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Anyone pursuing/already have an MPH before applying to DO schools? If so, do you think it will be/was a factor in getting into med school?
MPH to DO?
- Thread starter ItNeverEnds
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Hi!
I'm doing the m.p.h. right now in the middle of applications. I don't know if it's helping at all numbers-wise (I didn't start the program til after I submitted myaacomas), but I think it' helping in my interviews. One of the reasons for that, I think, is that my major is public and community health educations. I relate that to how I want to be a primary care physician and how i want my patients to really understand preventive practices and why i will recommend certain things. Besides admissions, though, I think it is really helping me see all of the sides of medicine - economic, policy, administrative, etc. and is really showing me a lot of useful insight into increasing patient compliance. Hope that helps!
I'm doing the m.p.h. right now in the middle of applications. I don't know if it's helping at all numbers-wise (I didn't start the program til after I submitted myaacomas), but I think it' helping in my interviews. One of the reasons for that, I think, is that my major is public and community health educations. I relate that to how I want to be a primary care physician and how i want my patients to really understand preventive practices and why i will recommend certain things. Besides admissions, though, I think it is really helping me see all of the sides of medicine - economic, policy, administrative, etc. and is really showing me a lot of useful insight into increasing patient compliance. Hope that helps!
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Hi ABW,
Thank you for your post! I am also an MPH student (U. of Connecticut) and plan to apply to medical school next summer. I am really happy to have decided to pursue the MPH before applying to med school, as it provides you with a multifaceted understanding of medicine and healthcare.
By the way, where are you doing your MPH?
Any current DO students who took an MPH before med school?
INE
Thank you for your post! I am also an MPH student (U. of Connecticut) and plan to apply to medical school next summer. I am really happy to have decided to pursue the MPH before applying to med school, as it provides you with a multifaceted understanding of medicine and healthcare.
By the way, where are you doing your MPH?
Any current DO students who took an MPH before med school?
INE
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I'm in my 2nd year of my MPH and will have it done before I start med school. It's been a wonderful experience!I get the biostatistics, epi, environmental health, health policy, and social-behavioral sciences as my core courses. I'm planning to go into community-based preventive medicine so my MPH concentration is on program planning and evaluation, and my electives are all on research methods. It's a great way to understand the health care system on a large scale.
Some tips:
1) there are MPH programs that you can get tuition free if you are a medical student. It saves you money, and time (1 year instead of two) that you do after your 2nd or 3rd year in med school. I didn't want to take this route b/c 1)wanted the flexibility to take more courses and get into greater depths with a two year program, 2) I didn't want to break up 4 years of med school, 3) many of the DO schools that offer MPH are small and not well established.
2) many schools offer a MPH but they are not ASPH (assoc. of schools of public health) accredited. Make sure it is, you can't get ASPH/CDC fellowships and internships if you go to a non-APHA accredited public health school.
good luck!
Some tips:
1) there are MPH programs that you can get tuition free if you are a medical student. It saves you money, and time (1 year instead of two) that you do after your 2nd or 3rd year in med school. I didn't want to take this route b/c 1)wanted the flexibility to take more courses and get into greater depths with a two year program, 2) I didn't want to break up 4 years of med school, 3) many of the DO schools that offer MPH are small and not well established.
2) many schools offer a MPH but they are not ASPH (assoc. of schools of public health) accredited. Make sure it is, you can't get ASPH/CDC fellowships and internships if you go to a non-APHA accredited public health school.
good luck!
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You asked it this affects your chances of getting into med school. The courses you take affect your GPA much since when you apply you'll only have a semesters worth of grades to report (most won't count as science). What it does affect is your understanding of the health care system, your knowledge of reseach theory and methods, and added practical/working experience. I think having a MPH is no better than the gajillion of other things you can do on your year or two "off".
People take many different routes (research, pharm co, travel, business, post bac, teaching, etc.) before going to med school, you can make most anything sound like it will make you be a better physician. SO pick what you want to do the most b/c YOU want it, not because you think it will make you a better candidate. If you do what you love, you can't go wrong.
People take many different routes (research, pharm co, travel, business, post bac, teaching, etc.) before going to med school, you can make most anything sound like it will make you be a better physician. SO pick what you want to do the most b/c YOU want it, not because you think it will make you a better candidate. If you do what you love, you can't go wrong.
