DPM and MHA

[feetsreets]

So I've been thinking of doing the Dual Degree option and getting a Masters of Health Care Administration. I posted here to see what current practicing podiatrists and even residents think of this plan, if they wish they had done something like it, or regretted it, think it's a waste of money and time. Would a pod practice or group give more consideration to someone with a MHA as a partner since they have that background? Or not really.

I am leaning towards it, and want to do it to get a good idea of the business side of things, and maybe one day have my own practice, or become a partner in a practice. Or simply it would give me a better understanding and insight into a hospital system. I'm just curious what you all think.

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[NatCh]

I knew a few students who did the dual degree program at Des Moines when I went there but I don't know if they ever made use of that degree. If you're interested in being a practicing podiatrist I think the MHA degree is minimally useful (someone correct me if I'm wrong please). If you think you might have an interest in being an Administrator in a large group setting (someone shoot me in the leg please) I could see it being useful on your resume. Could you see yourself as a Medical Director in a multispecialty group ? Some guys really like that role.

 

[heybrother]

Semi-relevant, but I've posted negatively about master's type programs before (see my quotes below). I'm sure whatever podiatry school you are going to would love to pick up an extra... $$$K from you or whatever it is they cost.

My personal thoughts:
-If you're going to do something - do it right. Pick a program that can actually give you skills. My MPH did not give me skills - it gave me enough knowledge to realize there were real fields that I didn't know anything about. Speaking of skills - how will putting time into the MHA affect your development of clinical skills and knowledge?
-Don't use your podiatry school - there is nothing prestigious about any of the podiatry schools so if letters matter they are not the place to look. Down the road you'll be a clinician and potentially someone a program would be more interested in than they are now.
-Some masters degrees are technical and teach you skills - others have a tendency to develop or evolve a knowledge base you already have to teach you to look at it different. I suspect an MHA is probably more in line with the second. You likely don't have any hospital experience yet so there's no core knowledge base to develop. I still remember during my masters people giving presentations in which they talked about how they were going to reinvigorate whatever public health system - their reviewers frequent and painful comment was "I'm sorry, but you clearly have no understanding of how things currently are."

I think that would be a total waste of your time and money. If you want to do podiatry then commit yourself to it. If you are truly motivated then there is always something more you could be doing in your classes. There's always more journal articles and surgery textbooks that you could be looking at. There's always something you've already covered that you could look back on to hammer in. Get your DPM. Get an awesome residency at a place of your choosing - perhaps at a large academic medical center. Then use the connections you've developed to get an MPH when you are at the height of your knowledge where you want to do it. Don't "fall" into one of these programs because they are "convenient" or "its just another year". This is something you should go into eyes wide open with a plan. What doors will this MPH open for me. What will be different about my skill set when I finish this additional, expensive, time consuming program. I have an MPH (not from DMU - prior to podiatry school) - none of the classes I took during it matched the difficulty of a single science class at DMU. Too many of the classes were terribly unfocused. There weren't enough classes in my discipline. I didn't have a plan - it was convenient, easy, and worthless. Don't settle for something. Don't fall into something. Develop a core strong knowledge set in podiatry and then open the doors you want to open.

I don't claim to know much about MHAs, but what does "beneficial" even mean. What exactly will it do for you? And why exactly would you need to acquire it in school and not down the road? Ask yourself these questions. Our schools tend to be fixated on tuition - its how they keep the lights on. Why here? Why now? How much? How can it be "convenient" to take extra course-work during a time where you are already getting hammered with coursework and should be devoting yourself to reinforcement and mastery. The vast majority of podiatrists are in small practices. Do they all need MHA degrees? Are you hoping to be an administrator or is this supposed to open academic doors? If you want to open academic doors then it seems to me a degree from a more prestigious institution would be in line or that you should consider that old rule about not having all your letters from the same place. Do you believe this will somehow allow you to more efficiently monetize a small practice? Could there possibly be better or cheaper ways to improvement the management through online coursework or accounting/marketing classes? Last of all - do you believe an MHA would help you acquire a residency?

 

[feetsreets]

Thanks! I really do appreciate the responses! I had similar concerns about when or if I would even use the degree down the line. I do have a friend working as a director in a hospital in the public health sector in NYC and does a lot of great things for the community which was inspiring. But he wasn't a doctor before or anything. And I'm sure if j wanted to get involved in community programs I wouldn't need a MHA or MPH to help out later. I wanted to get perspectives before I committed to a 30k+ extra tuition/loans. Thank you again!

 

[hematosis]

useless degree.