What is getting an MPH like?

[BatGirl012]

I've been admitted to ETSU's Fall 2017 MPH program with an epidemiology concentration.

I never took stats/probability in undergrad (whoops), but I did take basic pre-cal, and I took several courses that had a lot of stats and probability in them--I was just never given a foundation education in it. So I'm taking it this summer before starting into grad school.

Now that I've gotten in, I'm just wondering--from first-hand perspectives--what it's like. I know graduate school is a lot harder and also in a way easier than undergrad, but what is it like for public health? What's the hardest part and what did you find the most enjoyable? What specific challenges did you find yourself facing?

My school doesn't have a thesis or dissertation. We have to complete a culminating field experience before graduating, prior to which we have to pass a core comprehensive exam.

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[deleted462159]

Top things that come to mind in my experience:
1. Coursework was harder / more in-depth, as it should be. But most people didn't care about grades as much (unless they plan to pursue further schooling).
2. Smaller class sizes and more attention from professors.
3. Most people work while going to school, so they actually bring real-life experiences into classroom discussions.

 

[Dr_Grabow]

I am in my last semester in my MPH program and will be starting medical school in the fall. Before I began the program, I was like yourself and had no idea what to expect. Honestly, epidemiology is the science of combining basic knowledge and understanding of a health problem with statistics and study design to determine the relationships between a given exposure and the resultant outcome of interest, or vice versa. From this, we create or propose an intervention. If you are wanting to learn about ebola and all of the specific mechanisms of action and infection involved, then epidemiology is not for you. After all, you are studying how the disease transitions from being an isolated incident to a full-blown epidemic.

With that being said, my MPH program has been extremely rewarding for me in that it has allowed me to produce several abstracts, one of which has been accepted to multiple conferences and will be submitted as my thesis.

Graduate school is what you make it. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you network and make connections and volunteer for everything, even when you may have to make an effort to find the time, then you will develop a reputation of being a motivated and ambitious scholar. Likewise, you can coast through an MPH program and ultimately struggle to find references / employment upon graduation. It is what you make of it.

Message me if you have any questions. I wish you the greatest success in your endeavors!

 

[preptkittty123]

I am in my last semester in my MPH program and will be starting medical school in the fall. Before I began the program, I was like yourself and had no idea what to expect. Honestly, epidemiology is the science of combining basic knowledge and understanding of a health problem with statistics and study design to determine the relationships between a given exposure and the resultant outcome of interest, or vice versa. From this, we create or propose an intervention. If you are wanting to learn about ebola and all of the specific mechanisms of action and infection involved, then epidemiology is not for you. After all, you are studying how the disease transitions from being an isolated incident to a full-blown epidemic.

With that being said, my MPH program has been extremely rewarding for me in that it has allowed me to produce several abstracts, one of which has been accepted to multiple conferences and will be submitted as my thesis.

Graduate school is what you make it. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you network and make connections and volunteer for everything, even when you may have to make an effort to find the time, then you will develop a reputation of being a motivated and ambitious scholar. Likewise, you can coast through an MPH program and ultimately struggle to find references / employment upon graduation. It is what you make of it.

Message me if you have any questions. I wish you the greatest success in your endeavors!

Hi, would you recommend getting an MPH in Epidemiology to someone who does not plan on going to med school after? Do you know of any career options for someone who only has an MPH in Epidemiology?

 

[Dr_Grabow]

Hi, would you recommend getting an MPH in Epidemiology to someone who does not plan on going to med school after? Do you know of any career options for someone who only has an MPH in Epidemiology?

I would absolutely recommend an MPH. I simply used it as a stepping stone for medical school. Nevertheless, after completing an MPH in epidemiology, you will be more than capable of directing a local health department or pursuing further education as researcher of public health. There are two further graduate degrees capable after an MPH: the doctor of public health (DrPH) degree and the doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree. The DrPH is focused less on research and more on the practice of public health and does not focus as intensely on the mathematical / analytical aspect of epidemiology but rather practical application of public health. The PhD is the research oriented degree and is very heavily focused on theory and analytical methods.

As our medical system in the United States becomes increasingly burdened by always-increasing incidence of chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, depression, drug abuse, and others, our focus in medicine must shift, at least partially, towards prevention rather than fixing the problem once it happens. A commonly used analogy is a waterfall. Public health attempts to prevent one from falling over the waterfall. Medicine as is currently practiced only helps the person once he or she has fallen down the waterfall. On average, approximately $1,000 is spent per person in America on healthcare each year. Less than 1% of that amount is spent per person on prevention. Indeed, the future of medicine in America is a hybrid system of prevention as well as cure.

