What are you going to do with an MPH?

[flaming_gypsy]

What do you all actually want to do with your MPH, or MD/MPH as far as career goals? I'm just curious because there are so many different possibilities out there. Personally, I'd like to do some international health/preventative medicine work.
Any thoughts?

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[Adcadet]

clinical research

 

[lola]

nothing

ha ha. that may actually be true, but i decided to apply to med school a few years after getting my mph. i might end up doing some kind of public health policy work after establishing myself as a practicing physician and may perhaps dabble in a bit of research. international health work would be very cool, but at this point it doesn't look probable since it will be hard to do with a husband/family.

 

[emanresu]

Back in the ?old days,? it was especially noble for physicians to engage in PH. Today, there?s increasing pressure to bridge PH and Medicine, and I think that accounts for the monetary advantages of PH training - I?m sure it has to make you more marketable.

My degree (MSPH) is in epidemiology, and I plan to investigate gene-environment interactions as related to the prevention of cancer. Some of the electives I?ve taken have also sparked interest in PH policy, in which I am very active. . . . . . ?Well-rounding? I think they call it.

 

[PublicHealth]

Research in public mental health. Specifically, I am interested in the application of preventive medicine in psychiatry.

 

[Daiphon]

i plan on using the mph to "get invited to the table" at whatever residency/hospital i end up in. on my clinical rotations, i've seen too many instances of policies being written/enacted with minimal physician input, while those policies fundamentally change how doctors are allowed to practice at the hospital. i'm hopeful that b/c of my mph, i'll be able to get into those meetings with legal & administration and represent the MD side of things...

that and i hope to do a butt-load of urban ER service usage research. d=)
-tim

 

[bustbones26]

I recently read about a preventative medicine/public health and occupational medicine residency programs. IF you doa residency in these areas, your first year is traditiional internship, then you go away for a year to get an MPH, then you come back and do a finish your third year of residency.

So, if you have an interest in preventative medicine or occupational medicine, and laready have an MPH, you've shortened your residency to two years. Not a bad idea.

 

[Heal&Teach]

I'm using my MPH now in a fellowship program in health education. Haven't used the degree as a major "in" for medical school, but I have made it clear that its intended use is in my later career. I hope that my background will help out in the future in terms of setting up public health programs in underserved communities (whether through community based organizations or health clinics).

 

[DrMom]

I used my MPH working as an administrator for a nonprofit medical professional organization and as a health educator. Whether or not I directly use my MPH as a physician, the information I learned still benefit me in my future practice.