates medicine and prevention have become key directions for the future of public health. At the practical level, various regions have begun exploring and launching training programs for interdisciplinary public health talent, reinforcing the integration of medicine and prevention. The exploration from top-level design to local practice has provided momentum for restructuring the curricula and integrating the practices of clinical medicine and preventive medicine, while also highlighting the urgency of current medical education reform. 2 Requirements and Trends in Public Health Talent Cultivation under the Integrated Healthcare and Disease Prevention Concept In the new era, public health has shifted from a disease-centered to a health-centered approach, emphasizing whole-life-cycle health management and integrating medical care and prevention as a core focus in public health education. Grassroots public health work is not merely a medical issue but also involves social governance, policy coordination, and resource integration. Therefore, the cultivation of grassroots public health professionals should achieve three fundamental transformations: from the transmission of isolated preventive knowledge to the integration of clinical and public health knowledge, from disease prevention and control skills training to the cultivation of comprehensive health management capabilities, and from specialized domain thinking to a systemic health governance mindset. Applied public health professionals need to possess core competencies: first, an integrated knowledge system combining clinical and public health expertise, including theories of common disease diagnosis and treatment, infectious disease prevention and control, and health management; second, the ability to practice clinical-public health collaboration, such as conducting disease screening, joint medical-preventive diagnosis and treatment, and community health interventions; third, the capacity for multi-sectoral collaboration and resource integration; and fourth, data-driven health decision-making skills, enabling the comprehensive use of clinical and public health data for situational analysis and policy recommendations [ 19 ]. In the practice of talent cultivation, undergraduate education is gradually shifting toward more flexible and innovative training methods. On one hand, the teaching model is transitioning toward a deep integration of "theory and practice," incorporating practical courses and social service projects into the classroom to enhance students' hands-on operational capabilities. This is reflected in: 1) The continuous strengthening of university-local collaboration, where training bases are established between universities and grassroots medical institutions or disease control centers, enabling students to understand the intrinsic logic of integrating prevention and treatment through practical experience. 2) Promoting the deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application, transforming real-world grassroots public health projects into teaching cases to enhance students' ability to address complex health issues. On the other hand, the rapid development of information technology has changed both the content and methods of teaching. Technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data are being applied to infectious disease surveillance, early warning systems, and health trend analysis. This demands that grassroots public health professionals be able to use emerging technologies to support decision-making. Therefore, incorporating interdisciplinary modules such as data science and artificial intelligence into the curriculum and skillfully applying these intelligent tools throughout the teaching process has become a clear trend for future development [ 20 , 21 ]. 3 Practical Exploration: Training Models for Applied Public Health Professionals 3.1 Cultivation Orientation Guided by Social Needs The school adheres to the educational philosophy of "cultivating virtue and nurturing talents, integrating medical education, promoting industry-academia collaboration, and prioritizing practical application." Based in Xiamen and serving Fujian Province, it has established the goal of cultivating high-quality, application-oriented public health professionals who emphasize "medical expertise, public health proficiency, and strong technical skills." This orientation emphasizes integrating medical treatment and disease prevention, combining clinical care with public health measures. It focuses on synergistically developing both clinical diagnostic capabilities and public health literacy, aiming to strengthen students' practical ability to address and resolve complex public health issues in real-world scenarios. The Preventive Medicine program has a five-year academic structure, with the training process divided into three stages. The first stage lasts for two academic years and focuses on building a solid foundation in medical sciences and fostering humanistic literacy. The second stage spans one academic year, during which students acquire clinical medical knowledge and skills. Throughout this stage, students complete theoretical studies at teaching hospitals while rotating through various departments for practical training. The third stage spans two academic years, during which students systematically master public health expertise. Instruction is centered around real-world work processes, providing the theoretical and technical foundation for entering production internships. Additionally, students undertake graduation projects and professional internships during this period (Fig. 1 ). 3.2 Constructing an Integrated Curriculum System 3.2.1 Modular Design of Courses Centered on professional competencies, a curriculum system structured around "competency modules" has been established. The course design is guided by the program's educational positioning and talent cultivation objectives, and it adopts a modular approach. Related courses are arranged to connect across consecutive semesters, enabling students to acquire knowledge systematically. While strictly adhering to the National Standards for Undergraduate Teaching Quality, interdisciplinary courses such as imaging, neurology, health big data, and community preventive medicine have been added as electives to strengthen the integration of clinical and preventive knowledge. The curriculum structure consists of 160 credits for required courses, 35 credits for elective courses, and 49 credits for professional practice, totaling 244 credits. This systematically covers the entire process from basic medicine and clinical skills to public health expertise. 3.2.2 Integrating Humanities and Practical Courses The college actively promotes the integration of humanities and social sciences courses, constructing a modular elective course cluster centered on the concept of "integration of medical and preventive care," thereby forming a training framework of "core competencies + specialized directions." By offering humanities and social sciences courses such as medical sociology and social etiquette, and linking them with clinical skills training and public health practice, the curriculum strengthens the awareness of humanistic care in health promotion. During summer internships, teaching projects such as "whole-process management of chronic diseases" and "case studies on health equity" are primarily conducted in community health service centers and health clinics. These initiatives integrate humanistic care training into grassroots service areas such as chronic disease management and family doctor contracting, enhancing systematic thinking and empathy in grassroots health governance. 3.2.3 Developing Specialized Courses for Medical-Preventive Integration Distinctive practical courses such as Field Epidemiology, Public Health Emergency Response , and Comprehensive Public Health Field Practice have been established, integrating skill training in emergency response, on-site testing, sample collection, and risk communication into authentic work settings. The curriculum design emphasizes a four-in-one concept of "knowledge-skills-methods-practice," with instruction conducted on-site at institutions such as disease control centers and third-party testing agencies. This approach strengthens students' practical capabilities in simulated scenarios, including outbreaks, poisoning incidents, and environmental emergencies. For instance, simulated case-based teaching projects have been developed, covering areas such as occupational poisoning emergency response, acute infectious disease emergency response, environmental pollution emergency response, risk communication and on-site management, investigation of outbreaks of unknown etiology, food poisoning scenarios, public health surveillance and evaluation in public spaces, and occupational health monitoring and assessment in workplaces. By simulating emergency response procedures in real-world environments, students master the fundamental methods and techniques of public health emergency response. The curriculum focuses on cultivating students' abilities in on-site detection and assessment of public health emergencies, epidemiological investigation, on-site disinfection and disposal, and personal protective skills, thereby comprehensively enhancing their adaptive and integrative capabilities in actual emergencies. The outcomes of course development not only serve the preventive medicine major but also actively promote the integration of medical and preventive concepts into other disciplines. One course has been recognized as a provincial-level first-class course, while the Preventive Medicine course offered to clinical majors has been awarded national-level first-class course status. 