Do you think a career in Public Health would be better for me?

[Paulz]

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Hi. I am currently an undergrad in my second year of college but I am thinking ahead. I really want to be in the health/medical field doing something. I volunteer at a hospital right now and work primarily with PAs and a few attendings and I really enjoy it. Except I really love to travel also. If I choose to become a MD or PharmD, I have no real option to travel internationally. I do, but it's very hard and the money you are in debt is really difficult to get out of.(Spending $200,000 on med school then going to work in Africa or Haiti for almost nothing will be very difficult to get out of).

My question is: would a career in Public Health allow me to frequently travel and work/live in other countries? What's really important to me(not in any order) is: a)traveling b)clincial work c)patient contact.

Could anything in Public Health allow me to do those more so than a career in the medical field would?

Thank you

Paulz

 

[Neuro415]

Public health is something I'm considering too. But I cant seem to find anywhere that says the average salary. Do you know it?

 

[Paulz]

I haven't did much research on it but I think it can range from $30,000 - $150,000 w/ a PhD(what I read I think).

I'd do it more for the ability to travel and have clinical/patient contact. A doctor doing that wouldn't make much money so I am not expecting to make that much as a health major. I just want to know if what I want to do is possible and if it's better for me to do community health as opposed to a science

 

[bozz]

Public health is something I'm considering too. But I cant seem to find anywhere that says the average salary. Do you know it?

Public health is a pretty general term though... I mean you could be a Public Health Nutritionist. I think you could find salaries but you'd probably have to be more specific.

 

[secants]

I hear people talking positively about Public Health/MPH but what exactly do you do? Are there different specialties/areas you focus on? Do most work for the government/hospitals or private as well?

Thanks 👍

 

[AmoryBlaine]

If you want the opportunity to travel abroad, work in PH, and not have alot of educational debt have you considered some form of engineering?

 

[dnagyrase]

hey everyone,

i just graduated from public health graduate school and am right about to start medical school. i hope i can offer some help on this topic. my first piece of advice is to check out the website for the Association of Public Health Schools (www.asph.org). This is a good starting off point to get a feel for what public health incorporates (as it is a very broad term) and what schools of public health are offering in terms of degrees. Another good website is the American Public Health Association (www.apha.org).

i studied epidemiology which is focused on finding statistical associations between health exposures and health outcomes. in epidemiology, you learn a great deal about how to set up studies to answer specific types of questions and then how to analyze the data from those studies. many people in medicine dive into epidemiology a bit because the basic ideas of epidemiology are very much tied into the basic ideas of clinical research.

i think if you want to help patients in a very direct, interactive way then you should go into medicine. If your dominating interest is in exploring the broader questions of human health and the institutions that deliver health services, then you go into public health.

But again, these fields are not mutually exclusive. Good luck.

 

[Paulz]

I actually am more concerned with traveling and working with people. The salary doesn't matter too much.

I want patient contact and to travel that's really important to me. Can a career in public health do that? If so what careers specifically?

Thank you

 

[jult24er]

Hi. I am currently an undergrad in my second year of college but I am thinking ahead. I really want to be in the health/medical field doing something. I volunteer at a hospital right now and work primarily with PAs and a few attendings and I really enjoy it. Except I really love to travel also. If I choose to become a MD or PharmD, I have no real option to travel internationally. I do, but it's very hard and the money you are in debt is really difficult to get out of.(Spending $200,000 on med school then going to work in Africa or Haiti for almost nothing will be very difficult to get out of).

My question is: would a career in Public Health allow me to frequently travel and work/live in other countries? What's really important to me(not in any order) is: a)traveling b)clincial work c)patient contact.

Could anything in Public Health allow me to do those more so than a career in the medical field would?

Thank you

Paulz

Not sure exactly what you mean by public health, but i think of it as an MPH, or degree in epidimiology, etc., that would be based on analyzing data, designing studies, writng papers, etc.

Maybe some lower level workers in these fields have some patient contact through surveying, etc. and maybe some mid-level project mangers who have some patient contact too.

the nice thing about medicine or another allied health field is that growing and getting to the top of your field, your work is still based on patient contact and giving clinical care. I do not think this is true of public health. Plus, in medicine, your salary is probably higher, and you have skills desired abroad, so I dont think it would be hard to travel some as a physician.

So I think b) is 100% more geared to medicine, c) a lot easier to count on in medicine and even a) may actually be easier to accomplish through medicine.

 

[Paulz]

Traveling is my main objective. If I couldn't travel I don't think I'd be happy. How can you travel in the medical field?

 

[dnagyrase]

Traveling is my main objective. If I couldn't travel I don't think I'd be happy. How can you travel in the medical field?

So one of the major fields within the umbrella of public health is international health. Many public health schools have a academic department devoted just to this area. Individuals in this department are interested in how patterns of diseases are developing around the world and their root causes. Additionally, they are interested in the development and evolution of health infrastructure/systems of different regions of the world.

