When to get your MPH

[czanetti]

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Here is my delema, I am going to UNTHSC for medical school starting this comming summer. I want to get an MPH but I'm an out of state student and having to pay for both degrees is radiculous. On top of having to do both medical degree and MPH at the same time would be pretty stressful. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions regarding doing it in residency or after residency. The thing is I'm not sure what area of primary care I want to go into yet (ie. family doc, emergency med) but I know I want a preventive medicine background too I have already looked at combined residency programs.

 

[Adcadet]

Before, during, or after med school are all valid options. The programs done during med school tend to be 1-year programs and I would make sure they meet your personal and program requirements if you're going to use them for some fellowship requirement later on (like prev. med). The ones done in residency/fellowship tend to be funded, so they're "free" for you. If you want to make sure your MPH focus parallels your clinical focus, do your MPH during residency or fellowship. I did my MPH before med school, and while I learned a ton, my area of focus has almost nothing to do with what I've done since then, which can be a broadening experience but also a bummer in some ways.