3.3 Strengthening Integrated Practical Teaching 3.3.1 Innovating Experimental Teaching Projects Guided by the demands of professional roles, the proportion of comprehensive, design-oriented experiments has increased, integrating real-world cases and practical work scenarios into experimental teaching. For instance, courses such as Public Health Emergency Response and Comprehensive Public Health Field Practice incorporate investigations of sudden poisoning incidents, public health surveillance in public spaces, and simulations of foodborne disease outbreaks into their experimental content. This approach enhances students' hands-on skills and emergency response thinking by utilizing actual cases in instruction. Furthermore, the proportion of comprehensive, design-oriented experimental projects has been significantly expanded to ensure they are more integrative and innovative. 3.3.2 Strengthening Clinical and Professional Internships In the third academic year, students are arranged to undertake clinical rotations and internships at teaching hospitals to enhance their capabilities in disease diagnosis and treatment. During the summer break, students participate in practical training at community health service centers, allowing them early exposure to grassroots public health services. In the fifth academic year, a 10-week professional internship is organized, with placements at disease control centers (8 weeks) and health supervision institutions (2 weeks). This internship focuses on training core public health competencies, including epidemiological investigations, health education, and emergency response. 3.3.3 Expanding Second Classroom Activities and Research Training Through mentorship programs and "second classroom" activities, we have strengthened research training and provided practical opportunities throughout the five years of students' university education. On one hand, we encourage students to engage in research early and frequently, actively participate in faculty-led research projects, and apply for initiatives such as the College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, thereby cultivating scientific research thinking and skills through multiple avenues. On the other hand, through the volunteer service module in the second classroom, students participate in hands-on activities such as epidemiological surveys, data entry, questionnaire collection, and analysis, thereby enhancing their research capabilities and practical skills. 3.3.4 Establishing Virtual Teaching and Research Sections to Promote University-Enterprise Collaboration We have strengthened the construction of practical teaching bases by fully leveraging the hardware resources and platforms of disease prevention and control institutions, health supervision agencies, food and drug regulatory bodies, and third-party testing organizations. To date, 37 practical teaching bases have been established in collaboration with local public health institutions. Through the signing of university-local strategic cooperation agreements, we have developed a collaborative model characterized by "teaching-research synergy and mutual appointments," and on this basis, established a virtual public health teaching and research section that integrates university and local resources. In partnership with frontline public health experts at the municipal and district levels, we have jointly developed specialized courses, creating an "on-site classroom" that connects schools, industries, and enterprises. This reform in practical teaching was awarded the second prize in the university-level teaching achievement awards. The curriculum design breaks through the limitations of traditional classroom teaching, encouraging students to step out of the classroom and into real-world settings such as enterprises, hospitals, and factories. Through interactions with industry experts and corporate mentors, students gain a deeper understanding of the processes and techniques used to manage public health events. In practice, students actively participate in responding to frontline public health incidents, thereby enhancing their ability to address emergencies and solve practical problems. Furthermore, during the freshman and sophomore years, experts from fields such as disease control, food safety, environmental monitoring, and public health emergency response are invited to deliver the "Public Health Masters Academic Lecture Series." Senior professionals from the Fujian Provincial and local Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, customs offices, health supervision institutes, and third-party testing companies are invited to share their practical work experience and the latest research findings in the public health sector. This initiative fosters a strong academic atmosphere, broadens students' perspectives, and strengthens their professional identity. 4 Achievements in Talent Cultivation A two-phase questionnaire survey was conducted in 2024 among the inaugural cohort of preventive medicine graduates from Xiamen Medical College to evaluate the effectiveness of their training, focusing on employment outcomes, educational satisfaction, and self-assessed competencies. The first phase was carried out from May to June 2024 using the China Medical Students Survey (CMSS) graduate questionnaire. The questionnaire used in this study was based on the China Medical Students Survey (CMSS), a nationwide survey of medical students in China. The development and validation of the CMSS framework have been described previously [ 22 ]. Students provided feedback on the quality of medical education, satisfaction with graduation assessments (including format, difficulty, and fairness), internship experiences (environment, teaching, and resources), overall evaluation of the internship, and self-assessment of competencies. Responses were recorded on a 1–6 scale, representing "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" or "very dissatisfied" to "very satisfied." In this phase, 60 questionnaires were distributed, yielding 37 valid responses, for an effective response rate of 61.67%. The second phase was conducted in May 2025 as a follow-up survey to track employment status one year after graduation. In this phase, 60 questionnaires were distributed, and all 60 were returned as valid responses, achieving a 100% response rate. This survey gathered detailed information on graduates' employment positions, locations, and provinces, providing a basis for further evaluation of the training program's effectiveness. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participation in the study, which was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xiamen Medical College. The data’s integrity and validity were verified through a thorough review. 4.1 The quality of teaching and training received high recognition from students. The survey results indicate that 81.08% of respondents reported "satisfaction" or higher with the quality of medical education received during their studies. Specifically, students held exceptionally positive views of graduation assessments: 91.89%, 94.59%, and 97.30% of graduates considered the assessment format "reasonable," the difficulty level "appropriate," and the process "fair and impartial," respectively. Regarding practical training, students also reported high levels of satisfaction with the internship environment, teaching quality, and available resources, with mean scores of 5.32 ± 0.93, 4.89 ± 0.91, and 5.23 ± 1.03, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the design and implementation of the training model have received strong student approval, laying a solid foundation for subsequent favorable employment outcomes and competency development. 4.2 Self-assessed competencies reflect the cultivation objective of "emphasizing medicine, excelling in public health, and strengthening skills." The self-assessment data from graduates indicate that they scored highest in three key areas: "clinical/public health practice skills," "sense of responsibility for promoting population health," and "communication and expression abilities" (Fig. 3 ). These results demonstrate that the cultivation objective of "emphasizing medicine, excelling in public health, and strengthening skills" has been internalized as students' core competencies. Graduates have not only mastered professional public health skills but have also developed the clinical thinking, humanistic care, and comprehensive emergency response capabilities essential for frontline work at the grassroots level. This equips them to serve as independent "gatekeepers" for regional health. Xiamen Medical College has successfully cultivated applied public health professionals with both academic advancement potential and grassroots service capabilities through an integrated medical-prevention training pathway. Graduates have not only achieved flexibility in career mobility, being equally adept in higher-level institutions and community-based roles, but have also demonstrated integrated competencies in both prevention and treatment. Particularly in chronic disease management and public health emergency response, they demonstrate professional confidence in independent analysis and rapid decision-making, providing robust talent support to safeguard regional public health security. 