Accepted. Now to choose: PA v PA/MPH

[awregg]

Hello all,
I have recently been accepted into a few different programs and I am trying to choose between two schools specifically. They are extremely different. One is the Unviersity of New England, a mid ranked school focused on primary care and rural medicine, emphasizing​ Interprofessional relationships. The other is the more "prestigious" George Washington University that offers a MPH in either epi, policy, or community health in addition.  I have spoken to alumni of UNE and they have only positive things to say about the program. I feel that the GW program is very experienced and could possibly open up interesting opportunities later. However, how useful would an MPH degree be? Any alumni of a dual program out there, who could speak to how they used the dual degree in their professional life, whether practicing or doing work in public health? Between the schools, GW is at least $50,000 dollars more expensive and that is not including the MPH degree. Any respectful advice/thoughts would be appreciated.

[EMEDPA]

if you have any future plans that might involve public health/global health/international health the MPH would benefit you. I ended up going back for a doctorate in health science with a focus in global health. An MPH would have helped me, but dual programs were not around 25 years ago.

I know both programs fairly well. both are good. I'm a rural guy so if I didn't want the mph I would do UNE for the beautiful rural environment. If you are a city guy, GW is the obvious choice, being in a big metro area with lots of stuff to do. you can't go wrong either way. congrats and good luck.

[Timon]

I'd do the PA route (not the combined program) and then do the MPH if I was still interested in it once graduating and working as a PA. My understanding is that PA programs are typically a year shorter than dual programs. That's a big difference financially as a lack of income for 1 year plus interest and additional student loan money (when cost of living is factored in). My view is that you can always get your MPH after the fact while you're still working as a PA. Getting the MPH does not give you more money practicing as a new grad PA, but can give you additional opportunities in sectors that require an MPH as E stated earlier. You can also get your MPH at some many places and pretty much shop for the best program once your graduated in terms of cost, experience / curriculum, and etc versus being pressured into doing two programs at the same time due to convenience factor of shortening the time of taking both programs at the same time and grinding through all at once. But in the end, it's your own personal preference. In my mind, there's a $150k price difference between doing the combined program versus doing them separately (cost of the schooling plus loss of income plus cost of living).

[EMEDPA]

san jose state university in ca and U. Alaska anchorage both have inexpensive distance learning MPH programs which are accredited and can be done while working full time. I almost did this, but decided if I was going to spend time/money on another degree it would be a doctorate and not a second masters.

[guiriguiri]

EMEDPA, how do you use your doctorate in your professional life?

[EMEDPA]

graduated only 3 months ago.

Teaching, medical missions, disaster team participation(writing Tx protocols, on advisory board),  editorial board of an online PA/NP website, medical site coordinator for austere clinic site in Haiti, considering teaching for several masters and doctoral programs in the health sciences

[Disciple3]

UNE all the way unless you really want to spend the dime to live down there and for the name of GWU.  Like they said the dual program isn't cost effective right now unless you're independently wealthy so it's probably not the best investment with loans and interest.  I interviewed both places as well and I have no doubt about choosing UNE, the only program I liked better was Penn state but I am a pretty rural guy.

[MT2PA]

It's really a matter of personal preference and career goals.  Personally, pursuing a PA degree is a career change for me but MPH has always been on my radar so I decided if I was going back to school in my 30s I was going to take the opportunity to get both done at once.  The thought of quitting work to do a PA program just to pursue an MPH a few years later, even if while working, just didn't appeal to me.

 

That said, I plan to focus on clinical practice and probably won't use the MPH immediately - at least officially.  I will say that the way of learning/different perspective/variety of skills I've gained from the MPH are nothing to discredit and will positively affect the way I practice as a PA.

[dchampigny]

Hello all,

I have recently been accepted into a few different programs and I am trying to choose between two schools specifically. They are extremely different. One is the Unviersity of New England, a mid ranked school focused on primary care and rural medicine, emphasizing​ Interprofessional relationships. The other is the more "prestigious" George Washington University that offers a MPH in either epi, policy, or community health in addition.  I have spoken to alumni of UNE and they have only positive things to say about the program. I feel that the GW program is very experienced and could possibly open up interesting opportunities later. However, how useful would an MPH degree be? Any alumni of a dual program out there, who could speak to how they used the dual degree in their professional life, whether practicing or doing work in public health? Between the schools, GW is at least $50,000 dollars more expensive and that is not including the MPH degree. Any respectful advice/thoughts would be appreciated.

