Taking time off to pursue MPH

[cHocoBo 118]

Hi. I was curious as to what you guys thought would be the ideal time to take time off during med school to pursue an MPH. I'm very interested in international/global health work and came to the realization that supplementing my MD with an MPH would strongly enhance my ability to work overseas as a physician. I guess my specific concern is in regards to my clinical skills. I personally feel like I wouldnt want to take time off between MS2 and MS3 due to my anxiety and excitement to begin clinical work. However, the alternative of taking time off in b/w MS3 and MS4 makes me wonder whether the year of no clinical work will strongly diminish my newly acquired skills for my 4th year rotations.

Also, how do med schools look upon their students taking time off to pursue such a degree? And to take this one step further, what if your med school actually has an MPH program but you want to pursue it elsewhere?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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[Wookey]

Which med school are you referring to?

 

[DrMom]

Some residencies allow residents to work on an MPH concurrently. Also, it is not unusual for a praciticing physician to go back for an MPH. I guess my point is that you don't necesarily have to take time off during med school.

 

[epalantequevoy]

i'm kind of in the same boat as you. now that i've finished my first year of med school, i am really starting to look forward to going into the clinic after next year, so i've decided not to take a year off between 2nd and 3rd years for an mph. i figure there are four other good times to do it: after 3rd year, after 4th year, during residency, and during practice. personally, i think it's better for me to do it sooner rather than later since i want to use public health knowledge to do research/overseas work in residency, so i think between 3rd and 4th years is best for me. i've also wondered about taking time off between the clinical years, but i've come to the conclusion that it might not necessarily be so bad. the only thing i really wonder about is taking step 2 and if i'll be at a disadvantage if i take it during fourth year (after having had a year off) or after third year (but before my mph).

 

[lilmo]

Here's my .02---I'm just finishing up my second year of medical school and will be taking next year off to work on my MPH. It was a tough decision, but I really think that now is the time to do it. Between M2/M3 is when the MD/PhD students begin their PhD so I figure if its good enough for them, it's good enough for me I originally was going to do my Masters after 3rd year but the dean advised against it because it could bring on some awkward questions during residency interviews, and negatively affect getting the residency I wanted. There is time to get your MPH during residency, but you have to be in the right residency program such as family practice. As for getting it later then that, several doctors have told me that the wished they would have pursued an MPH while in med school because it is hard to find time after graduation. It all comes down to making the decision that is right for you. Best of luck!

 

[Medskool2006]

hey guys, I need your advice!

I will be graduating this year and I don't know what I should do next year since I didn't get accepted this year. My gpa is ~3.85, I have a good amount of ECs and I will be rewriting the mcat. I think I have several option: 1. I can start my masters..but I don't really want to do this because then some schools wont accept me until I finish it..this will delay med school by 2 yrs.
2. I can do a graduate certificate/diploma in public/population health assessment and management, this takes 1 yr to complete (in some schools only 5 classes to take).
3. I can do a 5th year and get a second degree with is similar to the first one I have.

I just don't know which is the best option. I really like option 2, I think it would be interesting, and I had seen on the u of T site that some of these programs are taken by family docs.

Do you guys think that if I go with option 2 , they would look on it unfavourably than if I was to start my masters.

Pls Help any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[lilmo]

Does your school offer a MPH? At my school you can get all of the coursework done in a year (if you take summer classes.) The only difficulty is getting your thesis done in that time. A classmate of mine did her masters before first year and then finished it her thesis over breaks during the M1/M2 years, and just defended it last month.

 

[epalantequevoy]

lilmo,
i'm curious as to what kinds of awkward questions it might bring up at residency interviews. isn't a year off the same regardless of when you do it?

 

[lilmo]

no clue what an awkward question is, that was straight out of my dean's mouth. i think he might have been referring to rusty clinical skills from the year off. he really pushed to have me do my masters after M2 instead of M3.

 

[dutch]

I deffered my enrollment a year to do my MPH work. I also got my MPH from a different school than where i am going for med school. I wanted to do it first rather than in the four years of med school becuase i wanted to be with the same classmates all the way through. also, i now feel that much of what i have learned from public health is going to benefit me in the upcoming years. but that is just the way i did it.