As for the specialties available in public health, the job market is heavily laden, so make sure you choose an "analysis heavy" concentration, such as epidemiology or biostatistics. Health behavior is not as marketable simply due to the lesser emphasis on analysis / quantitative reasoning that is seen with this concentration. As always, I am available for questions and am happy to help!

Dr. Grabow

 

[GABALI]

I've been admitted to ETSU's Fall 2017 MPH program with an epidemiology concentration.

I never took stats/probability in undergrad (whoops), but I did take basic pre-cal, and I took several courses that had a lot of stats and probability in them--I was just never given a foundation education in it. So I'm taking it this summer before starting into grad school.

Now that I've gotten in, I'm just wondering--from first-hand perspectives--what it's like. I know graduate school is a lot harder and also in a way easier than undergrad, but what is it like for public health? What's the hardest part and what did you find the most enjoyable? What specific challenges did you find yourself facing?

My school doesn't have a thesis or dissertation. We have to complete a culminating field experience before graduating, prior to which we have to pass a core comprehensive exam.

Hey! I am applying to ETSU myself. A litte nervous on what the outcome may be. My undergrad GPA was just okay. It's definitely over the minimum requirement but it's right under with 2.96 Could you tell me your stats? Just trying to get an idea of my chances. Thanks!

 

[niveK7]

I am in my last semester in my MPH program and will be starting medical school in the fall. Before I began the program, I was like yourself and had no idea what to expect. Honestly, epidemiology is the science of combining basic knowledge and understanding of a health problem with statistics and study design to determine the relationships between a given exposure and the resultant outcome of interest, or vice versa. From this, we create or propose an intervention. If you are wanting to learn about ebola and all of the specific mechanisms of action and infection involved, then epidemiology is not for you. After all, you are studying how the disease transitions from being an isolated incident to a full-blown epidemic.

With that being said, my MPH program has been extremely rewarding for me in that it has allowed me to produce several abstracts, one of which has been accepted to multiple conferences and will be submitted as my thesis.

Graduate school is what you make it. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you network and make connections and volunteer for everything, even when you may have to make an effort to find the time, then you will develop a reputation of being a motivated and ambitious scholar. Likewise, you can coast through an MPH program and ultimately struggle to find references / employment upon graduation. It is what you make of it.

Message me if you have any questions. I wish you the greatest success in your endeavors!

Hey! Sorry random question here, but when did you write the MCAT? Was it before you started your MPH or was it during your MPH? I'm starting my MPH this fall as well, and I am wondering if I should write the MCAT this summer, or if I can leave it till later in my Masters. Thanks!!

 

[Dr_Grabow]

Hey! Sorry random question here, but when did you write the MCAT? Was it before you started your MPH or was it during your MPH? I'm starting my MPH this fall as well, and I am wondering if I should write the MCAT this summer, or if I can leave it till later in my Masters. Thanks!!

Since the MPH is a 2 year degree, I would advise taking the MCAT no later than the second semester of your first year. Take it in April because both medical school applications (allopathic and osteopathic) open in May. Then, you will interview during the first semester of your second year and hopefully be accepted before Christmas. I would advise taking as many classes as you can in the fall of your first and second years, that way you can focus solely on the MCAT during the spring of your first year and your capstone / thesis the spring semester of your second year.

 

[niveK7]

Since the MPH is a 2 year degree, I would advise taking the MCAT no later than the second semester of your first year. Take it in April because both medical school applications (allopathic and osteopathic) open in May. Then, you will interview during the first semester of your second year and hopefully be accepted before Christmas. I would advise taking as many classes as you can in the fall of your first and second years, that way you can focus solely on the MCAT during the spring of your first year and your capstone / thesis the spring semester of your second year.

Great! Thanks for the reply and the suggestions, I will take all this into consideration!

 

[amm13d]

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[Dr_Grabow]

Great! Thanks for the reply and the suggestions, I will take all this into consideration!

No problem. I wish you the utmost success in your career!

