Pursuing MPH with MD for 2011?

[dogbarks]

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I am a long time reader of SDN and signed up specifically to ask this question (to let you know that I am not a troll)

I an planning on applying to medical school for the 2011 or 2012 cycle. I just took the MCAT and received a 33 and have a 3.6 GPA from a NY university.

My concern is whether or not I should do an MPH before medical school or during? Here is what my endeavors are with medicine:

--Want to start my own free health clinic (my family was homeless for 6 months)

--Would like to possibly teach and go into academic medicine

--Extensive volunteer work with homeless population.

Well, i PERSONALLY want to get an MPH just so I can learn more about public health and how it relates to medicine. I can't imagine the two being separate right now. It just interests me.

1. However, I kind of want to know what can I actually DO with an MPH with my MD degree?

2. How will an MPH help me with my endeavors with a Free Clinic?

3. I want to emphasize preventative medicine and health education into my Free Clinic...how would an MPH specifically help me achieve this?

4. If I wanted to start a Free Clinic abroad, would an MPH open any more doors than my normal MD would?

5. Any other areas would an education in public health compliment my MD degree and my ambitions to work with underserved?

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I definitely want to do this because I want to learn about healthcare trends and specific needs and so forth. However, I do not know if it is worth the 30k on top of the debt I am already in.

Please help!!! I have a lot of compassion for an MPH but need some hard facts on what it can do for me and my particular endeavors.

Anyone with similar ambitions with medicine and a desire to do MD/MPH DO/MPH would be wonderful =]

thanks!!

 

[dogbarks]

Bump!!

MPH buddies....please help !! =]

 

[zer0crew]

4. In my completely unsubstantiated opinion, I think an MPH is a lot like an MBA or a M.Acc; It doesn't necessarily make you a shoe-in for things, but it will at least get people to slow down and look at your resume/application more seriously. This could definitely be important when you go to apply for a government grant or a bank loan to start up the free health clinic.


I think you're totally on the right track and I think programs like MPH will become more important and more common in the next few decades (i.e., until we all retire) because some of the biggest health problems are NOT acute (gunshot wounds, hit by a bus, etc.), they're more broad and commonly relate to peoples lifestyle. With an MPH you'll probably be better equipped to solve these problems not in a 1-on-1 clinic setting, but in raising awareness and starting prevention campaigns. You'll probably have a better understanding of the "big picture" problems, you'll be better equipped to deal with them and you'll probably have a tiny bit more credibility than most.

Bottom Line: If you're interested in getting you MPH, heed the words that Arnold Schwarzenegger said; "Do it now!!" When else would you be able to afford to take a full year off to go back to school? (From a monetary OR a career standpoint)

 

[drizzt3117]

You don't need a mph to do any of the things you mention. MBA is a totally different type of degree. It's more about networking than anything else.

 

[zer0crew]

You don't need a mph to do any of the things you mention. MBA is a totally different type of degree. It's more about networking than anything else.

I totally agree, they are different degrees. (I was an accounting major until halfway through my junior year and my sister is currently getting her MBA). I was just trying to get across the point that the MPH and MBA degrees are similar in that the degree itself doesn't really get you anything, thats all. (At least nothing like a Ph.D, MD, DO, PharmD, etc.) They're a nice resume booster, but they're not what most people would call "game changers"

Also, dogbarks, you got me curious about MPH programs so I called the University of Minnesota and talked to a lady in their MD/MPH program and she said that you actually don't need to apply for the MPH when you submit your AMCAS (you know the box that says "Regular MD, MD/PhD, MD/Dual Degree"?) Apparently a lot of the people do it between MS-2 and MS-3, but some people don't even apply to do it until spring of MS-4 and then do it after they finish med school. So it sounds like you'll have a lot of flexibility and by no means do you have to decide when you apply.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do!

 

[orangeANDgreen]

although this isn't advice on whether or not your should get an MPH. UMiami just launched a combined MPH/MD program in the normal 4 year span starting for the c/o 2015

 

[yellowfever2012]

i'm glad you asked this question, dogbarks, because i'm in exactly the same position. i'd like to start a free health clinic (probably abroad), i'd like to eventually teach, and most of my volunteer work has been among homeless or otherwise indigent populations. thanks for asking this question!!

i'm meeting with a pre-med advisor monday to discuss this topic, but it's nice to hear from others in the meantime!

 

[accidentprone]

Starting a free clinic or private practice of any sort will require some good management, finance, and networking skills, especially if you'll be soliciting donations or applying for grants. You could either hire someone with non-profit management, grant writing, clinic management, etc. experience or attempt to do it all on your own. If you decide upon the latter, then getting an MBA or taking some MBA courses may be more practical than the MPH; although, I personally find MPH courses very interesting.

Public health is so broad that you may be interested in an MSPH or Dr.PH as these programs will let you learn even more than an MPH.

It may be helpful for you to consider if you want to do more clinical medicine or population health. I've known a few people who have successfully combined the two, but they're extremely busy. Keep in mind that with state funding tight, it can be rather difficult to get public health jobs in the US, at least at the state level. It sounds like you'd rather create your own job, so this may not apply to you.

Yet another option is a preventive medicine residency. The plus to this route is that some preventive medicine residencies include getting an MPH but instead of paying tuition, you'll get paid a resident's salary. You'll spend time working at various agencies and meet public health practitioners, which will be good for networking and give you more exposure to real life public health work than you'd get with a straight MPH. Look into the rules, but I think most people do this residency as a fellowship after finishing a primary care related residency.