JD/MPH Anyone?

[AspiringDoctor9]

Hihi guys!

I was wondering what you all thought about a JD and MPH for those who wish to enter healthcare administration and shape policy-making on a governmental/legislative level? Feasible? Useful? Anything else?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Heal&Teach]

There was a JD in the Health Policy & Administration deparment (moreso a policy person) at my graduate institution that taught an outstanding course in Public Health Law. In fact, this was probably one of my favorite graduate courses. He did a wonderful job to present the integration of legal knowledge with pertinent public health issues. I think that a JD would be highly beneficial in terms of pursuing a career in policy in the future - esp. considering that many of our politicians were lawyers first before they moved higher up the political food chain.

 

[medlaw06]

When you say JD/MPH, do you mean EITHER 1 of those degrees as a joint degree to your medical degree, or do you mean the "JD-MPH" joint degree?

 

[AspiringDoctor9]

When you say JD/MPH, do you mean EITHER 1 of those degrees as a joint degree to your medical degree, or do you mean the "JD-MPH" joint degree?

I mean getting both JD and MPH degrees instead of a clinical medical degree.

 

[LoneCoyote]

Another option to consider if you are sure you want to go into policy is getting an MPA or MPP. I work in policy right now and the MPA/MPP seems to be the degree of choice for a lot of people, especailly those who have been working awhile. For example, the current Secretary of Health and Human Services here in CA has an MPP. I have heard that the JD can be useful, but that it is not really necessary for a lot of policy jobs. A lot of the people I have met with JDs who work in the policy arena are people who went to law school and realized they never wanted to practice law, and then ended up in government. I have a friend right now who is looking to get policy jobs with her JD and people keep saying she is over-qualified. Plus, she has massive loans to pay back, and many of the salaries she is looking at are not going to make it easy. So if you don't really want to practice law, the JD may not really be necessary. I know Cal has a program where you can get both an MPP and an MPH, so that type of program might be something to look into if you are interested in doing health related stuff.