What made you decide against the MD and getting the MPH?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

jjright212

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2007
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
Hello all,

Congratulations to all of those who have recently been accepted. I am in the process of applying to an MPH program and keep getting a little disheartened. Let me explain. I decided to go into an MPH program because I loved aspects of international health, and ultimately, because of a choice I made my junior year of college.

I became very depressed at the apparent cutthroat nature of my colleagues and the fact that many of my pre-med counterparts seemed to only care about themselves, and had already pre-programmed themselves to be doctors via their parents instructions.

With all this in mind, I became sort of an anti-premed, choosing to not associate myself with this path.

Now that I am aiming to work in the public health arena (applying to an MBA/MPH program) I wonder if I made the right choice. I aknowledge this is a very personal choice, but I would hate to look back on this decision as me foolishly making a decision, based on how I felt others were like.

Sorry for the rant, but I would love any feedback, especially if anyone fought with this decision.

Members don't see this ad.
 
i didnt, im doing both. good luck
 
I've always hated the pre-med community (the grade-******, the sycophantic letter seekers, the constant questioners) but I thought I was just weird. I took the classes, even though I hate physics, I volunteered, I even took the MCAT.

I had my AMCAS all filled out, except for my personal statement. I sat there for three months, trying to figure out why I wanted to be a doctor. I took into account my hatred of doctor shadowing, the fact that talking to people who are ill makes me uncomfortable, and my inability to get excited about the clinical years of med school. When choosing schools, I would literally go through their clinical curricula and eliminate ones with long Neurology rotations. I based my med school choices off of the number of infectious disease electives that were offered...

And I decided that I liked diseases much better than people.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
^

That is hilarious. Thank you for sharing! :laugh:
 
I've always thought I could make more of a difference through population based research. I would rather slightly help millions than save a few.
 
What exactly was the big decision junior year that led to the MPH route, and what exactly is stimulating your second thoughts? My response would probably be more helpful with that information, but I'll try to give some general insight from the MD/MPH perspective.

The MD track is focused on understanding disease to help the patient, which really is an abstraction until you are actually in med school and contributes to the possibly flawed pre-med philosophies. I completely agree that the pre-med culture can get a little selfish and cutthroat, but that doesn't mean that you can't be a good example instead. My most valued experiences were those I sought out myself by not blatantly following the pre-med crowd.

On the other hand, the MPH focuses on the general population usually in conjunction with some other skill base, which means that MPH students typically already know the hassles of the system, driving them to understand why it is the way it is and how to change it. However, the degree doesn't guarantee that it's going to be smiles and butterflies the whole way through, and with the MBA slant, I would think you would run into a whole bunch of cocky, networking-driven people from that program too.

Either way, you'll run into altruistic people and non-altruistic people, and some of it can also be correlated with the school too. You will be the person who determines what kind of experience you will have. Other than that, it's just about your career goals. Good luck!
 
I agree with what thedelicatessen said. I am also a MD/MPH student. I didn't realize the cut throat nature of many persuing medicine until I actually got to medical school. As an undergraduate student most of my activities where outside pre-medical activities, like International Affairs, Activism, etc. The only time that I interacted with other pre-meds were in the classes we had together. When I realized the nature of some once I got to medical school I did just what thedelicatessen said, which is to just follow my own path. Not everybody has that same nature, and do not let that discourage you from becoming what you want. If you want to become a physician, than do so, because you DO NOT have to be like them. As long as you do well in your classes, you can follow your own path , and I am thankful that I attend an institution that has allowed me to do so.

As far as the MPH aspect, it has always been a goal of mine, since I am passionate about working in International health. Although, I have found it is important to learn and understand the public health framework there are limitations. Starting the MPH program after having already completed three years of medical school, I have realized that I have an advantage in that I understand the medicine behind what we are studying. Public health is a different framework, but the medical knowledge really complements it.

My advice to you is too NOT allow others to change your decision on what you would like to do. Not everybody is like the individuals that you came across, and that applies to any field to any field that you may pursue. If you do decide to persue the MPH/MBA track, please do not carry the anti-med mentality into the work that you do there. There are many who speak the same way in my classes, and I find it very destructive and it personally upsets me. Attacking the other side of the spectrum will not help us achieve what we all have a common interest in doing.

GOOD LUCK! :)
 
As for me I decided to try public health because I am sensitive to my surroundings. Patients' sufferings and their general unhappiness wasn't working for me. You do the best you can to help your patients but human nature sometimes can be ungrateful. I didn't see it was going to work for me in a long run.
 
Top