[NUS Module Review] GEH1049/GEK1900: Public Health In Action

GEH1049/GEK1900: Public Health In Action

(INTRODUCTION)

Welcome to one of the most popular GEH modules...so popular that it cost me 227 bid points. But I still got it in the end and if you managed to get this module then congrats, the bid points are that high for a reason. Why? Because (A), there is no final exam. (B), there are no tutorials. (C), you can sleep in lectures and still do well (not that I did this ;D). (D) Assignments are relatively easy to do. (E) It's a chillax module, so why not right?

(LECTURERS)

There aren't any fixed lecturers for this module. Every week, there will be a new guest lecturer from some hospital, some faculty or some medical facility. Most of the lecturers were pretty much just average in my opinion. Maybe because they weren't actual lecturers, or maybe because the lessons were held at 9am and they're too sleepy to teach...who knows? The only lecturer that was really decent (and funny/entertaining/captures your attention) was Prof Chia Kee Seng. Sadly, he only conducted 1 lecture and did not appear for any subsequent lectures. But he was really that good. If you manage to have him conduct one of your lectures, do appreciate his lectures instead of falling asleep. Because he is head and shoulders above the rest of the lecturers. 

(EXPANSION OF TOPICS COVERED)

The topics covered include:

• Communicable Diseases
• Breast Cancer
• AI
• Disability
• Ageing
• Obesity
• Maternal and Child Health
• Genomics

Out of all the topics, only Maternal and Child Health, Disability and Breast Cancer were quite interesting. The rest were either topics that you either heard a 100 times before like obesity, or topics which you have close to 0 interest in like AI (Personal Opinion). But just to be honest here, most of the time a lecture can be made interesting or boring by the lecturer instead of the contents of the topic.

(SCHEDULE)

As mentioned earlier, there are only lectures for this module. However, the lectures are 3 hours long in a single session. The lecture is broken down into 3 parts; the lecture on the specific topic, a group report assignment, discussion. The 3 parts usually span of an hour each.  

 (PASSING THE ASSESSMENT)

Given that this module is so so popular because  it is pretty slack, plus there is no finals, you can expect that the grading for the module to have a steep bell curve. In any case, here is the breakdown of the different grading components of the module:

• Pre-reading quizzes: 5%
• Group Reports (To be done during the lecture time slot) + Peer Evaluation: 30% 
• Assignment 1: 25%
• Assignment 2: 40%

You are required to do a short reading on one article before every lecture. Before the lecture starts, the lecturer/course coordinator will flash a question (True or False Only) for only 30 seconds before the question disappears. You are to answer the question through an SMS system immediately. Read the next part to find out what happened to me when I didn't answer immediately. :) DO NOT BE LATE FOR THE LECTURE!!!

After the lecturer fishing talking about a certain topic, he/she will show a question(s) and your group will have about an hour to brainstorm, write a report with proper citations and submit to Turnitin. You will be graded from 0 - 3 marks depending on how well or how badly the report was written.

At certain points of the semester, you will be tasked to complete the peer-evaluation. Take this seriously because the lecturers will know if you are doing it properly or not and will grade accordingly.

Assignment 1 and 2 are just individual reports to be done at certain points of the semester. You will be taught how to use the socio-ecological approach, which is important in answering the questions. Since these two components cover 60% of your entire grade, this will likely be the determining factor of your final grading for this module.

(EXPERIENCE AND FINAL GRADING)

I honestly felt that I really didn't like the experience of this module as a whole after Prof Chia's lecture. Simply because no lecturer was able to reach to his level of teaching and enthusiasm on Public Health. The topics were generally interesting, but was let down by the execution of them. Nonetheless, it was no regrets taking GEH1049, because the rest of the GEH modules didn't appeal to me. I found this module a good alternative to all the cores I'm studying.

I really didn't read the pre-article before the lecture mostly because I've forgotten to. However, the questions were generally doable and easy to answer, despite not reading the pre-article. There was one day when NUS had a massive jam from PGP to Kent Ridge MRT. And so I knew I was going to be slightly late for the lecture. Luckily my group had a group chat and so I literally texted them to send me the question so that I can do it. One of them did so (bless your kind soul), and I managed to answer the question on time.

One time, there was an error in the SMS system. I couldn't send my answer at 9.06am (The question was shown at 9.06am). However, I did manage to send at 9.07am. I thought like "Heng ah! Managed to send on time." But nooooo, it was given a 0 mark in IVLE. So I had to email the IVLE people to gimme my earned mark, all for that one minute lapse. Of course, I needed to show proof that I submitted at 9.06am. Hence, that's why I say the timing is very important.

Assignment 1 and 2 are just like any other report. But the story I want to share with you is about a guy in my group that literally free ride the entire module. I mean free riding is common in any education system, especially in Uni. So when it's time to do the group report, his cursor would just be stagnant at one spot. Occasionally, his cursor would change spots and remain stagnant there. Sometimes I do wonder if the other members of my group actually noticed his free riding, but since there was a peer review section.....💁💁*The truth will unveil itself my friend* Seriously guys, please do not be like him. 

Overall, the module is really doable. Its just essay writing, no right or wrong answer either. In the end, I think I did rather okay. Not complaining much since I really wanted to do this module. Again could've done better, but that's just life.

(CONCLUSION AND TIPS)

One simple rule and that is YOU MUST BE PUNCTUAL!! The rest of the components are really hugely dependent on your group mates and your individual effort to do well. To be honest, 1/2 of the people in the lecture hall were fast asleep within the first 30 minutes of the lecture. Not that I'm part of the sleeping crew, but I'm just justifying why this module is popular in the first place. :)

Ratings out of 5⭐:

• Rigor - ⭐⭐
• Degree of doability - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Bell Curve (to favour you) - ⭐⭐