MPH then med school?

[bbas]

For those people who took this route, do you feel having the MPH (epi) helped you at all for med school admissions? I'm currently a junior, and basically trying to decide whether I want to go into public health as a career or med school. The way I see it, going for the MPH right out of undergrad would give me another two years to decide, and then after those two years I would have a better idea if I wanted to proceed with a PhD program in epidemiology or go to med school. Does this plan seem feasible?

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[fantasty]

Doesn't apply to me personally, but yes - I think it can help. I know several folks (either in my med school class, or in my public health classes later) who started with their MPH and either used it as a stepping stone to medical school or used it to decide they wanted to go to medical school.

For the former, doing well in your graduate level courses can prove to the admissions committee that you are capable of handling this type of advanced work (not that med school classes are very similar to grad school, but it can be a bonus for people who's undergrad transcripts might have some weak points). And, even though epi / biostats is a relatively small part of medical school, that's one area where you won't have to worry about when you're juggling your pre-clinical classes. And, this background helps for some PBL and clinical-type questions.

As for testing the waters of epi and public health, you might find that you love the discipline and therefore won't waste any time in your path to a PhD (assuming that's what you ultimately need). On the other hand, if you find out you HATE it, at least you have a plan b if you think medicine will be a reasonable option.

If, when you get to the stage of applying, you decide you really want to do BOTH, there are always MD/MPH or MD/PhD dual degree options.

 

[cakebaker2]

Hi bbas. I think this is a great plan. As dante201 said, either way you are gaining something because an MPH will help make you a better applicant or help you enter the field of public health. Have you taken your MCAT yet? I was uncertain about medicine when graduating, but took my MCAT anyway because I knew I would forget organic chemistry, physics, etc. And many MPH programs accept MCAT scores.

Here's a link to a guide about careers in public health. Although it's by a pharmaceutical company, I found it helpful b/c there are stories about different people and their career paths.
http://www.pfizercareerguides.com/pdfs/publichealth.pdf

 

[FoughtFyr]

This was the route I went. Got the MPH and worked for one year in Public Health. It has served me very well in medical school, then in the residency match and now in the job hunt.

- H

 

[DrMom]

I also did my MPH and then med school. Mine was in administration/policy & I worked in admin for a nonprofit healthcare organization for 2 1/2 years before med school. I certainly think that both the degree and the experience have helped me along the way in my training. Also, since you're not 100% sure about med school, an MPH is a useful degree in-and-of itself.

 

[bbas]

Thanks for the replies everyone. If I did get a MPH and decided to stop there, do you think that it is a good "stand alone" degree? I have heard some people say, mostly on here, that a MPH is better as a supplimentary degree. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

[Heal&Teach]

Just as FoughtFyr and our favorite resident Mom, I too pursued a two-year MPH degree in Health Education, followed by two years of fellowship with the government prior to medical school.

I won't get on my soapbox here, because I think that the issue has been beaten like scrambled eggs, but the public health/MPH degree in and of itself is sufficient depending on the kind of work that you want to do. I have plenty of friends who are working with MPHs, as well as a number who are pursuing research careers and have completed (or are close to completing) their PhD/DrPH degrees. You do not need a PhD to ultimately survive in public health, but if public health is what you want to do, the MPH is pretty much necessary (although there are folks in public health without the MPH, esp those working for not-for-profit organizations). The MPH in conjunction with a professional degree such as the MD is valuable, but not so valuable that you should get the degree if you're only using it to get into medical school.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=134791&highlight=heal&teach

One more point that I will make is that I have no regrets about going the route that I did, but in terms of saving money and time, I currently advise students that it is more worthwhile for you to do the MPH during medical school (especially IF this is ultimately what you want to do). However, if you are pretty unsure about the decision between public health and medicine (two distinct areas that are slowly trying to reunite on many fronts) and truly interested in public health, then get the MPH and see where things take you.

