MPH before, durring or after MD

[emt30119]

I am currently an RN. Planing on med school. I want to do international health(hospital in africa). What do people think, is it better to get MPH then go to med school, do a joint program, or get the MD then return to MPH school???

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[Robz]

I did mine before during the time that I was applying for medical school. I just did not want to have the extra classes to worry about while I was in medical school. One fo my friends at Mt. Sinai decided that he would take an extra year between his 3rd and 4th year clerkships to fish his MPH cause he wanted to devote his total efforts and not just cram it all in. Just my .02.

 

[DrMom]

I did mine before med school. If you have time, I think it is nice to do it this way.

 

[Adcadet]

Originally posted by DrMom
I did mine before med school. If you have time, I think it is nice to do it this way.

I agree. Doing it before usually means a 2-year program as opposed to a 1-year program during med school. I've said before on this forum that I'm not convinced 1-year programs are nearly as good as 2-year programs - at least not at the institution I'm at (med and epi).

Also, there may be something to say for doing an MPH before med school so as to allow you to fully submerge yourself in the public health way of thinking. I've seen too many MD/MPH students really struggling to get into the public health mind set. Of course, if you're already a nurse you may already have a pretty solid "mind set."

After med school might be nice - if you know the area of medicine you want to go into, doing coursework in that area and a thesis in that area may help you out professionally. I know my thesis may end up having nearly nothing to do with my residency or fellowship (although the experience was still good and the methods I learned are helpful).

 

[BushBaby]

The MD/MPH program at my school is NOT one year actually. At UMDNJ, you can start the summer before med school and take two MPH classes. Then you take one MPH class your 1st semester. And your first summer, you take another 2 MPH classes. Then I think you take 1-2 more MPH classes in your second year.
After your second year of MD, you take one year (summer, fall, spring, summer) off to solely pursue the MPH program. When you are done, you then continue with your MD.

Though, one year is dedicated to MPH study, you are taking MPH classes all the while, they just give you a year to get into the nitty gritty stuff. Even if you do the 2 year programs outside of MD, the first 12-15 credits are basic stuff before you get your nose in the dirt. The "nose in the dirt" part is your year off (if you choose to go the MD/MPH route).

Thats my take on it.

Yeah I can't intern or go off on my own to get some hands on experience, but I wouldn't be able to do that regardless because I can't quit my job (I have obligations) to go off on an MPH internship experience elsewhere.

 

[edfig99]

i'm doin' it after residency and lovin' it.

 

[Crysma]

The MD/MPH program at my school is NOT one year actually. At UMDNJ, you can start the summer before med school and take two MPH classes. Then you take one MPH class your 1st semester. And your first summer, you take another 2 MPH classes. Then I think you take 1-2 more MPH classes in your second year.
After your second year of MD, you take one year (summer, fall, spring, summer) off to solely pursue the MPH program. When you are done, you then continue with your MD.

Though, one year is dedicated to MPH study, you are taking MPH classes all the while, they just give you a year to get into the nitty gritty stuff. Even if you do the 2 year programs outside of MD, the first 12-15 credits are basic stuff before you get your nose in the dirt. The "nose in the dirt" part is your year off (if you choose to go the MD/MPH route).

Thats my take on it.

Yeah I can't intern or go off on my own to get some hands on experience, but I wouldn't be able to do that regardless because I can't quit my job (I have obligations) to go off on an MPH internship experience elsewhere.

Hi Bushbaby,
Is this the MPH at Robert Wood or New Jersey Med? I am going to be a first year med student at Robert Wood this August (thus far anyway) and am seriously considering the MPH as well.

Thanks!

 

[freddydpt]

I'm going to do it during, just to get it out of the way. I think it'll open up more residency doors later on.

 

[Heal&Teach]

As you can see... this is a "whatever floats your boat" kind of thing. Before-during-after have all been reflected in this thread. I also have my MPH prior to attending medical school, but it definitely would have been less costly to do it as a part of a five-year program.

 

[BushBaby]

Crysma,

I am going to the NJMS epi program. I was also offered a full scholarship for that part of my education. You should definitely take advantage of it because both schools does set aside scholarship money for students who decide to pursue both degrees.

The thing is that you have to sorta decide NOW because they advise you start taking classes the summer before you start your MD. I am starting summer school (today actually) and I'm taking 4 classes this summer (8 credits) before MD starts in late August. It's in your best interest to knock out as much as possible right now. I could have taken 11 credits but one of the classes conflicts with another class.

I will also PM you this info.

 

[Crysma]

Thank you all for your replies. I see all different approaches in this forum. I got a little excited when I found this particular forum yesterday- so I started posting before reading through all the threads where I found a lot of my questions addressed! My options are now during or after med school, so I will see how my school's approach is, i.e. how they integrate the MPH during the 5 years, etc. Best of luck to you all and I am sure you will be hearing from me again

 

[snowhite]

To me, it depends on when you have time for it. I did my MPH before because my undergrad stats weren't so great and I wanted to learn more about health in general before going to medical school. I knew some people who got burned out by doing MD/MPH or DO/MPH at the same time though. I also know a doctor who has been in practice for 20 years coming back and doing his MPH. You're right...lots of approaches for lots of different people and situations. Best of luck with whichever you choose.

 

[Crysma]

To me, it depends on when you have time for it. I did my MPH before because my undergrad stats weren't so great and I wanted to learn more about health in general before going to medical school. I knew some people who got burned out by doing MD/MPH or DO/MPH at the same time though. I also know a doctor who has been in practice for 20 years coming back and doing his MPH. You're right...lots of approaches for lots of different people and situations. Best of luck with whichever you choose.

thanks snowhite!

 

[dlung]

I did mine by doing the bulk of the work during a year off between 2nd-3rd year of med school.

In your case, if you have some specific goals and objectives for your MPH, I would consider doing it after your MD because 1) there are a number of joint xxxxx/Preventive Med programs that will cover for your MPH tuition, and 2) you'll have more time and flexibility to focus your interests.


Good luck,

Derrick