Dr. Grabow

 

[GABALI]

I am in my last semester in my MPH program and will be starting medical school in the fall. Before I began the program, I was like yourself and had no idea what to expect. Honestly, epidemiology is the science of combining basic knowledge and understanding of a health problem with statistics and study design to determine the relationships between a given exposure and the resultant outcome of interest, or vice versa. From this, we create or propose an intervention. If you are wanting to learn about ebola and all of the specific mechanisms of action and infection involved, then epidemiology is not for you. After all, you are studying how the disease transitions from being an isolated incident to a full-blown epidemic.

With that being said, my MPH program has been extremely rewarding for me in that it has allowed me to produce several abstracts, one of which has been accepted to multiple conferences and will be submitted as my thesis.

Graduate school is what you make it. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you network and make connections and volunteer for everything, even when you may have to make an effort to find the time, then you will develop a reputation of being a motivated and ambitious scholar. Likewise, you can coast through an MPH program and ultimately struggle to find references / employment upon graduation. It is what you make of it.

Message me if you have any questions. I wish you the greatest success in your endeavors!

What type of job or career can I expect after completion of mph? What exactly will I learn with a epidemiology concentration?

 

[diiennomrg]

I would absolutely recommend an MPH. I simply used it as a stepping stone for medical school. Nevertheless, after completing an MPH in epidemiology, you will be more than capable of directing a local health department or pursuing further education as researcher of public health. There are two further graduate degrees capable after an MPH: the doctor of public health (DrPH) degree and the doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree. The DrPH is focused less on research and more on the practice of public health and does not focus as intensely on the mathematical / analytical aspect of epidemiology but rather practical application of public health. The PhD is the research oriented degree and is very heavily focused on theory and analytical methods.

As our medical system in the United States becomes increasingly burdened by always-increasing incidence of chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, depression, drug abuse, and others, our focus in medicine must shift, at least partially, towards prevention rather than fixing the problem once it happens. A commonly used analogy is a waterfall. Public health attempts to prevent one from falling over the waterfall. Medicine as is currently practiced only helps the person once he or she has fallen down the waterfall. On average, approximately $1,000 is spent per person in America on healthcare each year. Less than 1% of that amount is spent per person on prevention. Indeed, the future of medicine in America is a hybrid system of prevention as well as cure.

As for the specialties available in public health, the job market is heavily laden, so make sure you choose an "analysis heavy" concentration, such as epidemiology or biostatistics. Health behavior is not as marketable simply due to the lesser emphasis on analysis / quantitative reasoning that is seen with this concentration. As always, I am available for questions and am happy to help!

Dr. Grabow

I have read your replies, and they have helped me immensely! Thank you! I am happy to hear that MPH has been a stepping stone for you, as I am thinking of doing the same. I graduated with a BS in Community Health Education and I am stuck between Community Health or Epidemiology, which one do you think will be more beneficial to me and my education? The medical schools I am applying to is heavy on rural health, and there for I had assumed that community health would be more beneficial. Does it even matter?

 

[bds2017]

hi i am an international dental graduate planning to study mha in usa
gre-324
toefl-107
gpa-around 3
1 yr work experience
12-73%
10-90%
could anyone suggest me some good university

 

[babuangel]

I'm currently in my 2nd year of MPH (epi) and I absolutely love the program. I'm at NYU and my cohort is only around 50~ people. Class size is pretty small, and professors here give me very helpful advice. There's always someone around the corner willing to help.

Like many others in this post above, graduate school is hard but easy(?). It's easy (at least for me) because I really enjoy being in epi classes. It's also hard because a lot of time management goes into it and also I struggle with the management/ policy of public health. Time management is especially because I am going to school full time while handling 2 internships at the moment.

One great thing about the NYU MPH program is that the medical school is always looking for MPH students to help them with the research. I've always been told that the MPH programs give more of a hands-on experience to students while MS programs theorize more. So in my program, they require a 180-hour applied practice experience, which pushes students to get into research and utilize the data analysis skills that we learn in class into a real-life setting. Because I came from a biology background with no research experience, professors and doctors at NYU were very understanding and encouraging to the point they would offer internships to me; basically helping me as much as they could. For example, from the 2 internships I have right now, I've learned so much about IRBs, survey design, recruitment, data analysis, and abstract writing. This knowledge, you hear about in a classroom setting, but you don't actually learn about it until you actually work in a research lab setting.

If I didn't go through these internships, I would still be "babied" in the classroom setting and I would not have learned as much as I did. Culminating experiences is definitely very very important, especially if you want to be in the field after you graduate.