How Do You Get Public Health Experience After Medical School?

[doctorDoctor.]

I am thinking of pursuing an MPH during or after residency, but the process seems a bit strange to me.

Given the intensity of medical school and residency prograow exactly am I supposed to gain significant public health experience that will make me competitive for good MPH programs?

Assuming that I have no public health experience before medical school, I won't have much time for committed public health extra-curriculars during medical school because I'll be studying all day, and then I'll go straight into residency (which is also very time-consuming and intense). Even if I choose to apply to an MPH program during residency, I won't have much direct experience in the public health field, let alone the "recommended 2 years of full-time work experience."

I don't think I can afford to take 2 years off after residency just to gather experience. Do I need to gain a lot of public health experience during undergrad and then put that on the application 5-8 years later when I'll be applying to MPH schools?

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[kisekira]

FYI it becomes much easier to get into top MPH programs simply by having an MD, so that works in your favour
There's actually lots who get into very good programs despite having no true public health experience. You will not need to take years off of residency for experience unless you want to. As a resident, you can also find fellowships that incorporate the MPH which means someone will pay for the degree which is nice.

Med school is busy and challenging, but you definitely have time to get involved with activities outside of academics (especially since you'll want these for your residency application). If you want to be strategic and have the interest, plenty of research is relevant to public health and clinical medicine so you can look good on both fronts (e.g. epidemiology). Don't forget that transferable skills are a valuable asset for all fields: leadership and advocacy competencies are certainly desirable for public health, and this isn't hard to get involved in as a student.