If you want patient contact and want to travel, there are many possible avenues for you. Many American-trained physicians do international medical aid work everywhere (both short- and long-term stints). Some spend the majority of their careers practicing medicine outside of the states. Organizations such as WHO, Doctors Without Borders, Partners In Health, and the CDC have career tracks catered to individuals with medical training who want to work around the world. (also take a look at those websites I suggested on my last post)

One thing to keep in mind: if you want to directly help patients, you will most likely need to get medical training. Pursuing graduate studies in public health without any medical training will limit how you can directly help patients.

 

[Paulz]

So one of the major fields within the umbrella of public health is international health. Many public health schools have a academic department devoted just to this area. Individuals in this department are interested in how patterns of diseases are developing around the world and their root causes. Additionally, they are interested in the development and evolution of health infrastructure/systems of different regions of the world.

If you want patient contact and want to travel, there are many possible avenues for you. Many American-trained physicians do international medical aid work everywhere (both short- and long-term stints). Some spend the majority of their careers practicing medicine outside of the states. Organizations such as WHO, Doctors Without Borders, Partners In Health, and the CDC have career tracks catered to individuals with medical training who want to work around the world. (also take a look at those websites I suggested on my last post)

One thing to keep in mind: if you want to directly help patients, you will most likely need to get medical training. Pursuing graduate studies in public health without any medical training will limit how you can directly help patients.

Thanks for your post, very helpful.

Will "International Health" allow you to travel to more developed countries(non-3rd world)? Can that also be possible for a traveling doctor(Doctors w/o borders or something)?

 

[deleted74029]

Thanks for your post, very helpful.

Will "International Health" allow you to travel to more developed countries(non-3rd world)? Can that also be possible for a traveling doctor(Doctors w/o borders or something)?

I hear transplant surgeons have to travel alot, don't know if thats the kind of traveling you'd want to be doing though.

 

[Mayday]

Well, as a doctor, you can be a per-diem (I think that's the term) doc - you accept temporary assignments wherever you are needed. For international travels, you can do Doctors without borders which has a whole list of countries that you can go to, and they also provide assistance for natural disasters - which could conceivably be in any country.

 

[Paulz]

Well, as a doctor, you can be a per-diem (I think that's the term) doc - you accept temporary assignments wherever you are needed. For international travels, you can do Doctors without borders which has a whole list of countries that you can go to, and they also provide assistance for natural disasters - which could conceivably be in any country.

That link looks interesting. Can you choose where and for how long you'd want to go to a country?

 

[Mayday]

That link looks interesting. Can you choose where and for how long you'd want to go to a country?

I think that you can choose, but I know that there is a minimum commitment - I don't recall off the top of my head how long. I looked once before - all the info you need is on their site somewhere though. I would assume that for natural disasters that the time is just until all has been taken care of, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Mayday]

Just looked and I was wrong - you cannot choose. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/volunteer/field/faq.cfm#location

 

[joyrunner]

hey everyone,

i just graduated from public health graduate school and am right about to start medical school. i hope i can offer some help on this topic. my first piece of advice is to check out the website for the Association of Public Health Schools (www.asph.org). This is a good starting off point to get a feel for what public health incorporates (as it is a very broad term) and what schools of public health are offering in terms of degrees. Another good website is the American Public Health Association (www.apha.org).

i studied epidemiology which is focused on finding statistical associations between health exposures and health outcomes. in epidemiology, you learn a great deal about how to set up studies to answer specific types of questions and then how to analyze the data from those studies. many people in medicine dive into epidemiology a bit because the basic ideas of epidemiology are very much tied into the basic ideas of clinical research.

i think if you want to help patients in a very direct, interactive way then you should go into medicine. If your dominating interest is in exploring the broader questions of human health and the institutions that deliver health services, then you go into public health.

But again, these fields are not mutually exclusive. Good luck.

Thank you. This was such a helpful post. I was trying to figure this stuff out in undergrad. I wish you would have been around then to sum it up so succinctly.

 

[sanktank7]

Hey, I am in a similar situation where I wanted PH and international exposure in addition to being in healthcare. There is a large intersection of PH and medicine that Ive gotten recent exposure to through a fellowship at the CDC - its called the Emerging Infectious Disease program and it is sponsored by APHL and CDC. You can become a medical epidemiologist, or join the public health service to practice medicine abroad and you wont be broke. Also, public health is extremely broad - ranging from policy and health administration to epidemiology and interdisciplinary opportunities.

I can speak highly of this program especially because I am very interested in infectious disease and international health. I get to travel abroad through my work (I get paid to do it, ie. no debt and doesnt have to be faith-based...) all while studying malarial drug resistance and publishing! Please dont forget to consider post-grad options like this before applying to grad/med school.

Good Luck!

