Preparing physicians for public health challenges: challenge‑based learning in PGME

Background

Public health challenges transcend national borders and are not confined to a single medical discipline. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration between clinical care, primary care and public health. However, postgraduate medical education (PGME) is still largely organized in silos and interprofessional education for residents is scarce.

Objectives

Within our PGME programme for public health residents, we developed an interprofessional challenge-based learning (CBL) course. Over a nine-week period, residents from different PGME programmes work according to CBL principles on complex public health challenges. The course concludes with participants presenting their outcomes and learning experiences. The first edition, focusing on preparedness for crises and disasters, was completed in February 2026. We share lessons from the development and implementation of this educational approach.

Results

When offering interprofessional education, involvement of medical educators from multiple specialties in the development process is essential. Because PGME programmes vary considerably, scheduling joint sessions is challenging. The chosen format offers flexibility, although shared start and end points of the course remain important. Early recruitment is crucial, as residents with clinical responsibilities need sufficient time to adjust their schedules. Both residents and educators perceive the interprofessional component as enriching. Beyond its educational aims, the challenge as an intervention generates interest and media attention both within and beyond the hospital setting, thereby initiating early steps towards increased collaboration across the continuum of care.

Conclusions

CBL is a suitable educational approach for interprofessional learning. By embedding real-world public health challenges in PGME, this programme represents an innovative approach that may strengthen prevention-oriented practice and transdisciplinary collaboration across health systems.

Key messages

• Embedding real‑world public health challenges in PGME through challenge‑based learning supports interprofessional learning across clinical care, primary care and public health.

• Successful interprofessional education in PGME requires educator involvement across specialties, flexible formats with shared start and end points, and early recruitment.