Essentials of Public Health is designed to provide the student with a broad introduction to the field of public health as it relates to medicine and the health of patients, families, and communities both locally and globally. The course will teach the social, ethical, political and economic context of health care and students will learn the basics of epidemiology and biostatistics so that they can critically read and interpret the medical literature. The goal of this course is to produce well-rounded students prepared to practice medicine with a robust knowledge of the population-level factors influencing clinical practice. Topics covered will include the design, conduct and critical appraisal of research trials; quality improvement and practice transformation; health disparities and social determinants of health; legal and ethical issues relevant to the clinical practice of medicine; health policy and the structure and organization of the US health care systems.