How has an MPH strengthened your motivation for medeical school

[lookleft]

I have heard from many that have completed an MPH that it has strengthened their interest in medicine and better prepared them for a career in medicine. I was wondering for those that have done an MPH if you could tell me how this is so.

Thanks

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[Heal&Teach]

I've always had an interest in medicine, and didn't discover public health until my sophomore year of college when I took an undergraduate course in it. I only found that public health was something that I wanted to integrate into my practice as a physician through health education. I decided to pursue further public health training with the MPH and two years of work experience, which has certainly opened my eyes to the vast health disparities that exist within our society, let alone when it is compared to the health status of other countries. While prevention is the one thing that will undoubtedly improve the health status of our communities as a whole, medical care is still needed to assist in the maintenance phase of chronic illness. Thus, public health and medicine have an integral relationship that will forge improved health status in the future. All of this is to say that medicine has always been a known career path for me, and public health allowed me to understand more deeply the socio-behavioral/environmental factors that impact health.

 

[Robz]

For me it brings to light the need for true health in society. Take a trip to a clinic where an outbreak happened or check out a WIC clinic where they issue out food vouchers to poor moms. Its more of a grass roots approach and a general understanding of health around us.

I found after my MPH I understood administration, finances, epidemiology, and the ins & outs of govermental health inclusing medicare/medicaid.

 

[snowhite]

Funny, this is the same interview question I was asked when applying to medical schools. I think it depends on the concentration you are in. I did epidemiology and loved it!!! I had an awesome professor who was an EIS agent in the CDC and who was also an MD. It opened my eyes to what other options are available to doctors. In my interview I mentioned that it allows me to understand health on a wider basis and use this understanding as a foundation to understand health in individuals and communities. I've had friends who've done the community health concentration and they did more program based health stuff. Overall, it's personal and depends on what you do with it.