MPH vs. job

[Dave_D]

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Hi all,

Ok if you've read what I've been writing lately I'm going to re-apply for 2007 or 2008. So originally I was planning on going for an MPH while trying to get a job at the same school of public health.(Since that'd help pay the bills while I did it.) However before all of this happened I was trying to get a software engineering job and some recruiter is trying to set me up with a job programming for a company that does radiology stuff.(Mostly x-ray from what I understand.) For anybody out there which path would make me more competative, MPH and working at the school or the software engineering job?(It's medical related but the only school I talked to last time suggested I go for a grad degree. Plus I'd think a research job, assuming I could get one, would look better than some software engineering job even though it's technically medical related.)

 

[NotAnMD]

I took a job in a lab instead of the masters...

I think that was a good decision for me. Bear in mind that a masters can take 2 years. You can get great experience and rec letters from a one year in a full time job.

 

[Dave_D]

I took a job in a lab instead of the masters...

I think that was a good decision for me. Bear in mind that a masters can take 2 years. You can get great experience and rec letters from a one year in a full time job.

Well the problem is that as far as this other job (The SE one) is that it wouldn't be in a lab. I'm not really sure how adcoms would look on it.(I mean it is medical related but it'd be engineering rather than research or anything interacting with patients.)

 

[PariPari]

I thought about doing a 1yr MPH b/c I'm interested in primary care, but looking at your mdapp file....dude you've got less clinical experience than me! (not meant to be mean, i just found this place b/c i was rejected b/c i was told i lacked clinical experience)

I'd take the job & volunteer at a local clinic or whatever-that's what I'm doing- a research job + added clinical hours.
the way i figure it, you'll be making money instead of taking loans/classes. Plus I think ppl shouldn't do the degree b/c somebody told them it'd make them a more competitive app. My advisor told me that if you don't have experience outside just the MPH they pretty much laugh at you & it's hard to get research positions w/ the prof especially if you mention med school (but she could be lying).

 

[Dave_D]

I thought about doing a 1yr MPH b/c I'm interested in primary care, but looking at your mdapp file....dude you've got less clinical experience than me! (not meant to be mean, i just found this place b/c i was rejected b/c i was told i lacked clinical experience)

I'd take the job & volunteer at a local clinic or whatever-that's what I'm doing- a research job + added clinical hours.
the way i figure it, you'll be making money instead of taking loans/classes. Plus I think ppl shouldn't do the degree b/c somebody told them it'd make them a more competitive app. My advisor told me that if you don't have experience outside just the MPH they pretty much laugh at you & it's hard to get research positions w/ the prof especially if you mention med school (but she could be lying).

Really? I don't have enough clinical? I admit mine was short but I ended up with I think around 150hrs. (I guess I'm kind of curious how much you've got, the way my advisor talked about it she made it sound like 50 what you needed.)

The reason I was going with the masters is that I talked to one of the schools and they told me I should do it for further undergrad rehab.(While I did awesome post bacc damn did I do horrible when I was an undergrad when I was young.) One of the reasons I was hoping to do the MPH and work at the school was that if you worked for the school classes are fairly cheap.(I think you just pay taxes.) Doing the software engineering job seemed to me to be too far from medical stuff.(Even though like I've said, I'd be writing apps and stuff to pull images off of x-ray machines and mark them up and such.) Of course I could do the job and volunteer, not sure how that would look to adcoms.(BTW Yes I've completed all my requirements and yes I did incredibly well. However it seems even getting a 3.95 post bacc with 33 MCAT didn't make up for that undergrad gpa. Oh well, weighing options now.)

 

[PariPari]

opps- sorry i thought i found a post of yours mentioning lack of clinical stuff.
i have about 300ish mostly shadowing though- only about 100 of that is actual patient contact.
i dunno, you want to do the MPH, go ahead. I dunno what I'm doing, I should seriously stop pretending to give advice to others.

 

[jace's mom]

I had several people in my MPH program who were going on to med school afterwards. Some had already been accepted, and others were accepted while they were finishing the MPH. I think it can be a benefit, but I'm still not sure if you should do it. Here's why: I think that public health is truly a calling. You might be a traditional PH professional or you might combine it with being a nurse, physician, etc, but it definitely has to be something you love. I watched people drop out of the program for this exact reason, because they found that it just wasn't for them - they either hated it or were completely indifferent about it. You have to really love PH, or an MPH program will make you miserable.

