Introduction:

The context and harshness of the pandemic has highlighted the need for the contribution of public health. Latin America, given the conditions of life and health care, resents their contributions.

Notions of public health:

Reviewed: levels of complexity in health sciences; the way public health works; the public, the political and politics; the health sector (intrasector) and the intersector; relevant contextual features for the task of public health and that add uncertainty in the region.

The need to strengthen public health training in undergraduate and residency training, especially in Latin America:

The recommendation made 30 years ago by the World Federation for Medical Education seems to be valid, for which efforts should be strengthened. The contribution it makes to improving the level of health of people and communities is illustrated by two significant problems in Latin America.

The medical specialist in public health and some of its training programs:

The work of the medical specialist in public health (MESP), their training and political-institutional context are linked to each other, so relevance is key. Regardless of the country, the training programs share an insufficient visibility that restricts their contribution. The specificity of the MESP seems to be associated with the combination of doses and proportions of skills that result in a credible professional who motivates the medical community and mobilizes work groups.

The Public Health Training Program of the University of Chile:

Structure, learning strategies, the Program’s hallmark subject and evaluative dimension are reviewed.

Competencies worked on in the training of the specialist doctor in public health, potential contribution to the training of other specialists:

Training experiences derived from metacognition, work with complexity and the relationship with non-health professions and disciplines are exposed.