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Hey ItNeverEnds! I almost went to UConn! It was in my final three bc the admissions staff were so friendly and so helpful, but I decided for U of Maryland. Avonlea - the funding issue isn't just for med school students. Pretty much everywhere I applied to offered assistantships/fellowships - esp. where I am now - anybody who needs it gets a research/teaching assistantship or fellowship which covers full tuition costs and a yearly stipend of about $13,000. If anyone is reading this and thinking about doing an m.p.h., I'd definitely go for it!
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I completed an MPH before DO school. It was a factor, but I'm not sure how much of one. There are, however, 3 MPHs out of my med school class of 88.
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Hey,
I am doing my MPH at the UMDNJ School of Public Health which is APHA accredited. B/c my undergrad was so-so, my MPH background was very helpul in terms of giving me exposure to the healthcare field, research/work experiences, and knowledge of medically related issues. I think it has atleast been a real + on my application, so far, although when I interviewed at AZCOM and TUCOM they didnt appear to appreciate my MPH background.
I have been offered 4 more interviews at PCOM, LECOM, UHS, and KCOM, and I doubt this would have been possible with solely my undergrad background.
GOOD LUCK!
NJDESI
I am doing my MPH at the UMDNJ School of Public Health which is APHA accredited. B/c my undergrad was so-so, my MPH background was very helpul in terms of giving me exposure to the healthcare field, research/work experiences, and knowledge of medically related issues. I think it has atleast been a real + on my application, so far, although when I interviewed at AZCOM and TUCOM they didnt appear to appreciate my MPH background.
I have been offered 4 more interviews at PCOM, LECOM, UHS, and KCOM, and I doubt this would have been possible with solely my undergrad background.
GOOD LUCK!
NJDESI
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Hi, everyone.
I just joined this forum and found myself very engrossed in this topic. I just received my MPH from UC Berkeley SPH and was thinking about pursuing a DO. I wasn't sure how many people here jumped from MPH to DO. I looked up DOs with MPHs and didn't find too many people. What would your objectives be with both of these degrees? I'm really interested in DO concept of treating patients with OMM, but I'm wondering how my infectious disease-focused MPH would help me. Any ideas? I really would rather not ditch my training as a public health researcher/epidemiologist.
I just joined this forum and found myself very engrossed in this topic. I just received my MPH from UC Berkeley SPH and was thinking about pursuing a DO. I wasn't sure how many people here jumped from MPH to DO. I looked up DOs with MPHs and didn't find too many people. What would your objectives be with both of these degrees? I'm really interested in DO concept of treating patients with OMM, but I'm wondering how my infectious disease-focused MPH would help me. Any ideas? I really would rather not ditch my training as a public health researcher/epidemiologist.
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benogurl,
You can definitely use both degrees well. I had lunch with Dr. Katherine West MD MPH who is a part time faculty at Touro. She's an epidemiologist who works at UCSF doing research and sees patients too. Most of my mentors at UC Davis had a MD MPH and they were into academic medicine.
I'm planning to do a CDC internship before I head off to DO school this fall. It's definitely do-able.
You can definitely use both degrees well. I had lunch with Dr. Katherine West MD MPH who is a part time faculty at Touro. She's an epidemiologist who works at UCSF doing research and sees patients too. Most of my mentors at UC Davis had a MD MPH and they were into academic medicine.
I'm planning to do a CDC internship before I head off to DO school this fall. It's definitely do-able.
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Based on what I read about osteopathic medicine, DOs tend to promote a preventive approach to healthcare, which is in line with the type of thinking that schools of public health enforce.
In short, if you want to use your MPH degree once you become a clinician, by all means go for it.
INE
In short, if you want to use your MPH degree once you become a clinician, by all means go for it.
INE
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Hi ABW,
Which campus of UMD are you at? I thought only the Baltimore had an MS in Epidemiology. The College Park campus has an MPH program but I also thought I heard it wasn't accreditied by APHA.
An info will be useful.
Which campus of UMD are you at? I thought only the Baltimore had an MS in Epidemiology. The College Park campus has an MPH program but I also thought I heard it wasn't accreditied by APHA.
An info will be useful.
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bump! 
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Hey! I'm at college park. We are accredited, although i can't find it on the website, by apha and whatever group accredits education specialties (as in school education majors). i'm not too familiar with baltimore, but i know they have at least a d.p.h. (doctors of public health) program cause a lot of people from that campus will take some classes at college park. so i would guess they have an m.p.h. too (I have no idea) Let me know if you have any more questions!
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ASPH --> www.asph.org has a list of accredited schools of public health and info on the ASPH/CDC internships and fellowships.
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Thanks, Avonlea! How competitive are the CDC internships?
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bump!