 

 

So I was actually in your exact situation last year. I got accepted to a traditional 2 year PA program with just the PA degree as well as the GW PA/MPH program. The deciding factor for me was the fact that when crunching the numbers (which you should not take lightly), it ended up being a $150,000+ dollar difference. You have to take into account a full 12 months of school as tuition, livings, and also the fact that it is a full year of not practicing as a PA with a salary. The other secondary factor for me was that I can always go back and get the MPH later. In the grand scheme of things, there is no rush.

 

I would make the same decision again a million times in a row. I haven't ever wondered how I would be doing at GW or regretted that I won't graduate with an MPH. 

[PAGuy55]

Get the PA now and MPH later at a cheaper school.

[awregg]

Thank you for all the feedback!

 

EMEDPA: How long did it take to get your doctorate? Which University did you go through? Just curious for later.

[EMEDPA]

4 years. Nova Southeastern University. There is a course by course description of the program I wrote in the recovery room section of this forum under the title "Taking the DHSc plunge". it's a pretty nice resource for PAs going back for a doctorate as folks discuss lots of other program options as well.

[awregg]

Great! I'l check it out.

[kargiver]

Dont waste your time on the MPH.  Get your PA training, go get a job, and have an employer pay for it. 

 

Nothing trumps experience.  You'll be a year ahead of the game, you'll figure out if you even want to do public health, and you'll have an income.  Don't waste time on it and line the endowments of already overbloated universities.

 

G
 

[Sticks]

What kind of opportunities will you have with an MPH as a PA?

[awregg]

The reason I wanted to pursue an MPH degree would be to open up opportunities for later in my career: teaching, adminstration, coordinator positions, working with Doctors without Borders, research, etc

I ended up choosing the PA route instead of PA/MPH, but I'll probably pursue it in the future!

[lanime]

Where do you want to live & practice after school?

[Michigander]

I have an MPH (and another professional graduate degree) from about 12 years ago and became a PA about 1.5 years ago. With my MPH, I worked in clinical research. It has given more opportunities to participate in research in previous jobs. In my brief career as a PA I think it has opened some doors for me in academic settings that are harder to get into.

 

However, I would not attend a PA-MPH program because I think it would dilute the PA school experience. I attended a dual masters program for my MPH and my cohort was out of sequence for both programs with some logistical problems with electives being unavailable to us. We also had to pay the fee for the high cost program for every semester regardless of which program we had the most credits in for the semester (a little bit of price gouging on their part). There were things that were just annoying (two advisors, two sets of graduation requirements to keep track of, two graduation audits, classmates we started with graduating before us). It was a lot of fun and I loved it but I do wish I had become a PA first and done an online MPH and saved an awful lot of money. 

[MT2PA]

I have an MPH (and another professional graduate degree) from about 12 years ago and became a PA about 1.5 years ago. With my MPH, I worked in clinical research. It has given more opportunities to participate in research in previous jobs. In my brief career as a PA I think it has opened some doors for me in academic settings that are harder to get into.

 

However, I would not attend a PA-MPH program because I think it would dilute the PA school experience. I attended a dual masters program for my MPH and my cohort was out of sequence for both programs with some logistical problems with electives being unavailable to us. We also had to pay the fee for the high cost program for every semester regardless of which program we had the most credits in for the semester (a little bit of price gouging on their part). There were things that were just annoying (two advisors, two sets of graduation requirements to keep track of, two graduation audits, classmates we started with graduating before us). It was a lot of fun and I loved it but I do wish I had become a PA first and done an online MPH and saved an awful lot of money. 

I understand your concerns.  To be fair, there are several PA/MPH programs out there and they all run them differently.  Some have you complete the MPH the first year and do the PA the second and third years - in which case there really is no dilution of the PA experience.  Other programs focus their MPH purely on rural/community prevention and the PA program has similar goals so they are able to incorporate them more seamlessly.

 

I don't feel like my PA experience will be reduced at all and as a perk, I actually get some of my PA classes to count for my MPH and have fewer credits to take from them.  Tuition is all the same regardless of the courses for my program and while not as cheap as getting an employer to pay for the MPH, it IS cheaper than if I had pursued the PA and the MPH at this same institution but separately.

 

It all depends on career goals.  Of the roughly 10 dual programs, not a single one is run identical to another as far as curriculum and timeline.