Best foot forward at this point in time?

[Phosphene]

I'm a recent graduate with a BA in health science and policy and I plan to go on for an MPH in epidemiology, environmental health, or health & behavioral sciences. Maybe a dual degree? I'm very interested in disability, neuropsychology, environmental health and the medical humanities.

I have some research experience (summer research in a speech pathology laboratory, disability policy and legal research during undergrad), and I'm hoping to get more experience to get a better sense of what I want out of a career and a grad program. My undergrad GPA was 3.9, I've done a bunch of volunteer work, haven't taken the GREs yet. I made it to the final round of the CDC PHAP fellowship application and then nothing. Should I look into an NIH IRTA? I know those are more biomedically-oriented, but I want to be a competitive applicant for grad school. Or am I better served trying to find a research assistant position?

I was offered a position with FEMA Corps, FEMA's Americorps program, but I'm not sure if that makes sense for me professionally. My interest in emergency management is in public health preparedness/response for vulnerable populations, and I don't know if the program would allow me to pursue that focus. I'm currently doing a policy internship.

Applied to some ORISE fellowships, but just realized that there may be an issue with the transcript I submitted. I'm curious if anyone has any knowledge of or experience with the NIH Predoctoral Bioethics Fellowship?

I know this is a mess. Any feedback is greatly welcome.

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[She-Hulk]

From what I've read (briefly) about the FEMA Corps is that they are focused on disaster mitigation, prevention, etc . . . sounds like what you want to do later, so why not do that? No doubt FEMA looks at how vulnerable populations are affected during a disaster and how to mitigate some of that. If you want to do research more, then do that, if not I wouldn't say do it just for an application. I would think that the ad coms would look at your experiences, course work, and see if it matches with your overall intended career trajectory.

I think it makes sense if you apply for disaster management related positions at an MPH program, they'd look at your resume and think, "oh, yeah, this applicant already volunteered with FEMA."

Who knows, maybe you'll discover that you don't want to do disaster preparedness. All I know is that FEMA does a lot with regards to disasters, so it seems like a good place to start.

In terms of the NIH Predoctoral Bioethics Fellowship, that sounds like it could be indirectly related to disaster preparedness, and maybe a little more rigorous of an intellectual activity than FEMA Corps. The ethics of a disaster response is an interesting area, such as flu pandemic prevention and other issues. Having a good understanding of bioethics would allow you a broader perspective when evaluating disaster preparedness plans and issues with vulnerable populations.

I would go with what I enjoy doing, and hence following your passion.

 

[Phosphene]

I suppose my greatest fear at this point is making the wrong decision (or the one that's less right). I'd like to get more research experience, but volunteering/public service is also something I'm passionate about. My biggest concern re: FEMA Corps is that I won't have as much time to prep for the GREs and work on applications to grad school, but I might not have that time unless I make it regardless of what I do.

 

[She-Hulk]

I suppose my greatest fear at this point is making the wrong decision (or the one that's less right). I'd like to get more research experience, but volunteering/public service is also something I'm passionate about. My biggest concern re: FEMA Corps is that I won't have as much time to prep for the GREs and work on applications to grad school, but I might not have that time unless I make it regardless of what I do.

The good thing is that none of this stuff looks bad on a grad school application, and MPH admission is NOT super competitive. In each case where you do different choices, you might end up getting admitted to the same schools anyway.

FEMA Corps looks fine to grad schools, you'll get on the ground experience with disaster victims. I don't know about time for studying for the GREs, but you'll probably have a lot of free time in the evenings and on the weekends.

Of course any NIH fellowship looks great for grad school too. Probably NIH is more prestigious than AmeriCorps, but if it's research not applicable to disaster management, who knows about that versus FEMA Corps for specific MPH concentrations in disaster management.

If you want more research experience, but will be working in disaster mangement longterm, then maybe now is the time to do more research? Who knows, you're future career plans might change regardless, or even based on what experiences you choose now.

Make a list of all your options and the pluses and minuses in terms of what you have passion for, future career goals, etc . . . They all look like good options to me, so maybe do something you've always wanted to do?

Look at disaster management schools like JHU and Tulane and see what research faculty does, maybe if your FEMA Corps is one of these cities you can do some research on the side.

You could always do FEMA Corps and then re-apply for an NIH fellowship too, some grad programs like a couple years of real world experience too.