For example, I've finished my MPH, and it was easily one of the best/most rewarding things I've ever done. It changed me...opened my mind to ideas and beliefs I'd never had before. I really feel that when I completed my program, for the first time ever I thought as a "grown-up" - a mature, confident individual, sure of myself and my science. Now I want to add clinical skills, but here's the funny thing (dons flame-******ant suit): I'm not too devoted to one kind of clinical field over another. I would like to be a DO because I think it suits my personality best, but I'm okay with pursuing something else if that doesn't happen. I've looked at accelerated nursing and physician's assistant programs. For me, the important thing is to get the clinical skills so that I can bring even more abilities into the PH sector. Additionally, I'm committed to getting clinical skills because I think all PH workers should be concerned about the ever-increasing shortage of trained health professionals. It's a problem, and I think it's in my job description to do my part to help fix it.

Anyway, sorry if I wrote too much or sound like a raving lunatic. To try and wrap this up: if you're truly interested in PH, get the degree. You'll be incredibly glad that you did. Otherwise, maybe consider something else. Hope this helps!

 

[Dave_D]

I had several people in my MPH program who were going on to med school afterwards. Some had already been accepted, and others were accepted while they were finishing the MPH. I think it can be a benefit, but I'm still not sure if you should do it. Here's why: I think that public health is truly a calling. You might be a traditional PH professional or you might combine it with being a nurse, physician, etc, but it definitely has to be something you love. I watched people drop out of the program for this exact reason, because they found that it just wasn't for them - they either hated it or were completely indifferent about it. You have to really love PH, or an MPH program will make you miserable.

For example, I've finished my MPH, and it was easily one of the best/most rewarding things I've ever done. It changed me...opened my mind to ideas and beliefs I'd never had before. I really feel that when I completed my program, for the first time ever I thought as a "grown-up" - a mature, confident individual, sure of myself and my science. Now I want to add clinical skills, but here's the funny thing (dons flame-******ant suit): I'm not too devoted to one kind of clinical field over another. I would like to be a DO because I think it suits my personality best, but I'm okay with pursuing something else if that doesn't happen. I've looked at accelerated nursing and physician's assistant programs. For me, the important thing is to get the clinical skills so that I can bring even more abilities into the PH sector. Additionally, I'm committed to getting clinical skills because I think all PH workers should be concerned about the ever-increasing shortage of trained health professionals. It's a problem, and I think it's in my job description to do my part to help fix it.

Anyway, sorry if I wrote too much or sound like a raving lunatic. To try and wrap this up: if you're truly interested in PH, get the degree. You'll be incredibly glad that you did. Otherwise, maybe consider something else. Hope this helps!

If you don't mind me asking what sort of MPH did you get? I mean the generic kind, biostats, epidemiology or what? Just curious since the impression I get from each of those is that they're different sorts of animals. (Epidemiology sounds fairly sciency and biostats sounds mathy either of which is what I tend to be interested in.)

 

[jace's mom]

Mine was a general MPH, and my choice of electives and internship gave me some flexibility to pursue my area of interest. I took an epi class as well as an extra couple of stats classes, one of which was very difficult (but fun!) and was taught by a prof who is well-known in the field. My undergrad degree was math, so that helped. My internship was with the Florida Dept of Health's Bureau of Epidemiology, Chronic Disease Section. I analyzed the effect of early colorectal cancer screening on disease stage at diagnosis (based on recent cancer data sets and behavioral risk factor surveys). I found epi to be very interesting, and I think all PH workers should have at least a basic understanding of it as it is the science behind PH. There are great opportunities in the field for it, as well...post-grad fellowships are available with the CDC as well as with many state agencies. These tend to be 2-year programs with a salary of ~38K per year, and they really open the door for those who want an epi career.

The other track available in my program was a health policy research option, with greater emphasis on healthcare administration, Medicare/Medicaid reform, etc. I had a little bit of contact with that side in that we were required to take 1 administration/policy class. Also, the prof who oversaw my thesis was from that side of things, so a lot of policy research went into the final product. It's not something I want to do with the rest of my life (in fact, I may never want to discuss Medicare again! 😴 ), but I did learn a great deal about how legislation and public opinion affect the quality and availability of healthcare.

 

[DoctorFunk]

I would really evaluate whether public health is a field which you would be happy working in if by some chance you never made it to med school. If you can't see yourself somewhat happy working in public health for a period of time, then it's probably not worth the two years of decent salary from the other job.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

When I applied (and I only applied once, to both MD and DO, accepted to DO, waitlisted at MD schools), the MD schools that I applied to said, "Buckeye, we like you, but your clinical experience just isn't there." So, I got waitlisted.

Clinical experience is IMPERATIVE.