Advise

[johndoe1978]

My current position allows me to work as a youth advocate regarding their education... My future career interests are to combine medicine and healthcare advocacy at a national/local level. Would it be wise to knock out my MPH first or look for a joint MD/MPH Program.

Initially, I applied to some PA Programs... one of which, had a MPH component that impressed me quite a bit. GW's MPH Program fancied me; however, their PA program did not. That being said, I have gained the intestinal fortitude to take the MCAT in April... Is it logical to attain a MPH prior to acquiring an MD... regarding cost efficacy, career mobility,... etc...

Your help is most appreciated

Cheers,

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[Adcadet]

Welcome!
First of all, if your serious about working in public health you'll need a doctoral level degree (PhD, MD, etc), so I would avoid PA-MPH programs in general.

Doing an MPH first is fine, and even preferable in some cases. Here's a thread where it is discussed briefly. Having an MPH might improve your MD application if your personal statement, interviews, etc all paint a picture of somebody who wants to work as an MD+MPH and likely will do it well. And once you're in an MD program I get the impression that you're sure to get accepted to at least a decent MPH program. Cost should be of least importance, but doing an MPH during med school means an extra 1-2 years of carrying loans from the first two years. With teaching/research asssistantships, many people are able to get through an MPH without any loans. Career mobility - all else being equal before vs. after is probably no different, unless you can network better as an MD/MPH student.

The MPH that is part of the MD/MPH programs I've looked at tend to be 1 year long or 1 year+ a summer, and the courses are aimed at somebody who wants to practice medicine with a public-health focus. But if you want to do more than that, if you want to be a leader in public health, and/or if you want to practice public health with a medicine focus I think it makes sense to do a full, standard, 2-year MPH. Especially if you want to get a solid background in epidemiology (which is the best major, in my biased opinion), I just don't think the 1-year MPH cuts it. Now of course, medical schools should be perfectly happy to let you take off 2 years to do the full 2-year MPH.

That being said, there are many people doing lots of great public health work with no MPH at all, so even with a 1-year MPH you can still do whatever you want if you also have an MD.

So in conclusion, you can do almost whatever you want. You're free to write your own ticket as long as your at least minimally smart, have some passion, and are willing to work hard.

I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have. Good luck!
Adcadet

 

[Adcadet]

Oh, you did see this thread , right? Theres a few more MD/MPH discussions that might be of interest.