Public Health & Preventive Medicine

Welcome From the Program Director
Program Contact
Darcie Moeller, MD, MPH
Program Director, Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency
​​Irene Aluen Metzner, MD
Associate Program Director, Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency
Ana Mebane, MA
Program Coordinator
[email protected]
An older woman in a light blue blouse smiles and talks to a younger woman with long hair, who is facing away. They are in a medical office with a window and a poster of a hand skeleton in the background.

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About

Thank you for your interest in the Cook County Health & Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Public Health & General Preventive Medicine Residency Program. As a graduate of this program myself, I know firsthand how transformative these two years can be.

Our community is committed to advancing health equity. Cook County Health is a safety-net health system that cares for everyone, regardless of ability to pay. Our health department serves 2.3 million residents from richly diverse communities. As one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, Northwestern University brings exceptional expertise in research, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Together, our partnership provides opportunities to engage with complex systems, understand the structural and social determinants of health, and contribute to work that improves population health.

The small size of our program allows us to tailor the curriculum to reflect your unique interests and career goals. From your first day, you’ll help shape your own learning path through our core academic and practicum experiences. You’ll work alongside physician leaders within one of the nation’s largest local health departments, complete MPH coursework at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, present and learn through our weekly section meetings, engage in scholarship, research, and quality improvement, and develop expertise in clinical settings that complement your public health training.

Our faculty are deeply committed to the training of our residents. They represent eight institutions and bring expertise spanning governmental public health, addiction medicine, cancer prevention and survivorship, correctional medicine, maternal and child health, medical education, and social and structural determinants of health. Our faculty includes graduates of this residency program, former program directors, and seven physicians who are board certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.

If you are looking for a program where you will be challenged, supported, and inspired to use your skills to improve health at the population level, I invite you to learn more about us. We look forward to meeting the next generation of public health and preventive medicine leaders.

Darcie Moeller, MD, MPH
Program Director
Cook County Health & Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
Public Health & General Preventive Medicine Residency Program

Mission
The mission of the Public Health & Preventive Medicine Residency is to train primary care and public health-oriented physicians in the principles and practices of clinical and public health approaches to population-based health care. The program is focused on preparing physicians with skills to improve the organization and delivery of preventive, chronic care, and public health services in a population framework, with a focus on addressing health inequities. 

Aims
The overall educational objectives of the program are:  

  1. To develop behavioral and technical clinical skills necessary for the delivery of preventive medicine services for reduction of morbidity and mortality from adult chronic diseases  
  2. To plan, implement, and evaluate population-based initiatives in the setting of health care organizations and/or departments of public health  
  3. To develop critical assessment, methodological, and analytic skills with respect to evidence based public health research, with a particular emphasis on links between epidemiology, behavioral medicine, and prevention  
  4. To develop communication skills in the context of multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary clinical and public health settings as well as academic and organizational/administrative settings 

Application

Accreditation & Eligibility
The Public Health & Preventive Medicine Residency is fully accredited by the ACGME to accept and train up to three residents each year, with a total of no more than 5 residents. 

Trainee Eligibility
The Public Health & Preventive Medicine Residency participates in the ERAS system for resident applications. Applications in ERAS open in September, and review begins at that time.  

There are two application tracks available in the ERAS system: 

  • The Advanced Track is designed for applicants without prior post-graduate residency training—typically MS4s—who plan to enter the program in two years. Applicants must also apply for a transitional year at another institution, and admission is contingent on both acceptance to and successful completion of that year before starting the Public Health & Preventive Medicine Residency. 
  • The Reserved for Physicians Only Track is for applicants who will have at least one year of post-graduate residency training completed by the end of this academic year and are prepared to begin the Public Health & Preventive Medicine Residency Program next year. 

To help navigate your eligibility to apply for the program, the following decision trees linked HERE may be helpful.

 

Other eligibility criteria and agreements: 

  1. Applications must include at least 3 letters of recommendation 
  2. 1 letter of recommendation must be from the residency program director, if applicable 
  3. Step 3 of the USMLE/COMLEX must be passed before matriculation 
  4. Matched candidates must apply for and be accepted into the MPH program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Candidates will be provided with those instructions at the appropriate time. 

 

Information Session 

Interested applicants for the 2027 application cycle can join us for a virtual information session on September 17, 2026, from 10:15-11:15 am CST. Parts of the session will be recorded. To receive an invitation to the live session or to receive the recording, please email [email protected].  

Curriculum

All residents spend 24 months in the full-time program during which academic and practicum phases are done concurrently. The curriculum is tailored to the skills, interests, and career goals of individual residents, with a rich variety of clinical and project activities. Download the program overview to review the curriculum.

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