Prospective medical school applicants often wonder whether they would benefit from pursuing a public health degree in conjunction with their medical education. There are many benefits to studying public health, since this type of education can better prepare future physicians to take care of health issues affecting their patients.
Here are four types of med school applicants who may want to consider pursing a combined M.D.-M.P.H. program.
[Learn about getting a Master of Public Health degree as a medical student.]
— Applicants who want to do clinical research: A Master of Public Health gives students the opportunity to complete courses in epidemiology, biostatistics and research study design. These courses can help students develop a framework with which to conduct clinical research, including observational studies and clinical trials.
Having a basic understanding of epidemiological concepts is invaluable for designing studies that determine how different drugs or treatments compare to each other. This also gives students a deeper framework for understanding the rationale for how different studies are designed as they review research articles in clinical medicine in an attempt to practice evidence-based medicine.
Many academic – research-oriented residency programs look favorably on applicants who have public health training. They believe these individuals have the potential to contribute to research projects in their department during residency and to better apply their knowledge of clinical research while they review the latest research in their respective fields.
[Discover how earning a graduate dual degree helps save money and time.]
— Applicants interested in working in health care policy: Public health training provides opportunities for students to gain a fundamental understanding of how the U.S. health care system works and how polic y affects health care delivery and health services.
If you are interested in working in health care policy by advising to policymakers, advocating for various laws that could affect how health care is delivered in the U.S. or examining the effects of legislation on health care outcomes, understanding health care policy can be valuable. It can also give you a necessary credential to be able to participate in these activities in the government, nonprofit organizations or the for-profit sector.
[Consider reasons to pursue a joint M.D. degree.]
— Applicants who want to work on improving health care internationally: Training in public health is a good idea for those interested in working on improving health care for the world’s most disenfranchised populations, especially if your concentration in the public health school is in global health.
Many public health courses focus on problems that affect marginalized communities in developing countries. Courses in public health can give students knowledge about how to set up immunization programs to prevent infectious diseases in low-income countries, provide insight into creative financing mechanisms for health care services in remote villages and shed light on how programs such as malaria eradication save lives at a large-scale level. This framework can help anyone who is planning on tackling various medical or surgical problems abroad.
— Applicants with a passion for working with the underserved: Providing comprehensive medical care for patients, especially those from underserved backgrounds, requires going beyond the clinical encounter. It involves taking into account a patient’s social history, economic background, culture and other factors that could directly or indirectly impact their well-being.
It also requires providing a community-based approach to patient care that involves disease prevention, health education and health behavior modification. A Master of Public Health program can provide an understanding of these topics and enable applicants to provide better care for patients when they are physicians.
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4 Applicants Who Would Benefit From an MD-MPH Program originally appeared on usnews.com
