Teaching high school AP Bio/Anatomy while getting MPH?

[jarede312]

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Hey all,

I was wondering what your ideas/thoughts/concerns are concerning the following matter. I'll be graduating this May with a BS in Biochemistry sGPA 3.3 cGPA 3.6. One of my "life goals" is to teach high school science at least for a few years. I have already decided to take at least 2 years off before applying to medical school so I can follow this dream of mine. I am in no rush to make gobs of money and I have a very low cost of living so I could easily afford being a teacher for a while. My question is should I do an online/2 year MPH or MBA in Healthcare administration program while teaching? 1) Would it be too much being a first year teacher? 2) Would teaching science while furthering my education look favorably on my med school application? 3) Should I just wait and hope to get into some sort of dual degree MPH/MD program 2 years from now?

Thanks!

 

[Glazebrook]

1) Would it be too much being a first year teacher?

In my personal experience, being a first year teacher will take up the majority of your time. It's not that it's hard work, just a lot of work. Setting up your lesson plans, grading assignments, etc. Adding a grad school on top of that may be a little too much. With that said, your second year will be much easier.

2) Would teaching science while furthering my education look favorably on my med school application?

I think that there might be a little bit of an advantage, but not a significant one. What I've found with my apps/interviews is that the interviewers love talking about my teaching experience and how that will connect to a career in medicine, not so much the things I did on top of the teaching during that period of time (note: I teach in a very impoverished area, not sure where you're planning on teaching)

3) Should I just wait and hope to get into some sort of dual degree MPH/MD program 2 years from now?

If the goal is to get the MPH because you really want it and not to just boost your app, I'd say this is the way to go. When it comes down to it, your focus while being a teacher should be the students. You're there for the students and their education. If you're truly able to do both without sacrificing the quality of their education, then go for it (but you'll be teaching an AP course, so that'll probably take up your life as a first year teacher). Otherwise, just wait for the dual degree program.

 

[dougfunnie]

+1 on waiting to get your MPH. I was considering it before applying as well, but at my local university (with a top public health school), their are two curriculum tracks for each area: a one-year accelerated program for health professional students and health professionals, and a two-year track for others that focuses on research and other things you would need as an MPH-only.

This is pretty common from what I've heard. It's usually better to wait until you're a med student so you can apply to a shorter program. Also, with MPH's, you can sometimes wait and apply during second year and just take a leave to do it before clinical years.

Check out the schools you're interested in to see if this holds true.

 

[jarede312]

Hey thanks a lot for your input! It's greatly appreciated!

 

[wholeheartedly]

Hey, I'm in the boat of doing the MPH first. My life circumstances, employer benefits, state of residence, etc. are some of the reasons I decided to go this route over a combined program.

I'm not sure I'd combine teaching with doing an MPH. Teaching, especially the first year is pretty intense from what I've heard. As far as an online MPH program, I think some portions of an MPH could be done online without issue, but in public health networking with people and interacting with your peers, doing projects and internships contribute as much value to the experience as the courses themselves. Some programs seem to make it work, however, even though I have the option to take some of my courses online I'm glad I can take the rest on campus with my classmates and instructors. (and I did a good deal of one of my undergrad degrees online, so I'm not opposed to well done online courses at all).

I do get impatient sometimes and find myself wishing I was in medical school already doing a joint program, especially when I see how much med school tuition gets hiked up each year (I'm a non-trad too so that factors in).

On the other hand, I've enjoyed having more time to spread out my classes and make better selections in courses and experiences as my interests develop. There are so many interesting thing going on, things I didn't really know about coming in. I think I'll get quite a bit more out of it this way than just fitting it in to a one year program. I kind of suspected that going in. I think that's highly dependent on the individual and what you hope to accomplish. Good luck with your decision. I'm really, really enjoying my program.