Is an MPH worthless?

[LiamNeesons]

I've nearly finished an MPH but I'm not sure if I can stomach completing it. My program is a joke, and I've been accepted to medical school. I don't want to spend my last summer doing something I hate. My gut tells me it will not be career suicide if I take a certificate of public health instead of a masters. Thoughts?

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[Smokemont]

I've nearly finished an MPH but I'm not sure if I can stomach completing it. My program is a joke, and I've been accepted to medical school. I don't want to spend my last summer doing something I hate. My gut tells me it will not be career suicide if I take a certificate of public health instead of a masters. Thoughts?

You should prob check with the med school you are going to attend to see if your acceptance is contingent on finishing the MPH. I believe mine was on my MS.

 

[duckie99]

dude just tough it out. Generally I'd say not to do one if you were in med school and taking a year off to complete it, but in your case you did it before med school and are just about done... It won't hurt when it comes to residency apps down the line (the extent of how much it helps is debatable however...).

 

[Textbookversion]

I've nearly finished an MPH but I'm not sure if I can stomach completing it. My program is a joke, and I've been accepted to medical school. I don't want to spend my last summer doing something I hate. My gut tells me it will not be career suicide if I take a certificate of public health instead of a masters. Thoughts?

Why's your status as med student when you aren't one >.> also finish the MPH.

 

[D elegans]

If you finish the MPH, you can put that on your hospital name badge as Liam Neesons, MPH and look like a bad*ss.







/sarcasm. But I would finish your degree, you've already made it this far. Just adopt the "well it's almost over" attitude.

 

[notbobtrustme]

Finish it, but yes, an MPH is mostly worthless.

 

[11MD2B]

Absolutely finish the degree. It will ll come up in your residency interviews and can only hurt you if you don't finish. The utility of the degree is debatable, depends on what capacity you want to practice in but it can certainly open doors for you later in your career if you want to pursue research or administrative positions. Finish what you start.

 

[itsmcv2015]

I've nearly finished an MPH but I'm not sure if I can stomach completing it. My program is a joke, and I've been accepted to medical school. I don't want to spend my last summer doing something I hate. My gut tells me it will not be career suicide if I take a certificate of public health instead of a masters. Thoughts?

Are you still a pre-med? If so I think you should check with your school after starting. I doubt they would be unwilling to let you switch to MD only once you've matriculated. I doubt it would impact residency but I'm not there yet so who knows.

 

[valkener]

Just half-ass it.. nobody will care about your grades and you're almost done. Also skip 1/2 of the classes and come up with a good excuse like "have to take care of my goldfish who has pancreatic cancer."

 

[blue0rchid]

finish the MPH. Some school will let you skip some units or class if you already have an MPH, depends on the school though.

 

[SJD24]

I'm curious to know why the OP and others feel an MPH is worthless or "mostly worthless". And of those making that claim, I'm curious to know which posters actually have an MPH.

Thanks!

 

[badasshairday]

I'm curious to know why the OP and others feel an MPH is worthless or "mostly worthless". And of those making that claim, I'm curious to know which posters actually have an MPH.

Thanks!

In family feud fashion: Survey says YES! MPH is worthless.

 

[LiamNeesons]

I have 36/42 credits towards an MPH and am considering not finishing it because I don't want the credentials on my CV. If I upgrade from a certificate to an MPH, I will have to go from saying public health was interesting to saying yea I really think this degree could be useful... With a straight face.

Note: some concentrations could be helpful, not mine.

 

[JGimpel]

MPH and SMP are last resorts for people trying to get into med school and that's why they're seen that way. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but fix your grades in your undergrad college without all the extra time and expense and move on from there. If you're already enrolled in one of these, accept your decision and finish it.

 

[LiamNeesons]

MPH and SMP are last resorts for people trying to get into med school and that's why they're seen that way. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but fix your grades in your undergrad college without all the extra time and expense and move on from there.

I absolutely agree with this.

 

[GadRads]

MPH and SMP are last resorts for people trying to get into med school and that's why they're seen that way. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but fix your grades in your undergrad college without all the extra time and expense and move on from there. If you're already enrolled in one of these, accept your decision and finish it.

Not true for everyone. I know MPHers who don't want to pursue medicine. There are others who finished an MD and got an MPH afterwards.

 

[JoshSt]

Not true for everyone. I know MPHers who don't want to pursue medicine. There are others who finished an MD and got an MPH afterwards.

Agreed, I know multiple examples of both. I also know several med students that did do it to get into med school, but I don't think one can assume that is the majority.

 

[loveoforganic2]

I'm curious to know why the OP and others feel an MPH is worthless or "mostly worthless". And of those making that claim, I'm curious to know which posters actually have an MPH.

Thanks!

I'm a med student in a combined MD/MPH, and I'll say that career-wise (as far as getting a residency, job, etc.) it probably has pretty much no value over what the MD carries alone. If you accomplish something significant during the MPH year (other than just the classes), sure, it can be more relevant. As far as knowledge gained, I don't think its worthless, or I wouldn't be doing it!

 

[Medstart108]

I absolutely agree with this.

Finish it. i'm considering doing an MPH after med school. Trust me, MD MPH will distinguish you from an MD in the sense that it makes you look more learned and makes your name longer . It will never hurt you either and you will so regret it if you just gave up after paying all those tuition fees and spending all that time on a project.

