Hello all. I am an American trained physician and am currently in psychiatry residency in the states. I have become increasingly interested in pursuing a MPH for a number of reasons. I really am interested in using my knowledge to work on reform/changes that would apply to a community as opposed to one patient at a time. I am specifically interested in international heath and have spent time doing volunteer work in impoverished communities abroad. I also want to eventually move to Germany and it seems that clinical medicine (rightfully so) requires re-taking boards etc in Germany. Not only that, but my German will never be good enough to catch all the nuances necessary for a psychiatrist to be attuned to.
That being said, would a MPH allow me to work at a population level in Germany? What sort of careers could you envision for an American MD/MPH working in Germany?
Thanks for any help you can offer. I am just starting my research and it seemed this would be a good place to ask for advice.
I would not jump through the hoops of an MPH to land a job in Germany doing public health work before researching what organization in Germany you would want to work for. Realize that in many EU countries that unemployment is high, and jobs are often given first to EU citizens, and the secondarily to foreigners.
You have greater than average job prospects being a licensed physician in the U.S. but you can't practice as a physician in Germany. Also, would anyone in a German company/government hire a foreigner who did not speak fluent german?? I really don't know the answer, but you would be at some disadvantage doing this.
I would ask around first to see if what qualifications are required to do public health work in Germany, i.e. talk with companies and government offices about this. You might be surprised in that they might tell you that you need a green card, or their version of it, and that they favor germans from the medical schools/public health schools over Americans. Germany (at least what used to be west germany) is an industrialized/modern country and an American M.D. doesn't qualify you for a better job than a recently graduate german college student.
Pursuing an MPH for work in developing countries is a good idea, but I am not so sure about an American MPH for Germany. In fact, you might do much better, and improve your German, if you got the MPH in Germany, presumably the MPH(or equivalent there) would include more German relevant topics.