4.3 Employment Structure Reflects the Service Orientation of "Adaptability to Both Higher and Grassroots Levels" Survey data indicate that among the first graduating cohort, 41.67% (25/60) pursued further education, while 58.33% (35/60) entered the workforce. In terms of employment location by province, over 60% of graduates chose to work in Fujian Province. The proportion of graduates employed in eastern regions is relatively high, whereas employment rates in central and western regions are comparatively lower (Table 1 ). Among employed graduates, regarding the alignment between their place of origin and employment location, over 75% serve within Fujian Province's grassroots public health system, aligning with the institution's educational mission of "rooted in Xiamen, radiating across Fujian, and serving local communities" (see Fig. 2 ). In terms of career destinations, over 80% of employed graduates (28/35) hold positions within the public health and related sectors. Among these, 34.29% (12/35) are employed at various public health institutions (such as disease control and prevention centers), and 22.86% (8/35) have joined pharmaceutical, healthcare, and testing companies, integrating the concept of medical-prevention convergence into industry practice. Some graduates work at key "medical-prevention integration points," including public health departments, infection control units in medical institutions, and community health service centers. In areas such as chronic disease management, infectious disease surveillance and reporting, health education, and health promotion, they apply clinical knowledge to understand cases and combine preventive measures to manage populations, thereby serving as a bridge connecting clinical diagnosis and treatment with public health services. Table 1 Employment Status of Graduates from the Five-Year Preventive Medicine Program at Xiamen Medical College, Class of 2024 (N = 60) Category Option Frequency Percentage Employment Position Further Education 25 41.67% Health Administration Departments 3 5.00% Public Health Institutions 12 20.00% Medical and Health Institutions 3 5.00% Pharmaceutical Companies, Testing Companies 8 13.33% Other Public Institutions 3 5.00% Others 6 10.00% Employment Region Eastern Region 48 80.00% Central Region 4 6.67% Western Region 8 13.33% Employment Location Prefecture-level Cities 47 78.33% County-level Cities or Counties 12 20.00% First-tier Cities 2 3.33% Employment Province Fujian Province 39 65.00% Sichuan Province 6 10.00% Guangdong Province 2 3.33% Beijing 2 3.33% Hunan Province 2 3.33% Heilongjiang Province 2 3.33% Shanghai 1 1.67% Henan Province 1 1.67% Jiangxi Province 1 1.67% Tianjin 1 1.67% Anhui Province 1 1.67% Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 1 1.67% Chongqing 1 1.67% Total 60 100.00% 4.4 The Capability of Medical-Prevention Integration is Comprehensively Demonstrated in Practical Scenarios This is specifically reflected in the deep integration of two dimensions: "promoting prevention through medicine" and "supporting medicine through prevention." In terms of "promoting prevention through medicine," students address the gap in traditional public health education—where professionals are often skilled in prevention but lack clinical expertise—through systematic clinical coursework and hospital internships. For instance, in chronic disease management practice, students can interpret medical examination reports and clinical records, understand patients' overall diagnostic and treatment pathways, and thereby design personalized health management plans that align with clinical treatment and individual needs. In simulated or real emergency scenarios, they can independently conduct preliminary cause inference and risk assessment based on patients' clinical symptoms and signs, combined with epidemiological data, providing timely and accurate medical evidence for subsequent critical control measures such as isolation, disinfection, and protection. Regarding "supporting medicine through prevention," public health perspectives also enrich clinical practice. During clinical internships, students not only address individual diseases but also consciously adopt a population-based perspective, focusing on disease distribution patterns, social determinants, and holistic prevention strategies. This cultivates an initial integrated mindset centered on "population health." Students' extracurricular achievements corroborate the effectiveness of this training pathway. Since the program's establishment in 2019, students have collectively secured 5 national first prizes, 11 provincial third prizes, and 3 outstanding achievement awards in professional skills competitions. In academic contests, they have earned 1 national second prize, 1 national third prize, 1 provincial second prize, 3 provincial third prizes, and 3 outstanding achievement awards. Additionally, students have led 1 national-level and 4 provincial-level innovation and entrepreneurship projects for undergraduates. These accomplishments reflect the students' comprehensive ability to integrate clinical knowledge with preventive strategies in addressing complex public health challenges (Table 2 ). Table 2 Student Competition Awards and Project Approvals Category National Level Provincial Level Professional Skills Competitions First Prize: 5 items Third Prize: 11 items, Outstanding Achievement Award: 3 items Academic Competitions Second Prize: 1 item, Third Prize: 1 item Second Prize: 1 item, Third Prize: 3 items, Outstanding Achievement Award: 3 items Innovation and Entrepreneurship Projects for Undergraduates Leading Project: 1 item Leading Project: 4 items 5 Conclusion Applied public health professionals are pivotal to advancing the integration of medical and preventive healthcare mechanisms. This paper analyzes the current public health talent cultivation system and explores the challenges and opportunities faced by grassroots medical colleges in fostering interdisciplinary professionals. Practice demonstrates that integrating interdisciplinary knowledge systems with clinical training is key to enhancing the quality of applied public health talent. Employment data further reflects the effectiveness of this talent cultivation model, offering valuable insights for other local institutions and carrying significant theoretical and practical implications. However, the study focuses solely on the practices of a single institution. Future research could validate its broader applicability through more extensive case studies and explore more efficient talent cultivation strategies. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xiamen Medical College. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participation in the study. Consent for publication Not Applicable. Availability of data and materials The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Competing Interests The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Funding This research was supported by the Education and Teaching Research Project for Undergraduate Universities in Fujian Province (No. FBJY20250029, No. FBJY20240090); the Fujian Province Young and Middle-aged Teacher Education Research Project (General Project in Social Sciences) (No. JAS24154); and the 2025 Xiamen Medical College Pilot Course "Comprehensive Practice in Public Health Field" under the "AI Empowering Curriculum Reform" Initiative (AIKC2025015). Authors' contributions Study design: Wang Juan, Li Liming, Xia Xiaochun Data collection: Wu Lanlan, Liu Xiangquan, Xia Xiaochun Manuscript preparation & translation: Xiaomei Hong, Xia Xiaochun Data analysis & interpretation: Xiaomei Hong, Wang Juan, Xia Xiaochun Supervision: Li Liming All authors have made contributions to this work, approved the final version, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the study. They are aware of and consent to the content of the paper and their authorship. Acknowledgements The authors thank all the study participating schools and participants for their assistance. References Shao L, Zhao W. Challenges for China’s medical education in the coming post-COVID-19 era. Natl Sci Rev. 2020;7(10):1617–21. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/ nwaa168 . Tao FB. (2020). [Healing the Schism Between Public Health and Medicine, Promoting the Integration of Prevention and Treatment]. In Zhonghua yufang yixue zazhi. Wu Z, Tian H, Xu D, Chen J, Hu Y, Wang X, Zhou S. 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Ni Y, Wang Y, Wen Z, Fang J, Xu J, Wu S, Sawmadal JD, Jama HA. Optimization path of primary public health service talent team construction: a largescale survey in Huaihai Economic Zone, China. Front public health. 2024;12:1399857. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1399857 . Hou J, Wang Z, Liu X, Luo Y, Sabharwal S, Wang N, Meng Q. Public health education at China’s higher education institutions: a time-series analysis from 1998 to 2012. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5605-4 . Zeng W, Li G, Turbat V, Hu G, Ahn H, Shen J. Optimizing preventive medicine to bridge the gap between clinical medicine and public health for disease control in China: A lesson from COVID-19. Prev Med. 2021;143:106324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106324 . Yu Y, Qin Y, Liao Y, Yang Z, Wen P, Wu J, Rong P. A cross-sectional study on the response abilities of clinical and preventive medical students in public health emergency. Front Public Health. 2022;10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1017063 . de León EA, Muscat NA, Codd MB, Czabanowska K, Jakubowski E. WHO’s essential public health functions for framing education and training. Public Health Forum. 2025;33(1):3–7. https://doi.org/10.1515/pubhef-2024-0154 . Sullivan LM, Weist EM, Barrington WE, Fairchild AL, Hwang W, Kiviniemi MT, Mohammed SD, Wyant VA, Alexander LA, Magaña L. Education for public health 2030: transformation to meet health needs in a changing world. Front Public Health. 2023;11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1269272 . Nagi F, Salih R, Alzubaidi M, Shah H, Alam T, Shah Z, Househ M. Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medical Education: A Scoping Review. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2023;305:648–51. https://doi.org/10.3233/SHTI230581 . Wu HB, Xie AN, Yu C, Wang WM. The design and implementation of the investigation on the cultivation and development of medical students in China. Chin Med Educ. 2021;41(2):117–21. 10.3760/cma.j.cn115259-20200328-00445 . http://dx.chinadoi.cn/ . Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 27 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 27 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 20 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 19 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 19 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9102927","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":613900066,"identity":"6f8cbcef-a6e9-4894-a533-bb971071e56c","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaomei Hong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xiamen Medical College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaomei","middleName":"","lastName":"Hong","suffix":""},{"id":613900067,"identity":"71fef473-542a-409f-9f9b-38356371f2ac","order_by":1,"name":"Juan Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xiamen Medical College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Juan","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":613900068,"identity":"45ca97df-2f39-4fff-bb97-f0d94e177e3c","order_by":2,"name":"Lanlan Wu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xiamen Medical College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lanlan","middleName":"","lastName":"Wu","suffix":""},{"id":613900069,"identity":"0df779d9-4a50-4a38-8703-56214ceb76d2","order_by":3,"name":"Xiangquan Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xiamen Medical College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiangquan","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":613900070,"identity":"ab214746-57b2-4deb-9936-08c0694062c4","order_by":4,"name":"Liming Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xiamen Medical College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liming","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":613900071,"identity":"0c750262-01e6-47bf-b64e-fd9b9f9fa904","order_by":5,"name":"Xiaochun Xia","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZiBOAGIDBgbGB1AxA6K1MMOUEtACA0BlbBJEaTE4zvxM4kGNjby5RO6xat6cbfIM7M3bJBhq7uDUItnMZmyQcCzNcOeMvLSbM7fdNmzgOVYmwXDsGU4t/MwMhg8S2A4nGNzIMbvxcdvtBAaJHDMJxobDOLWwMbN/OJDwD6KlIBGkRf4Nfi38zDyGDxLbIFoYILbw4Nci2cxTbJDYl2a44cwbY0mQX9p40ootEo7h1mJw/vg2yR/fbOQNjucYfubddluen/3wxhsfanBrweI7EJFAgoZRMApGwSgYBZgAAIimUNq8X+8GAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Xiamen Medical College","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaochun","middleName":"","lastName":"Xia","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-12 09:26:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9102927/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9102927/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105848090,"identity":"b31265d5-2f60-48b2-93b3-ded241386df6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-31 18:32:54","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":186683,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePathway Chart for the Five-Year Undergraduate Program in Preventive Medicine at Xiamen Medical College\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9102927/v1/d5fb5bf5d0f1ab4ec34e9cd4.png"},{"id":105848092,"identity":"c4a900d7-fd51-4886-8c7d-a35ab760e977","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-31 18:32:54","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":79088,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePie Chart of the Consistency Between Hometowns and Employment Locations for the 2024 Graduates of the Five-Year Preventive Medicine Program at Xiamen Medical College\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9102927/v1/384e02d58fefb10f87e6d3ce.png"},{"id":105904918,"identity":"9a7c66ef-0b6b-49da-8bab-a4c6592bd2b9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-01 10:11:04","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":72801,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eBar Chart of Self-Assessed Competencies of the 2024 Graduates of the Five-Year Preventive Medicine Program at Xiamen Medical College\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9102927/v1/274bc7ea87ef1f51685ef815.png"},{"id":105911488,"identity":"ef2f4618-a070-4462-8e76-18637578b345","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-01 10:53:52","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1265741,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9102927/v1/6aaffaa7-884f-4798-b6af-9c0327c48d7c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Reflection on the Training Pathway for Applied Public Health Talents under the Integration of Medicine and Prevention","fulltext":[{"header":"Background","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe implementation of the \"Healthy China 2030\" strategy, coupled with the paradigm shift toward the biological-psychological-social medical model, has fundamentally redefined the role and expectations of public health personnel in China. This transformation necessitates a comprehensive overhaul of the public health talent training system to bridge the long-standing schism between clinical medicine and public health, a division that was starkly exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It exposing a critical schism between clinical medicine and public health that has long hindered an effective, unified response to health threats [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. This division is not merely academic; it manifests in a workforce ill-equipped for the integrated service model now mandated by national policy, where primary care providers must simultaneously manage individual patient care and execute community-wide public health functions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. The core challenge lies in dismantling the entrenched \"three emphases and three neglects\" paradigm\u0026mdash;prioritizing technology over humanities, prevention over clinical practice, and individuals over systems\u0026mdash;which has produced graduates with robust theoretical knowledge but deficient practical, interdisciplinary, and systems-thinking skills [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA successful overhaul of the public health talent pipeline must begin with a radical curriculum reform that dissolves the artificial boundaries between basic medicine, clinical medicine, and preventive medicine. Current curricula often relegate clinical courses to a secondary status within preventive medicine programs [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. This is a critical flaw, as frontline public health personnel are increasingly required to engage in activities that demand a deep understanding of disease pathophysiology and clinical management, from interpreting diagnostic tests during an outbreak to managing the complex comorbidities of patients with chronic diseases in a community setting [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. The solution is to embed a robust clinical foundation within the preventive medicine curriculum, ensuring that future public health professionals possess the necessary medical literacy to communicate effectively with clinicians, understand the full spectrum of a disease's natural history, and contribute meaningfully to integrated care teams.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, the cultivation of these new professionals must be grounded in a biopsychosocial model of health, which necessitates a deliberate integration of the humanities and social sciences into a traditionally techno-centric curriculum [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. A qualitative and quantitative study successfully constructed a general competency model for Chinese public health physicians, identifying key domains for managing public health emergencies and routine services [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. Public health is fundamentally a human endeavor, requiring skills in communication, ethics, cultural humility, and collaborative governance that are not acquired through the study of epidemiology and biostatistics alone [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. Training must equip students to navigate the complex social determinants of health, engage with diverse communities, and build the trust essential for effective public health interventions. This humanistic grounding is particularly crucial for grassroots personnel who serve as the primary interface between the health system and the community, where their ability to foster relationships and understand local contexts can be as important as their technical knowledge [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe concept of \"the integration of medical care and prevention\" provides a timely framework for this transformation, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary convergence and a focus on the entire life cycle of health and disease [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. This requires moving beyond a narrow focus on infectious disease control to prepare professionals for the dual burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and emerging infectious threats [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. An effective training model must therefore incorporate competencies in chronic disease management, health promotion, behavioral science, and health systems navigation, alongside traditional outbreak response skills. A competency-based approach, explicitly defining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for success in an integrated health system, can provide a clear roadmap for curriculum development and assessment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. A critical foundation for this new system is the explicit adoption of a competency-based framework. Research has moved beyond vague descriptions of roles to define the specific competencies required for modern public health practice.