Having a certificate of public health is no different from having nothing. No one has ever heard of a certificate of public health not to mention if MPH usefulness is low, a certificate is nil.

 

[Etorphine]

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[Laryngophed]

You should prob check with the med school you are going to attend to see if your acceptance is contingent on finishing the MPH. I believe mine was on my MS.

This. My school has an express policy of not allowing a student to matriculate if they have not finished their other graduate program or at least have a plan to do so approved by their PI/advisor.

Don't screw yourself out of an admission to medical school. You should also finish the degree because people (read PDs) will look at your transcript and wonder why you have hanging chad for a degree in there.

 

[SJD24]

MPH and SMP are last resorts for people trying to get into med school and that's why they're seen that way. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but fix your grades in your undergrad college without all the extra time and expense and move on from there. If you're already enrolled in one of these, accept your decision and finish it.

OP, is this why you decided to get an MPH? If so, I can understand why you might think it is worthless since it may have only been a means to your end -- medicine. Or, perhaps your MPH focus/concentration/department wasn't challenging? Congrats on your med acceptance, btw.

I got my MPH before med school and the only reaction I ever receive is overwhelmingly positive. The epi/biostats skills I gained are priceless when it comes to working with MDs on research projects or reading literature. But like the OP and others have said, you should only get an MPH if you are interested in research, population health, etc.

And not all MPH "concentrations" are created equal (as the OP alluded to). For instance, you can get an MPH in social and behavioral science (tons of fluff and common sense stuff) or biostats (hardcore stats, data management, study design). Obviously one of these is more marketable and useful (per say) down the road as a physician/scientist.

 

[RN to MD 2016]

My husband is a director of public health for a county health department. He cannot understand why med students get an MPH. If you want to run a public health department an MBA is far more applicable to the work a director would do. If you just want an MPH behind your name or have an interest I guess there is no harm done but it is tough to see what a clinical physician would get from an MPH.

 

[SJD24]

My husband is a director of public health for a county health department. He cannot understand why med students get an MPH. If you want to run a public health department an MBA is far more applicable to the work a director would do. If you just want an MPH behind your name or have an interest I guess there is no harm done but it is tough to see what a clinical physician would get from an MPH.

Sorry, I'm confused, does your husband have an MPH or an MD or both?

I'd be interested to know why someone who runs a health department doesn't think the entry level degree for his position is necessary, with or without an MD. I might be going out on a limb here, but I would think having a strong foundation in epi/biostats (gained from an MPH) would be ESSENTIAL to overseeing a health department. I can say that the epi/biostat training in med school is an absolute joke compared to what was taught during my MPH.

It would make sense that the accounting/managerial skills acquired during an MBA degree would apply to running a county health department given the job title and wide ranging budget cuts over the past decade (or more).

Still not convinced by all the posters saying an MPH is worthless as a stand alone or dual degree (MD/MPH). Obviously, if you aren't interested in public health, you are going to think an MPH is worthless TO YOUR CAREER, just as any other degree would be if you aren't interested in getting it. Still waiting for an MD/MPH to post his/her opinion on the matter.

 

[badasshairday]

actually now that I think about it it's worth it. Just for the biostats. That stuff keeps rearing its ugly head during every board exam.

 

[LiamNeesons]

Sorry, I'm confused, does your husband have an MPH or an MD or both?

I'd be interested to know why someone who runs a health department doesn't think the entry level degree for his position is necessary, with or without an MD. I might be going out on a limb here, but I would think having a strong foundation in epi/biostats (gained from an MPH) would be ESSENTIAL to overseeing a health department. I can say that the epi/biostat training in med school is an absolute joke compared to what was taught during my MPH.

It would make sense that the accounting/managerial skills acquired during an MBA degree would apply to running a county health department given the job title and wide ranging budget cuts over the past decade (or more).

Still not convinced by all the posters saying an MPH is worthless as a stand alone or dual degree (MD/MPH). Obviously, if you aren't interested in public health, you are going to think an MPH is worthless TO YOUR CAREER, just as any other degree would be if you aren't interested in getting it. Still waiting for an MD/MPH to post his/her opinion on the matter.

Don't make me post PowerPoints from my lectures.

 

[Solara]

It depends on what you want to do. If you envision combining clinical training with a public health perspective even in some aspect in your career, then yea finish it. If you only plan to stay in a clinic or hospital your entire life with absolutely no involvement in public health, then maybe it's brought into question.

Do not pursue an MPH for extra letters. The only reason that you should ever pursue an MPH is for the perspective it gives you. Or the skills in epidemiology and biostatistics. It should serve some purpose for your career. But since you're so close, I say finish it (I say this without knowing your career goals).

It may give you more flexibility in the future if you want to pursue a career in public health and medicine. The MD is what opens the doors, not the MPH. Having an MD/MPH may give the impression you have a public health perspective, but someone can have just as good of a perspective without the MPH. Just something to consider.

What is it exactly you want to do in your career? Only clinical medicine, or other work in medicine AND public health?

 

[naus]

MPH is pretty worthless. There's a huge shortage of physicians in government and public health, and an oversupply of MPHs. Thus your MD alone will get your foot into most county, state or federal departments. My wife did an MPH, the level of biostats they learned wasn't much more than what we learned in medical school plus undergrad stat.

An MBA from a top program would be more worthwhile, but then again you might as well work for McK afterwards.