Year 1 Resource Sessions

*Resource Sessions may change without notice. Contact Carol Coniglio with any questions about resource sessions.

CRR UNIT

Population Science and Policy: An Introduction to Understanding and Addressing the Health Challenges of Our Communities 
This resource session is designed to introduce students to the health challenges of communities in the SIU School of Medicine service region using US health data made available by various government and healthcare organizations. Discussion includes a comparison of health challenges in the US to other countries and the differences between urban and rural communities. Advances in public health systems over the last 100 years will be presented, as well as the challenges of physicians in addressing health issues of their patients.

Introduction to Epidemiology/Study Design/Biostatistics 
This resource session introduces student to the basic concepts of epidemiology, study design, and biostatistics. Students will learn about various epidemiological measures and its implication in clinical practice.

Study Design I 
Students will explore different study designs and their use in epidemiology. In this lecture they will be able to understand the difference between descriptive and analytical study designs, and differentiate between experimental and observational studies, learn basic concepts about various observational studies and measures associated with each design.

NMB UNIT

Study Design II
This second session on study design will explain descriptive and experimental study designs. Students will be able to understand the basics of randomized controlled study design and other study designs.

Data Interpretation and Hypothesis Testing  
This lecture will explore how to analyze and draw meaningful conclusions from data using statistical methods. Key principles such as descriptive vs. inferential statistics, measures of central tendency and variability, and types of data will be discussed. Additionally, we will discuss the framework of hypothesis testing, including null and alternative hypotheses, types of errors (Type I & II), p-values, confidence intervals, and statistical significance.
 

ERG UNIT

Diagnostic and Screening Tests  
This lecture will differentiate between screening tests, which identify potential disease in asymptomatic individuals, and diagnostic tests, which confirm disease in symptomatic individuals or those with a positive screening result. Key concepts such as sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, likelihood ratios, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves will be discussed. The lecture will also explore the importance of balancing false positives and false negatives in medical decision-making. 

Introduction to US Health Care Systems and Delivery
This resource session is designed to explore the US health care delivery systems with various payment models, discuss the core functions of public health along with the four domains of chronic disease prevention, and define population health and health equity.