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"1. Current Status and Challenges in the Development of Grassroots Public Health Talent","content":"\u003cp\u003eUnder the guidance of the \"Healthy China 2030\" strategy, interdisciplinary medical professionals with integrated medical and preventive capabilities have become pivotal in implementing the principles of health and healthcare work. However, the development of grassroots public health talent in China still faces numerous challenges, including imbalanced human resource allocation, irrational professional structures, and overall low levels of academic qualifications and professional titles [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe expansion of higher education institutions offering public health and preventive medicine programs\u0026mdash;from merely 44 in 1998 to 142 undergraduate and 62 vocational colleges by 2024\u0026mdash;reflects a quantitative response to workforce demands [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. Yet this numerical growth has not translated into qualitative alignment with the evolving needs of the public health system. The core deficiency lies in the persistent \"separation of prevention and treatment\" embedded within curricular design and pedagogical practice. Preventive medicine programs, which should serve as the primary pipeline for integrated public health practitioners, often prioritize theoretical epidemiology and health policy at the expense of essential clinical competencies. Critical courses such as internal medicine, surgery, diagnostics, and clinical reasoning are frequently minimized or taught in isolation from population health contexts [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. Consequently, graduates possess limited ability to interpret clinical presentations, understand therapeutic protocols, or communicate effectively with clinicians during outbreak investigations or chronic disease management initiatives. This educational bifurcation produces clinicians who lack the foundational knowledge to participate meaningfully in preventive strategies, such as vaccination campaigns, cancer screening programs, or antimicrobial stewardship [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. The resulting professional dichotomy: \"prevention professionals unfamiliar with diagnosis and treatment, and clinical professionals ignorant of prevention and control\", where seamless coordination between clinical care and public health response was critical yet often hampered by mutual knowledge gaps [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn response to the aforementioned challenges, both national and local governments have introduced a series of policies to guide talent cultivation reform. The \"14th Five-Year Plan for Health Talent Development\" and the \"Implementation Opinions on Health Talent Development in Fujian Province During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period\" explicitly emphasize the need to strengthen the development of public health talent and enhance grassroots service capabilities. In 2025, the National Health Commission and other departments jointly issued the \"Opinions on the Development of Interdisciplinary Strategic Talent in Medicine, Prevention, and Management,\" and the State Council approved the \"Implementation Plan for the Healthcare Strengthening Foundation Project.\" These documents propose enhancing practical capabilities and scientific decision-making for responding to public health emergencies and cultivating interdisciplinary talent in medicine, prevention, and management. Therefore, breaking down the institutional barriers that separate prevention and treatment and advancing the development of a talent pool that integrates medicine and prevention have become key directions for the future of public health. At the practical level, various regions have begun exploring and launching training programs for interdisciplinary public health talent, reinforcing the integration of medicine and prevention. The exploration from top-level design to local practice has provided momentum for restructuring the curricula and integrating the practices of clinical medicine and preventive medicine, while also highlighting the urgency of current medical education reform.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Requirements and Trends in Public Health Talent Cultivation under the Integrated Healthcare and Disease Prevention Concept\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the new era, public health has shifted from a disease-centered to a health-centered approach, emphasizing whole-life-cycle health management and integrating medical care and prevention as a core focus in public health education. Grassroots public health work is not merely a medical issue but also involves social governance, policy coordination, and resource integration. Therefore, the cultivation of grassroots public health professionals should achieve three fundamental transformations: from the transmission of isolated preventive knowledge to the integration of clinical and public health knowledge, from disease prevention and control skills training to the cultivation of comprehensive health management capabilities, and from specialized domain thinking to a systemic health governance mindset. Applied public health professionals need to possess core competencies: first, an integrated knowledge system combining clinical and public health expertise, including theories of common disease diagnosis and treatment, infectious disease prevention and control, and health management; second, the ability to practice clinical-public health collaboration, such as conducting disease screening, joint medical-preventive diagnosis and treatment, and community health interventions; third, the capacity for multi-sectoral collaboration and resource integration; and fourth, data-driven health decision-making skills, enabling the comprehensive use of clinical and public health data for situational analysis and policy recommendations [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the practice of talent cultivation, undergraduate education is gradually shifting toward more flexible and innovative training methods. On one hand, the teaching model is transitioning toward a deep integration of \"theory and practice,\" incorporating practical courses and social service projects into the classroom to enhance students' hands-on operational capabilities. This is reflected in: 1) The continuous strengthening of university-local collaboration, where training bases are established between universities and grassroots medical institutions or disease control centers, enabling students to understand the intrinsic logic of integrating prevention and treatment through practical experience. 2) Promoting the deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application, transforming real-world grassroots public health projects into teaching cases to enhance students' ability to address complex health issues. On the other hand, the rapid development of information technology has changed both the content and methods of teaching. Technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data are being applied to infectious disease surveillance, early warning systems, and health trend analysis. This demands that grassroots public health professionals be able to use emerging technologies to support decision-making. Therefore, incorporating interdisciplinary modules such as data science and artificial intelligence into the curriculum and skillfully applying these intelligent tools throughout the teaching process has become a clear trend for future development [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"3 Practical Exploration: Training Models for Applied Public Health Professionals","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Cultivation Orientation Guided by Social Needs\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe school adheres to the educational philosophy of \"cultivating virtue and nurturing talents, integrating medical education, promoting industry-academia collaboration, and prioritizing practical application.\" Based in Xiamen and serving Fujian Province, it has established the goal of cultivating high-quality, application-oriented public health professionals who emphasize \"medical expertise, public health proficiency, and strong technical skills.\" This orientation emphasizes integrating medical treatment and disease prevention, combining clinical care with public health measures. It focuses on synergistically developing both clinical diagnostic capabilities and public health literacy, aiming to strengthen students' practical ability to address and resolve complex public health issues in real-world scenarios.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Preventive Medicine program has a five-year academic structure, with the training process divided into three stages. The first stage lasts for two academic years and focuses on building a solid foundation in medical sciences and fostering humanistic literacy. The second stage spans one academic year, during which students acquire clinical medical knowledge and skills. Throughout this stage, students complete theoretical studies at teaching hospitals while rotating through various departments for practical training. The third stage spans two academic years, during which students systematically master public health expertise. Instruction is centered around real-world work processes, providing the theoretical and technical foundation for entering production internships. Additionally, students undertake graduation projects and professional internships during this period (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Constructing an Integrated Curriculum System\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2.1 Modular Design of Courses\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eCentered on professional competencies, a curriculum system structured around \"competency modules\" has been established. The course design is guided by the program's educational positioning and talent cultivation objectives, and it adopts a modular approach. Related courses are arranged to connect across consecutive semesters, enabling students to acquire knowledge systematically. While strictly adhering to the National Standards for Undergraduate Teaching Quality, interdisciplinary courses such as imaging, neurology, health big data, and community preventive medicine have been added as electives to strengthen the integration of clinical and preventive knowledge. The curriculum structure consists of 160 credits for required courses, 35 credits for elective courses, and 49 credits for professional practice, totaling 244 credits. This systematically covers the entire process from basic medicine and clinical skills to public health expertise.