I went to medical school I was planning originally to work in rehabilitation medicine and then changed to primary care but I got completely captured by one lecture in medical school that told me that it is possible to prevent people from becoming ill in the first place… and that the most powerful ways to accomplish that actually happen outside of medical care in the way we deliver the conditions in our communities that enable people to be healthy. That creates 70% of any population’s health and it’s public health’s responsibility to deliver that while public health science creates the evidence as to what needs to be delivered at a population level and what needs to be delivered to the individual. For example, in clinical care, I’ve had the privilege through my career of doing both and understanding what illness does to people- amplifies the ability from a public health point of view to value prevention.
