Best Concentration for Med School?

[thenykway]

Hey all!

I am starting my MPH in a few weeks during my gap year going into medical school. I decided to do an MPH because I felt like it would give a different perspective on the health field that medical school would not give. I also hope that it will help me as a physician in career advancement.

Right now I am contemplating between Epidemiology and Health Policy/Management concentrations. In terms of interest in each field, it is dead even. I do not prefer one over the other. However, I wanted to know which concentration would be most relevant to my career as a physician down the line? If any MD/MPHers here took one of those two concentrations, can you please explain to me what made you choose it? Do medical schools favor any particular concentrations?

Thank you!

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[el_duderino]

I'd think that no one will really care one way or the other, honestly.

 

[thenykway]

I'd think that no one will really care one way or the other, honestly.

Yeah someone else told me that it really doesn't matter too much, but I'm paranoid about these things, hence the thread lmao.

 

[NeurosciTMS]

I'm not an MD/MPH, but I will be applying to medical school after my first year of graduate school. I would base your concentration on what you see yourself doing in your career. I'm interested in conducting epidemiological research as a physician so it makes sense to pursue epidemiology. I would make your decision on how obtaining an MPH will help you with your career goals rather than which concentration is best for medical school or the admissions process.

 

[Solara]

Agree with the above. Specialize in what you're interested in doing down the road, not what you think will look best. If you do what you're passionate about, it will make you a better physician.

Personally if I had to choose, I would say epidemiology would be more useful b/c it's a quantitative, mathematical skill set that you'll be able to apply in fields like clinical research, epidemiological studies, etc.