Why I GOT MY MPH DEGREE

And how I think it helped me get into residency?

One of the commonest questions I get when I chat with IMGs is – why did you get an MPH and if it’ll helped with matching into residency? My answer is possibly and here’s why.

After I graduated from medical school, I moved to a different region in Nigeria for my mandatory internship in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). This is a part of our post-medical training where we rotate through the 4 main specialties- Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology.

I worked in one of the biggest state hospitals so was exposed to a great variety to medical cases. However, the inequities of health laden in the system concerned me- dearth of resources to provide care and limited health education to help promote healthy living.

I wanted more than just clinical medicine. Yearned to not only learn why our population faced recurrent health challenges but also learn how to make a difference beyond the individual level of care I offered.

As my frustrations on these thoughts grew overtime, I shared it on social media (facebook at the time). A friend reached out to me and recommended a Masters in Public Health (MPH) degree.

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She thought it matched my concerns & vision but also saw it as a chance to get to the US and pursue a residency program after that.

I was excited to learn MPH existed but didn’t put much thought to the residency program in US at that time. I was married, had a 1 year old son and also pregnant at the time, so the thought of migration and further education seemed elusive and discouraging to think of.

Fast forward to weeks later and multiple google searches, I found a lot of programs offered MPH programs which could be completed in 1 year . The timing was perfect for me and my family situation at the time.

I completed the GRE and TOEFL exams, applied to multiple schools and got into Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University for General Public health with a minor in Maternal and Child Health.

I started my program while my 2nd son was 3 months old and it was a struggle navigating motherhood and education in an environment where there was no family. We paid a lot for child care. But halfway through my program, I sent him back home to live with his brother and my parents in Nigeria till I completed my program.

The rest of my program was completed with both excitement for the learning but with a heavy heart of a mother miles away from her family especially kids.

My time at Columbia was one of the best years of learning. Not only because I loved NYC (who doesn’t) and connected with a lot of amazing people, some of whom I continue to be friends with now; but I gained a lot of non-clinical health knowledge that I would use all my life including now as an attending Pediatrician.

In all this, here’s what I learned and what I would do differently next time:

The very next step in your life might be communication away. Ask for ideas from people. If i didnt ask, I would never have heard about MPH
There’s never a perfect time for anything. So don’t wait; go ahead and make it work.
Don’t aim low, go higher. While researching for programs, I felt Columbia was way out of reach for an IMG like me. Guess what, it wasn’t.
In any situation you find yourself, network and seek mentors. One my regrets during my MPH was not networking enough or seeking out more mentors.
Don’t be in a rush. With 2 young kids and a spouse mile apart, I rushed through my internship and left the US. Next time, I would stay a little longer and explore more opportunities.

So did my MPH help me get into residency?

Yes. But it wasn’t just the degree or the school. It was what I did with the degree after I graduated.

I worked 3 years after my MPH in Nigeria as a clinical educator, developed a mobile health technology platform and remained in clinical care before applying for residency.

During the residency interview for the program I matched into, my discussion with the Program director was all based on my mobile health technology.

Think hard on why you want the MPH degree before you apply. It also involves a financial investment.

For me, It was absolutely worth it!

Happy to hear your comments and questions.