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2.2 Integrating Humanities and Practical Courses\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe college actively promotes the integration of humanities and social sciences courses, constructing a modular elective course cluster centered on the concept of \"integration of medical and preventive care,\" thereby forming a training framework of \"core competencies\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;specialized directions.\" By offering humanities and social sciences courses such as medical sociology and social etiquette, and linking them with clinical skills training and public health practice, the curriculum strengthens the awareness of humanistic care in health promotion. During summer internships, teaching projects such as \"whole-process management of chronic diseases\" and \"case studies on health equity\" are primarily conducted in community health service centers and health clinics. These initiatives integrate humanistic care training into grassroots service areas such as chronic disease management and family doctor contracting, enhancing systematic thinking and empathy in grassroots health governance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2.3 Developing Specialized Courses for Medical-Preventive Integration\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDistinctive practical courses such as \u003cem\u003eField Epidemiology, Public Health Emergency Response\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eComprehensive Public Health Field Practice\u003c/em\u003e have been established, integrating skill training in emergency response, on-site testing, sample collection, and risk communication into authentic work settings. The curriculum design emphasizes a four-in-one concept of \"knowledge-skills-methods-practice,\" with instruction conducted on-site at institutions such as disease control centers and third-party testing agencies. This approach strengthens students' practical capabilities in simulated scenarios, including outbreaks, poisoning incidents, and environmental emergencies. For instance, simulated case-based teaching projects have been developed, covering areas such as occupational poisoning emergency response, acute infectious disease emergency response, environmental pollution emergency response, risk communication and on-site management, investigation of outbreaks of unknown etiology, food poisoning scenarios, public health surveillance and evaluation in public spaces, and occupational health monitoring and assessment in workplaces. By simulating emergency response procedures in real-world environments, students master the fundamental methods and techniques of public health emergency response. The curriculum focuses on cultivating students' abilities in on-site detection and assessment of public health emergencies, epidemiological investigation, on-site disinfection and disposal, and personal protective skills, thereby comprehensively enhancing their adaptive and integrative capabilities in actual emergencies. The outcomes of course development not only serve the preventive medicine major but also actively promote the integration of medical and preventive concepts into other disciplines. One course has been recognized as a provincial-level first-class course, while the \u003cem\u003ePreventive Medicine\u003c/em\u003e course offered to clinical majors has been awarded national-level first-class course status.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Strengthening Integrated Practical Teaching\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3.1 Innovating Experimental Teaching Projects\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eGuided by the demands of professional roles, the proportion of comprehensive, design-oriented experiments has increased, integrating real-world cases and practical work scenarios into experimental teaching. For instance, courses such as Public Health Emergency Response and Comprehensive Public Health Field Practice incorporate investigations of sudden poisoning incidents, public health surveillance in public spaces, and simulations of foodborne disease outbreaks into their experimental content. This approach enhances students' hands-on skills and emergency response thinking by utilizing actual cases in instruction. Furthermore, the proportion of comprehensive, design-oriented experimental projects has been significantly expanded to ensure they are more integrative and innovative.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3.2 Strengthening Clinical and Professional Internships\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the third academic year, students are arranged to undertake clinical rotations and internships at teaching hospitals to enhance their capabilities in disease diagnosis and treatment. During the summer break, students participate in practical training at community health service centers, allowing them early exposure to grassroots public health services. In the fifth academic year, a 10-week professional internship is organized, with placements at disease control centers (8 weeks) and health supervision institutions (2 weeks). This internship focuses on training core public health competencies, including epidemiological investigations, health education, and emergency response.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3.3 Expanding Second Classroom Activities and Research Training\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThrough mentorship programs and \"second classroom\" activities, we have strengthened research training and provided practical opportunities throughout the five years of students' university education. On one hand, we encourage students to engage in research early and frequently, actively participate in faculty-led research projects, and apply for initiatives such as the College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, thereby cultivating scientific research thinking and skills through multiple avenues. On the other hand, through the volunteer service module in the second classroom, students participate in hands-on activities such as epidemiological surveys, data entry, questionnaire collection, and analysis, thereby enhancing their research capabilities and practical skills.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3.4 Establishing Virtual Teaching and Research Sections to Promote University-Enterprise Collaboration\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe have strengthened the construction of practical teaching bases by fully leveraging the hardware resources and platforms of disease prevention and control institutions, health supervision agencies, food and drug regulatory bodies, and third-party testing organizations. To date, 37 practical teaching bases have been established in collaboration with local public health institutions. Through the signing of university-local strategic cooperation agreements, we have developed a collaborative model characterized by \"teaching-research synergy and mutual appointments,\" and on this basis, established a virtual public health teaching and research section that integrates university and local resources. In partnership with frontline public health experts at the municipal and district levels, we have jointly developed specialized courses, creating an \"on-site classroom\" that connects schools, industries, and enterprises. This reform in practical teaching was awarded the second prize in the university-level teaching achievement awards.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe curriculum design breaks through the limitations of traditional classroom teaching, encouraging students to step out of the classroom and into real-world settings such as enterprises, hospitals, and factories. Through interactions with industry experts and corporate mentors, students gain a deeper understanding of the processes and techniques used to manage public health events. In practice, students actively participate in responding to frontline public health incidents, thereby enhancing their ability to address emergencies and solve practical problems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, during the freshman and sophomore years, experts from fields such as disease control, food safety, environmental monitoring, and public health emergency response are invited to deliver the \"Public Health Masters Academic Lecture Series.