This Community-Oriented Primary Care introductory course (COPC) provides a model for integrating primary care services into communities and targets health-related concerns with active community participation. COPC is the marriage of public health and primary care. The concepts you’ll learn dovetail nicely with the practice of medicine no matter which specialty you choose, as well as the principles of social accountability.
This Community-Oriented Primary Care course is co-sponsored by the American Association of Public Health Physicians, the American College of Preventive Medicine, Global Health through Education, Training and Service (GHETS), the University of Gezira. The course uses instructional goals adapted from UIW course outcomes and George Washington University COPC MPH concentration. The course uses resources from accredited, world-class organizations such as the American Journal of Public Health, the DC Area Health Education Center, the University of Kansas Community Tool Box, and the World Health Organization.
The course was redesigned in 2022 by Aduke Williams, B.Sc.; Alixandria Ali, B.Sc.; Felix Emeka Anyiam, MPH, MScPH, DataSc.; Hugo Rojas, MD, MSc, DiplEd.; Maryam Musa, M.B.B.S; Pablo Baldiviezo, MD, MSc, DiplEd.; Reisha Narine, M.Sc., B.Sc.; and Sherian Bachan, M.Sc., B.Sc. It was later revised by Robyn Phillips-Madson, DO, MPH, FACOFP. This course was initially inspired by the vision of David Egilman, MD, MPH and the original course developer were Tess Bird, M.Sc. and Nicolas Druar. Our Advisory Group included: David Egilman, MD, MPH; Jack Geiger, MD, MSciHyg; Jaime Gofin, MD, MPH; Jane Frances Namatovu, BDS, MMED, FAMMED/COMM PRACT; Pyser Edelsack, MSW; and Ravinder Mehta, MD.
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There are four (4) modules to complete, which include:
- Module 1: Introduction to COPC
- Module 2: COPC and Health Systems
- Module 3: Preparing for a Community-based Intervention
- Module 4: Implementing the COPC approach and promoting community participation
Time estimation and credit hours of course:
The completion time for this course is estimated at 51 hours at an average rate of 144 words/minute, comprising 7 hours of learning resources, 14 hours of time to study content and assimilation, and 31 hours of participating in learning activities and quizzes, to assist the learners in the synthesis of learning materials. This course is equivalent to 1 credit hour.
Requirements for completion of course:
The course requires completion of all activities (reflection, discussion forum, case scenarios etc.) to complete the course. At the end of each module, there is a practice quiz with multiple-choice questions. After you’ve completed each module, quiz, and learning activity, at the end of the course, you will have access to a final exam with multiple-choice questions, and a chance to evaluate this course. Participants have up to three opportunities to take the final exam and achieve the required score of >=70%.
Once you have passed that last test, you will be able to download a certificate of completion from NextGenU.org and our course’s co-sponsoring organizations (listed above). We keep all of your personal information confidential, never sell any of your information, and only use anonymized data for research purposes, and we are also happy to report your testing information and share your work with anyone (your school, employer, etc.) at your request. We hope that you will find this a rewarding learning experience, and we count on your feedback to help us improve this training for future students.
At NextGenU.org, we provide the estimated reading times for all of our Learning Resources (LRs) i.e., webpages, articles, and slides. The estimated reading time is calculated using a reading speed of 144 words per minute (no. of words recommended to read in the LR ÷ 144 words per minute). Additionally, we calculate the study/assimilation which for primary sources, are multiplied by 2 and for secondary sources, are multiplied by 1 (estimated read time x 2 = study/assimilation time).
Engaging with this Course:
You may browse this course for free to learn for your personal enrichment; there are no requirements. This free course is primarily intended for public health students, public health professionals, or people working in healthcare settings and wish to learn about community-oriented primary care.
To obtain a certificate, a learner must first register for the course and then successfully complete:
- Complete all the reading requirements.
- Complete all quizzes and pass with a 70% with unlimited attempts.
- Complete all activities and associated certification quizzes.
- Successfully complete the final exam with a minimum of 70% and a maximum of 3 attempts.
- Complete the self and course evaluation forms.
To obtain credit:
- Complete all requirements listed above for the certificate.
- Your learning institution or workplace should approve the partner-university-sponsored NextGenU.org course for educational credit, as they would for their learner taking a course anywhere.
NextGenU.org is happy to provide your institution with:
- A link to and description of the course training, so they can see all its components, including the co-sponsoring universities and other professional organization cosponsors;
- Your grade on the final exam;
- Your work products (e.g. peer and mentored activities), and any other required or optional shared materials that you produce and authorize to share with them;
- Your evaluations - course, self, peer, and mentor assessments;
- A copy of your certificate of completion, with the co-sponsoring universities and other organizations listed.
To obtain a degree, NextGenU.org co-sponsors degree programs with institutional partners. To obtain a full degree co-sponsored with NextGenU.org, registrants must be enrolled in a degree program as a student of a NextGenU.org institutional partner. If you think that your institution might be interested in offering a degree with NextGenU.org, contact us.
We hope that you will find this a rewarding learning experience, and we count on your assessment and feedback to help us improve this training for future students.
Next Steps
- Complete the registration form.
- Begin the course with Module 1: Introduction to COPC Principles and Practice. In each lesson, read the description, complete all required readings and any required activity, and take the corresponding quizzes.
*The previous version of this course is also available here for your reference but is not available for registration. Only students that were registered before can complete it.