Do?mph

[sunnydays]

Anyone know exactly what I could do with an MPH degree as a DO? Also, what are the personal and financial benefits as compared to having just the DO?

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[DrMom]

Public health is usually not a financial draw (in general....and the most likely exception is health administration). Most people go for the MPH because of the areas of medicine they want to work in: epidemiology, occupational medicine, etc.

You can do the same things as a DO or an MD, so I'm not really sure what you're asking. If you have general questions about public health, I recommend that you check out the MPH forum. There is a sticky with some great public health websites, along with some good threads.

 

[DoctorInSpace]

Sometimes an MPH is a requirement if you want to do specific work for a government agency, like the CDC. I know for the Air Force, as part of becoming a Flight Surgeon, the first year is getting my MPH at any school of my choosing......and the Air Force pays. Dr. Mom is right---if you want to do epidemiology especially---then an MPH is helpful/necessary. It is a good degree to have because it can offer you some extra opportunities.

I know a lot of schools offer an MPH for free to DO students, and some of my classmates are taking advantage of that. Since I don't want to spread myself too thin, and the Air Force will pay for it later, I'm not doing it at the moment.

Best of luck

 

[PublicHealth]

Check out the Master of Public Health forum. There is tons of info in there regarding what you can do with an MPH.

 

[BklynWill]

I concentrated in Health Policy and Admin during my MPH and I intend to use this background as an opportunity to one day move up into hospital administration.