anesthesiologists with an MD/MPH

[kbommar]

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i'm finishing up my third year of med school right now. i'm planning on doing an MPH in clinical investigation next year. the program at our school is sponsored by an NIH grant that pays for the tuition and gives you a stipend.

during the program you do the MPH coursework and also do clinical research with people who are already have ongoing projects. there's an oppurtunity to get published, get some good letters, etc.

are there any MD/MPH anesthesiologists out there? is this a field where an MPH in CI would be useful? what about increasing one's chances of matching in anesthesiology?

 

[proman]

Basically yes to all your questions. It's something that not very many applicants will have and will set you apart. You'll find some programs are heavily focused on patient outcomes and will look very favorably on it (depending how you present it).

 

[UTSouthwestern]

I have an M.P.H., but can't say it helped in my admission in any particular way. Wasn't even brought up in my interviews. Did help me with critical evaluation of medical literature and I guess I can use it to enter health care administration in the future if I so desire.

 

[chicamedica]

My advice would be to pursue activities that interest you. Dont' worry about what residency the MPH will help you get. Carve out your own personalized career based on what you're passionate about. For example, a friend of mine took a year to do an MPH during med school because she interested in preventive medicine, but is doing IM for residency (instead of preventive med) because she wants to have a more complete medical training and wants to do primary care too. After residency she might do a preventive med fellowship.

I'm sure you could use the expertise you gained from the MPH in almost any medical/surgical field. I'm not too knowledgeable of what subjects an MPH covers, but in anesthesiology, I could see public health as relevant to ICU infection control, patient safety & outcomes, global missions, to name a few that come to my mind. As for clinical investigation, heck, that's useful for ANY field, especially anesthesiology where research is needed and where most residency graduates go for private practice (meaning fewer researchers).

In short, just do some introspection, figure out what you're passionate about, and follow that path.

 

[kbommar]

i'm more thinking of how much doing the MPH can help me in the future. more in terms of if it would help me get into a better residency. i guess that's the not the best reason to do an mph, but it's why i'm thinking about it.

also, i've never actually done any research. i was thinking about taking a year off to do research after med 2, but decided against it b/c i wanted to graduate with my class. now i'm thinking about it again.

 

[deleted50478]

i'm more thinking of how much doing the MPH can help me in the future. more in terms of if it would help me get into a better residency. i guess that's the not the best reason to do an mph, but it's why i'm thinking about it.

also, i've never actually done any research. i was thinking about taking a year off to do research after med 2, but decided against it b/c i wanted to graduate with my class. now i'm thinking about it again.

Most MPH people are in it to help their applications. No one is fooled by this. It might help a little but it probably won't. If you like public health, then do it. Otherwise, you probably shouldn't waste your time. Who spreads the idea that an MPH is helpful? The MPH professors?

You should also only do research if you'll enjoy it, though I think research can be much more helpful than an MPH. It'll cost you a year though, and you may end up in exactly the same place only a year later. Again, it's definately worthwhile if you're into research. It doesn't sound like anything but CV padding for you though.

 

[Gern Blansten]

My personal opinion is that an advanced degree such as an MPH or MBA (or Doctor of Nursing Practice ) would place you ahead of a similar candidate who had a similar class standing and similar USMLE scores. It probably would not set you ahead of someone who is AOA and/or had great USMLE scores nor would it make up for poor grades and poor or failing USMLE scores. So while it may help a little, you have to ask if your other studies will suffer because of it.
A colleague of mine has an MPH and it has been beneficial to him in gaining executive leadership roles in hospital administration.