 

[Paulz]

Hey, I am in a similar situation where I wanted PH and international exposure in addition to being in healthcare. There is a large intersection of PH and medicine that Ive gotten recent exposure to through a fellowship at the CDC - its called the Emerging Infectious Disease program and it is sponsored by APHL and CDC. You can become a medical epidemiologist, or join the public health service to practice medicine abroad and you wont be broke. Also, public health is extremely broad - ranging from policy and health administration to epidemiology and interdisciplinary opportunities.

I can speak highly of this program especially because I am very interested in infectious disease and international health. I get to travel abroad through my work (I get paid to do it, ie. no debt and doesnt have to be faith-based...) all while studying malarial drug resistance and publishing! Please dont forget to consider post-grad options like this before applying to grad/med school.

Good Luck!

are the reqs for that the same as an MD or MPH?

 

[dnagyrase]

Thanks for your post, very helpful.

Will "International Health" allow you to travel to more developed countries(non-3rd world)? Can that also be possible for a traveling doctor(Doctors w/o borders or something)?

My general impression is that people in organizations like Doctors Without Borders are primarily interested in countries where medical aid work would make a big impact. This, however, does not imply that this is the ONLY focus.

Similarly, it seemed at my public health school that many people in International Health were focused on developing countries though, again, there will be variation.

If you have medical training, a great idea of what you want to do, how to do it, and who can help you get there...then I guess you could go without formal coursework training in public health. However, that does not describe everyone who wants to work abroad. By studying international health at a public health school, I would imagine (again not my specific area) that you develop a academic/conceptual framework to figure out what health problems on the international level are most important to you, what you want to do about those problems and what you can do. Furthermore, you would develop contacts (like an MBA program I would imagine) with classmates/professors that will help you get to where you want to go.

 

[McKaty]

Have you thought about nursing at all? Your debt definitely wouldn't be as high, you would have more direct patient contact, and there is potential to travel with it. Just finished up a job in public health and wasn't a huge fan. I spent a lot of time in an office designing programs for outreach. But I have a lot of friends in the field who love what they do. I'm not 100% sure, but I think a nurse would have more direct contact with people though.

 

[Paulz]

I've thought of nursing but i don't think that would give me enough exposure. I really like being the advisor of people(like a PA or doctor). I think more exposure is what I am looking for.

 

[jlittlej]

I've heard, second- or third- hand, that Doctors Without Borders actually gets more applicants than it can handle. You might need language skills and/or previous international experience, and you may not get to choose your initial location. Of course, there are other organizations that do international aid work. Much more common among docs I know are short "medical mission" trips of 7-14 days to locales like Latin America or Africa. Med school in other countries is much, much, much less expensive, so it's easier for Europeans to take jobs for organizations such as MSF (French acronym for Doctors Without Borders). You might be able to get on with the UN or WHO and do good work abroad while earning a more comfortable and loan-friendly salary. Also note that MSF does not accept PAs but does nurses and epidemiologists.

I romanticized international work in my previous profession (journalist), and I've since found that there's plenty of fascinating places in America that I don't know about. And there's certainly plenty of people here who need health care. Traveling is an awesome and valuable experience but work is work.

Comparatively, I think an MD gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of working abroad. One of the coolest things is the ability to take temp assignments in countries like Australia or New Zealand. You might only make $70k for a one-year contract, but that allows you to live somewhat comfortably and still pay loans or pretty nice if you've paid them with some post-residency work. That'd be a pretty great experience.

I've also been considering med or PA school vs. just an MPH (probably epidemiology) as of late. Be aware that the starting salary in public health seems to be about what you'd make as a high-school biology teacher - or less. There are international opportunities. Some of the programs partner with the Peace Corps, so you get an MPH and serve abroad for awhile as part of your degree. That experience would probably open a lot of doors in terms of WHO, UN or NGO work opportunities abroad. I hear good things about Tulane's international offerings, but you might be better off going to the best state school available, if possible, and minimizing the loans.

 

[Paulz]

Yea there are apparently a lot of organizations that offer international work probably from every coutnry around the world. I just have to find which one is right for me.

I mean money is not really too important since I'd expect to be in some third world countries not making very much. Are there any programs that would allow work in both developed and third world countries?

Thanks for all your input

 

[Paulz]

Moving this post back up.

Ideally I would like to be able to work 1-3 years in a particular area, have some sort of patient/personal contact, and have the ability to travel and move when I want.

 

[Paulz]

Anyone? More input would be appreciated

 

[JulianStarscape]

Working with the a branch of the armed forces is a great way to travel. I know the Navy has some great spots. Also you will come out with no debt, because they pay for everything through medical school and give a stipend.
Then name of the programs is called the HPSP. Each branch has one.

Of course there are many many drawbacks, strings, the dread of deployment.
But actually deployment is actually a travel experience too. Part of the US's PR in the world is through international humanitarian missions done through the Armed forces.

Not only that the armed forces actually have research centers in Jakarta, Guam, Cairo, to name a few that deal a lot with having doctors do public health studies, but I'm not really certain about what they do there.

Good luck