Medical School VS. School of Public Health (Preparations)

[erwinhblunt]

Hello. I'm about to go to college and I am quite confused on the whole process of preparing for medical school AND a public health school.

To give you some context, I am positive that I want to get a public health degree and I am also quite certain that I want to go to medical school. However (to my understanding), the types of classes / tests that need to be taken / internships / research / etc. etc. etc. are somewhat different when preparing for medical school vs. preparing for a public health school.

So the questions are:
1) Do medical schools care if most of your research, internships, and activities revolve around public health? What I was thinking was that I would prepare for med school and a PH program at the same time, then go with whatever is the better deal. After graduating from that school I would go and pursue the other degree.

2) Do public health school care if most of research, internships, and activities revolve around medicine? This question is identical to the first except that public health is switched to medicine.

3) If I decided to go to medical school first (I'm not interested in taking a year of med school to do public health, etc.), then how does the process change? Would I need to spend a couple of years gathering experience in the public health field, etc. before I apply?

4) Would my chances be any different (better or worse) if I applied after medical school?

5) Can I pursue my public health degree before doing residency? Do I have to re-apply for residency if I choose to do so?

6) How many times can I apply to the same public health school? How many times can I apply to the same medical school? Do they have a limit or can I get in eventually as long as I continue to improve my application year after year?

Sorry for the deluge of questions, but I am quite confused about the process and there aren't many doctors / public health graduates that I know.

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[MrLogan13]

Why wouldn't you be interested in just doing an MD/MPH program?

 

[Just Call Me Doc]

To expand on what @MrLogan13 is suggesting, many schools offer a dual degree in both MD and Masters in Public Health. Most of these programs add another year devoted to public health (usually between the 3rd and 4th year) to make it a 5 year program, while a few others incorporate public health throughout the curriculum to make it a 4 year one. Some of these schools allow you to submit just one application for the MD/MPH program through AMCAS, while other may require you to apply separately to the MPH after you are admitted to the MD program. Look at the individual schools to see what they offer for MD/MPH programs and what their requirements are.

In terms of preparing to apply to an MD/MPH program, you will need to try and cover both medical and public health activities. The med school portion will want sufficient clinical exposure through shadowing or clinical volunteering and the public health side will want at least some public health experience.

It seems you have a great interest in public health, so I would suggest focusing most of your research and internships on what you have enjoy most. Just make sure you have sufficient clinical exposure to show that you understand enough what you're getting into in medicine. Again, research individual programs and schools to see what they are looking for in an applicant to get the best idea of what you need.

 

[neekzg]

From what I've seen, the majority of MD/MPH programs have you apply as MD first and you decide later on if you want to add the MPH. In this case, medical schools won't really look to see if you've satisfied the pre-requirements for a public health degree. To be competitive for their joint MPH program, I would think it helps to have some public health experience aside from your personal interest shown when applying.

 

[ReadyforMed]

I am currently finishing up my MPH and applying. I am doing a 5-year combined BS/MPH program though. To answer your questions:
1. No clue.
2. Mine didn't. They said my application was really competitive. That was after 2 years of doing the pre-med focused stuff (volunteering, research, ECs, etc)
3. Public health field and medicine can overlap a lot. I think you should be fine aiming for one area and it applying to the other.
4. My class actually has a lot of physicians pursuing an MPH. One guy is sometimes late to class because his surgeries run a bit long.
5. I know a neurosurgery resident (5th year) who is finishing hers up before her 6th year.
6. Apply all the times. Try to get in on the first shot though.

Good luck.