Abbeyroad, that program looks awesome! Thanks for letting me know about it.
For anyone, what advantages does an MD/MPH have over a PhD in public health (any area)? Say I wanted to devote my career to global health, or to AIDS epidemiology, or whatever area of public health. Does having the MD on the side just give you the option to practice as a physician in that "80/20" split, or does it open up more job opportunities?
Great question, I've spent some time doing public health work in South East Asia and have had the opportunity to ask this same question to a lot of people (with these two degrees, or both). It really depends on what you want to do. An MD is a very powerful degree in global health, and a PhD gives you great grounding/technical expertise in one particular area.
I think when it comes to infectious diseases, an MD can be very useful because infectious diseases primarily deal with vaccines, drugs, treatments, etc (there is some factor of behavior change/social sciences with STDs and AIDS, of course). In this context, clinical training is an asset since the overlap between medicine and IDs is so strong. I know MD/MPHs who told me that the clinical training is much, MUCH, harder to obtain separately. They told me that it could be better to get the MD/MPH and then pick up in the necessary technical skills later (reading up on your own, finding the right mentors). People who have clinical training are highly valued when it comes to ID control. You don't need a PhD in epidemiology to be an epidemiologist. Of course, a PhD tremendously helps, but I feel a PhD is more applicable if research is going to be an integral part of your career. As a PhD, you might not be able to do as much clinical work, but it can still be incredibly useful when it comes to critical thinking and writing skills development.
For chronic diseases, it might be different because you're focusing primarily on policies that prevent them (nutrition, tobacco, alcohol, physical activity). There is an aspect of management of chronic diseases where clinical training can come into play.
An MD definitely opens up more job opportunities (e.g. if you want to be a medical officer, medical epidemiologist, medical anthropologist). But it's not absolutely critical to have. There might be more power behind the degree. It might give you more legitimacy and credibility when it comes to public health and policy. But this is just what I've heard from others in the field, I'm not an MD or a PhD so don't take my thoughts or experiences as truth. You should think about it carefully. An MD is a huge investment of time and money. But if you are certain about how you will use it and the relevance it will have in public health (because public health and medicine are not mutually exclusive), then it can be a very useful degree to have.
Give it some more thought. Talk to PhDs in global health. Talk to MDs in global health. Or also MD/PhDs in global health. Both are very distinct paths. I'll probably end up doing both, but from what I understand, an MD is a great degree to have in global health (numerous directors of major organizations like WHO and CDC are MDs). An MD with a track record of publications and experience in global health is comparable to any PhD or MD/PhD. It's what you do to get those experiences that matters most.