\" Senior professionals from the Fujian Provincial and local Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, customs offices, health supervision institutes, and third-party testing companies are invited to share their practical work experience and the latest research findings in the public health sector. This initiative fosters a strong academic atmosphere, broadens students' perspectives, and strengthens their professional identity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4 Achievements in Talent Cultivation","content":"\u003cp\u003eA two-phase questionnaire survey was conducted in 2024 among the inaugural cohort of preventive medicine graduates from Xiamen Medical College to evaluate the effectiveness of their training, focusing on employment outcomes, educational satisfaction, and self-assessed competencies. The first phase was carried out from May to June 2024 using the China Medical Students Survey (CMSS) graduate questionnaire. The questionnaire used in this study was based on the China Medical Students Survey (CMSS), a nationwide survey of medical students in China. The development and validation of the CMSS framework have been described previously [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. Students provided feedback on the quality of medical education, satisfaction with graduation assessments (including format, difficulty, and fairness), internship experiences (environment, teaching, and resources), overall evaluation of the internship, and self-assessment of competencies. Responses were recorded on a 1\u0026ndash;6 scale, representing \"strongly disagree\" to \"strongly agree\" or \"very dissatisfied\" to \"very satisfied.\" In this phase, 60 questionnaires were distributed, yielding 37 valid responses, for an effective response rate of 61.67%. The second phase was conducted in May 2025 as a follow-up survey to track employment status one year after graduation. In this phase, 60 questionnaires were distributed, and all 60 were returned as valid responses, achieving a 100% response rate. This survey gathered detailed information on graduates' employment positions, locations, and provinces, providing a basis for further evaluation of the training program's effectiveness. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participation in the study, which was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xiamen Medical College. The data\u0026rsquo;s integrity and validity were verified through a thorough review.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 The quality of teaching and training received high recognition from students.\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe survey results indicate that 81.08% of respondents reported \"satisfaction\" or higher with the quality of medical education received during their studies. Specifically, students held exceptionally positive views of graduation assessments: 91.89%, 94.59%, and 97.30% of graduates considered the assessment format \"reasonable,\" the difficulty level \"appropriate,\" and the process \"fair and impartial,\" respectively. Regarding practical training, students also reported high levels of satisfaction with the internship environment, teaching quality, and available resources, with mean scores of 5.32\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.93, 4.89\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.91, and 5.23\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.03, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the design and implementation of the training model have received strong student approval, laying a solid foundation for subsequent favorable employment outcomes and competency development.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.2 Self-assessed competencies reflect the cultivation objective of \"emphasizing medicine, excelling in public health, and strengthening skills.\"\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe self-assessment data from graduates indicate that they scored highest in three key areas: \"clinical/public health practice skills,\" \"sense of responsibility for promoting population health,\" and \"communication and expression abilities\" (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). These results demonstrate that the cultivation objective of \"emphasizing medicine, excelling in public health, and strengthening skills\" has been internalized as students' core competencies. Graduates have not only mastered professional public health skills but have also developed the clinical thinking, humanistic care, and comprehensive emergency response capabilities essential for frontline work at the grassroots level. This equips them to serve as independent \"gatekeepers\" for regional health.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eXiamen Medical College has successfully cultivated applied public health professionals with both academic advancement potential and grassroots service capabilities through an integrated medical-prevention training pathway. Graduates have not only achieved flexibility in career mobility, being equally adept in higher-level institutions and community-based roles, but have also demonstrated integrated competencies in both prevention and treatment. Particularly in chronic disease management and public health emergency response, they demonstrate professional confidence in independent analysis and rapid decision-making, providing robust talent support to safeguard regional public health security.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3 Employment Structure Reflects the Service Orientation of \"Adaptability to Both Higher and Grassroots Levels\"\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSurvey data indicate that among the first graduating cohort, 41.67% (25/60) pursued further education, while 58.33% (35/60) entered the workforce. In terms of employment location by province, over 60% of graduates chose to work in Fujian Province. The proportion of graduates employed in eastern regions is relatively high, whereas employment rates in central and western regions are comparatively lower (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Among employed graduates, regarding the alignment between their place of origin and employment location, over 75% serve within Fujian Province's grassroots public health system, aligning with the institution's educational mission of \"rooted in Xiamen, radiating across Fujian, and serving local communities\" (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). In terms of career destinations, over 80% of employed graduates (28/35) hold positions within the public health and related sectors. Among these, 34.29% (12/35) are employed at various public health institutions (such as disease control and prevention centers), and 22.86% (8/35) have joined pharmaceutical, healthcare, and testing companies, integrating the concept of medical-prevention convergence into industry practice. Some graduates work at key \"medical-prevention integration points,\" including public health departments, infection control units in medical institutions, and community health service centers. In areas such as chronic disease management, infectious disease surveillance and reporting, health education, and health promotion, they apply clinical knowledge to understand cases and combine preventive measures to manage populations, thereby serving as a bridge connecting clinical diagnosis and treatment with public health services.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmployment Status of Graduates from the Five-Year Preventive Medicine Program at Xiamen Medical College, Class of 2024 (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;60)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOption\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmployment Position\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther Education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth Administration Departments\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublic Health Institutions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedical and Health Institutions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePharmaceutical Companies, Testing Companies\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.33%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther Public Institutions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmployment Region\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEastern Region\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e80.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCentral Region\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWestern Region\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.33%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmployment Location\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrefecture-level Cities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78.33%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCounty-level Cities or Counties\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst-tier Cities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmployment Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFujian Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e65.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSichuan Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGuangdong Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeijing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHunan Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHeilongjiang Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.33%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eShanghai\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHenan Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eJiangxi Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTianjin\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnhui Province\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChongqing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.67%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.00%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.4 The Capability of Medical-Prevention Integration is Comprehensively Demonstrated in Practical Scenarios\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is specifically reflected in the deep integration of two dimensions: \"promoting prevention through medicine\" and \"supporting medicine through prevention.