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The MD/MPH Program at OHSU is specifically designed
for exceptional students with a firm commitment to a career involving
a population-based clinical practice (medicine-public health) model
or one in which a public health degree would enhance career productivity
in research, policy, or programs. MD/MPH students are admitted to
the research oriented Epidemiology and Biostatistics track, which
provides them with the critical core concepts and methods they will
need for any career in medicine and public health. Elective courses,
the internship requirement, and the Master's thesis offer students
ample opportunity to explore and gain expertise in the area(s) of
public health research and practice of their choice.
Students begin their MPH studies with an intensive
three-week introductory Epidemiology course prior to beginning medical
school classes. This brings public health methods to the forefront
of their medical school experience and helps form the "community
of scholars" we try to nurture through their five years at OHSU.
We consolidate that community of scholars with an
MD/MPH seminar in the fall of their first year and with ongoing
mentoring throughout their five years at OHSU. During the first
two years, students accumulate another 10-12 credits by taking selected
MPH courses, and we encourage them to take a summer internships
in public health research or practice between the first and second
years. This strategy keeps students engaged with, and thinking about,
public health issues and perspectives while studying clinical medicine
and allow them to become familiar with the faculty and research
in the Department. A year dedicated primarily to graduate studies
for the MPH degree follows the third (core clerkship) year, during
which students complete the core course requirements and the bulk
of their required thesis work.
Despite the demands of medical school, these exceptional
students remain strongly involved with public health. A number of
them maintain an active involvement in ongoing research and programs
throughout their first two years. Summer internship projects have
included work with projects at the Oregon Health Division, the Northwest
Portland Indian Health Board, the CDC, and under the guidance of
independent researchers. Several students have developed, funded,
and carried out their own international health projects in Africa
and South America. Recent thesis projects have included a meta-analysis
of risk factors related to vaginal birth after cesarean section,
a survey of bone density characteristics among Alaska Natives in
rural Alaska, and an analysis of tuberculosis skin test results
in Oregon corrections facilities. The MD/MPH program has also contributed
substantially to the culture of each medical school class.
The MD/MPH students comprise 5-12% of the current
medical school classes. Through their activity in the medical school
and the public health perspective they bring to their studies, these
students have successfully stimulated the interest of other medical
students in both public health electives and preventive medicine
and have helped our Department foster the "community habit of mind"
we promote in our involvement with the education of medical students
at OHSU.
The following articles concern public health and medical education:
Greenlick,
MR. Educating physicians for the twenty-first century. Academic
Medicine 70(3):179-185, March 1995.
Leutz W, Greenlick
MR, Ripley J, Ervin S, Feldman E, "Medical services in social
HMOs: a reply to Harrington et al" (letter) Gerontologist 35(1):6-9,
Feb. 1995.
Greenlick,
MR. Educating physicians for population-based clinical practice.
JAMA 267(12):1645-1648, Mar 1992.
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