Hey, everyone. I'm a recent college graduate who is now enrolled in public health classes at the University of Washington. I'm very interested in applying to medical school this summer. However, my main passion is in public health, or rather, global health. Though I fully intend on finishing my MPH, I have heard on many accounts that an MD provides greater flexibility in global health/public health work and has a special credibility in the field.
I was wondering if there were any MDs on these boards that could comment on:
1) How can being a doctor help in the field of public health?
2) What special expertise can a doctor provide that a person with an MPH cannot when working in global/public health?
3) Why would one want to be a doctor if they want to improve health on a population level?
Please share any experiences or stories you have! I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!
Funny, I did post-bac classes (including some classes at the School of Public Health) at University of Washington. A guest speaker in one of my classes, a big name head of some public health office in the State of Washington, advised me to get an M.D. even if what I was interested in was public health. The major reason was one of credentials/credibility. Working in the public health field, you will be interfacing with and probably trying to influence and persuade health care professionals, and you have much more credibility and sway with an "MD" behind your name as opposed to simply a "MPH" or even a "PhD". This doesn't mean you can't build a fantastic track record that makes your educational credentials moot, but the public and elected officials respect and take your "MD" very seriously, and it will open many more doors early on and probably even later in your career.
Early in your career -> having an "MD" is already a huge differentiator. A friend of mine who was completing her MPH at Hopkins (with top GPA, Honor Society membership, yada yada) AND a prior PhD from Harvard in molecular oncology applied for an EIS position at the CDC (her top choice), and didn't get it -- feedback was that she was a top candidate, but MDs got preference.
Later in your career -> if you are going to be appointed to a decision-making position in policy, having an MD makes your appointment much easier. Despite the recent decline in "prestige", MDs are still regarded as generally altruistic and worthy of trust.
That being said, a more skills and knowledge-based benefit of an MD is that you understand at a deeper level the underlying pathophysiology or mechanisms of health, so can better make an independent assessment of the appropriate interventions/questions to ask for whatever public health problem you are facing. Don't underestimate the value of this.
And you have useful skills; four of my MPH friends were in Haiti doing research when the earthquake hit. One was a physician from India, two were U.S. medical students. The medically trained individuals, even without supplies, could do initial triage and provide some care (the doctor did trauma care and gave medications that they had available; all three did written H&Ps for patients to have and provide to medical personnel with supplies and facilities when they became available). The fourth surveyed numbers of individuals and needs (water, shelter, food) in neighborhoods to provide to organized assistance when it arrived. Because they were providing medical care, they had more immediate trust and good will from the community.
Usually, the argument against getting an MD is the opportunity cost of time and money spent, which is up to you. Thankfully, new federal loan rules now allow you to pay back loans in a income-contingent fashion (capping your federal loan repayment at x% of income), and after 10 years of working for the government or a non-profit, your remaining federal loans are forgiven. So there is a reasonably financially sound path to go to med school and still take a lower-paying job in public health.
Good luck!