\" In terms of \"promoting prevention through medicine,\" students address the gap in traditional public health education\u0026mdash;where professionals are often skilled in prevention but lack clinical expertise\u0026mdash;through systematic clinical coursework and hospital internships. For instance, in chronic disease management practice, students can interpret medical examination reports and clinical records, understand patients' overall diagnostic and treatment pathways, and thereby design personalized health management plans that align with clinical treatment and individual needs. In simulated or real emergency scenarios, they can independently conduct preliminary cause inference and risk assessment based on patients' clinical symptoms and signs, combined with epidemiological data, providing timely and accurate medical evidence for subsequent critical control measures such as isolation, disinfection, and protection.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding \"supporting medicine through prevention,\" public health perspectives also enrich clinical practice. During clinical internships, students not only address individual diseases but also consciously adopt a population-based perspective, focusing on disease distribution patterns, social determinants, and holistic prevention strategies. This cultivates an initial integrated mindset centered on \"population health.\"\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudents' extracurricular achievements corroborate the effectiveness of this training pathway. Since the program's establishment in 2019, students have collectively secured 5 national first prizes, 11 provincial third prizes, and 3 outstanding achievement awards in professional skills competitions. In academic contests, they have earned 1 national second prize, 1 national third prize, 1 provincial second prize, 3 provincial third prizes, and 3 outstanding achievement awards. Additionally, students have led 1 national-level and 4 provincial-level innovation and entrepreneurship projects for undergraduates. These accomplishments reflect the students' comprehensive ability to integrate clinical knowledge with preventive strategies in addressing complex public health challenges (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudent Competition Awards and Project Approvals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNational Level\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProvincial Level\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfessional Skills Competitions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst Prize: 5 items\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird Prize: 11 items, Outstanding Achievement Award: 3 items\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcademic Competitions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond Prize: 1 item, Third Prize: 1 item\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond Prize: 1 item, Third Prize: 3 items, Outstanding Achievement Award: 3 items\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInnovation and Entrepreneurship Projects for Undergraduates\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLeading Project: 1 item\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLeading Project: 4 items\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5 Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eApplied public health professionals are pivotal to advancing the integration of medical and preventive healthcare mechanisms. This paper analyzes the current public health talent cultivation system and explores the challenges and opportunities faced by grassroots medical colleges in fostering interdisciplinary professionals. Practice demonstrates that integrating interdisciplinary knowledge systems with clinical training is key to enhancing the quality of applied public health talent. Employment data further reflects the effectiveness of this talent cultivation model, offering valuable insights for other local institutions and carrying significant theoretical and practical implications. However, the study focuses solely on the practices of a single institution. Future research could validate its broader applicability through more extensive case studies and explore more efficient talent cultivation strategies.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xiamen Medical College. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participation in the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot Applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting Interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research was supported by the Education and Teaching Research Project for Undergraduate Universities in Fujian Province (No. FBJY20250029, No. FBJY20240090); the Fujian Province Young and Middle-aged Teacher Education Research Project (General Project in Social Sciences) (No. JAS24154); and the 2025 Xiamen Medical College Pilot Course \u0026quot;Comprehensive Practice in Public Health Field\u0026quot; under the \u0026quot;AI Empowering Curriculum Reform\u0026quot; Initiative (AIKC2025015).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026apos; contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStudy design: Wang Juan, Li Liming, Xia Xiaochun\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData collection: Wu Lanlan, Liu Xiangquan, Xia Xiaochun\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eManuscript preparation \u0026amp; translation: Xiaomei Hong, Xia Xiaochun\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData analysis \u0026amp; interpretation: Xiaomei Hong, Wang Juan, Xia Xiaochun\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSupervision: Li Liming\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll authors have made contributions to this work, approved the final version, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the study. 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Chin Med Educ. 2021;41(2):117\u0026ndash;21. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.3760/cma.j.cn115259-20200328-00445\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3760/cma.j.cn115259-20200328-00445\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttp://dx.chinadoi.cn/\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"http://dx.chinadoi.cn/\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-medical-education","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"meed","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Medical Education](http://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/meed/default.aspx","title":"BMC Medical Education","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Talent Training Program, Public Health, Integration of Medicine and Prevention ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9102927/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9102927/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn response to the new requirements for public health talent competency structures under the concept of integrated medical care and prevention, local medical colleges need to explore innovations in talent training models actively, strengthening the organic connection between theoretical teaching and practical training, in order to cultivate versatile, application-oriented talents with both clinical diagnosis and treatment capabilities and public health perspectives. Based on the practice of preventive medicine program development at Xiamen Medical College, this paper systematically explores the training pathways for application-oriented public health talents in the context of integrated medical care and prevention. By constructing an integrated curriculum system, optimizing teaching content, and enhancing comprehensive practical teaching, the training objective of \"emphasizing medicine, excelling in public health, and strengthening skills\" has been established, forming a regional characteristic educational mechanism. Practice has shown that this model has achieved significant results: graduate satisfaction with teaching quality reached 80.01%, with self-assessed performance particularly outstanding in clinical/public health practical abilities, sense of responsibility for promoting population health, and communication skills; over 80% of graduates are employed in public health and related fields, and they have received multiple awards in provincial and national academic and skills competitions. This training system effectively aligns with local public health service needs, demonstrates good educational outcomes, and provides a practical example for similar institutions to draw upon.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Reflection on the Training Pathway for Applied Public Health Talents under the Integration of Medicine and Prevention","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-31 18:32:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9102927/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-27T14:06:32+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-27T13:25:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-20T18:11:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-03-19T14:29:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Medical Education","date":"2026-03-19T13:30:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-medical-education","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"meed","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Medical Education](http://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/meed/default.aspx","title":"BMC Medical Education","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"5eee1575-b969-4643-9cca-0e88d12b8783","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 31st, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-31T18:32:51+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-31 18:32:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9102927","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9102927","identity":"rs-9102927","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}