Best,
H&T

 

[june1946]

Hi I'm new here and would like to know more about MPH. My case is reverse, I have MD and residency seems not working well to me. I'm interested in MPH. What's my chance to get to the MPH school? How am I going to get LORs since I'm been out of school? Do we have to study very hard? Can we work and attend school the same time? (I think s.o mentioned that the tuition is expensive). What path will lead me after I have MPH degree? Sorry if I've asked to much but I finally find a source that I think I can get help with my puzzle. Thanks in advance and any input will be greatly appreciate.

Just as FoughtFyr and our favorite resident Mom, I too pursued a two-year MPH degree in Health Education, followed by two years of fellowship with the government prior to medical school.

I won't get on my soapbox here, because I think that the issue has been beaten like scrambled eggs, but the public health/MPH degree in and of itself is sufficient depending on the kind of work that you want to do. I have plenty of friends who are working with MPHs, as well as a number who are pursuing research careers and have completed (or are close to completing) their PhD/DrPH degrees. You do not need a PhD to ultimately survive in public health, but if public health is what you want to do, the MPH is pretty much necessary (although there are folks in public health without the MPH, esp those working for not-for-profit organizations). The MPH in conjunction with a professional degree such as the MD is valuable, but not so valuable that you should get the degree if you're only using it to get into medical school.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=134791&highlight=heal&teach

One more point that I will make is that I have no regrets about going the route that I did, but in terms of saving money and time, I currently advise students that it is more worthwhile for you to do the MPH during medical school (especially IF this is ultimately what you want to do). However, if you are pretty unsure about the decision between public health and medicine (two distinct areas that are slowly trying to reunite on many fronts) and truly interested in public health, then get the MPH and see where things take you.

Best,
H&T

 

[bbas]

Another quick question to those people who went this route. Did you get your LOR's from your old college professors or from graduate professors? I know that many medical schools require a committee letter from your undergrad university, but it seems like it would be a pain to go back to your undergrad especially since people there are unlikely to even remember you. Any thoughts on this?

 

[hwong14]

1. Do it! I got my MPH first and couldn't be happier.
2. MPH is a fine stand-alone degree. When I re-applied to med school after MPH, I was 100% positive that if I didn't get it, I wouldn't even care -- I would just work with my MPH and be happy for the rest of my life. An MPH is a great degree -- you just can't practice medicine
3. My MPH dean wrote a "composite" letter of sorts that acted as a cover letter for the individual letters I obtained from my MPH professors. I also contacted my undergrad school and got my old composite from the first time I applied. It was two years old, but I didn't care. I was a little worried about the fact that my undergrad school wouldn't know me anymore, but in reality, they don't know you while you are in undergrad, so it doesn't matter. They know how to deal with the situation.

Any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[Adcadet]

Another quick question to those people who went this route. Did you get your LOR's from your old college professors or from graduate professors? I know that many medical schools require a committee letter from your undergrad university, but it seems like it would be a pain to go back to your undergrad especially since people there are unlikely to even remember you. Any thoughts on this?

Like others, I did a 2-year Epi MPH then went to med school. I thought it was a good route, as it gave me time to figure out what I wanted to do in life and I think the experiences I've had during my MPH has really helped personally, in school, and in applying for residencies.

I got med school LORs from a mix of public health people and undergrad people. I didn't think it was hard to go back and ask for LORs - I'm sure it happens all the time.

 

[swim2006]

For those people who took this route, do you feel having the MPH (epi) helped you at all for med school admissions? I'm currently a junior, and basically trying to decide whether I want to go into public health as a career or med school. The way I see it, going for the MPH right out of undergrad would give me another two years to decide, and then after those two years I would have a better idea if I wanted to proceed with a PhD program in epidemiology or go to med school. Does this plan seem feasible?

I am in this situation currently. I will be applying to medical schools starting in the summer and should be able to finish my mph (epi and maternal & child helath) in dec. I am completely happy with doing the mph first. Since I haven't started the process of applying yet, I don't know exactly how it will help for admissions but I have had department heads at the hospital where I work tell me that it will help. But I def. think it will help me because I have wanted to do an md/mph and the mph has allowed me to be more involved clinically and I feel like I have a better idea of what all is invloved in medicine. I know a couple of people at my school have gone from an mph to a phd program...in fact one of my professors started med school dropped out and got a phd in epi. So it id as feasible as you make it.