Reply to What do you do with an MPH?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If she wants to work with those populations, I would do a MSW. If she wants to do research with those populations, I would do a MPH.

- a social worker who works with a LOT of MPH co-workers[/quote]

+1 great summary
I have an MSW and work at a fed agency with a lot of people who have an MPH or DrPH. MSW will generally lead to direct clinical work, though there are also lots of MSWs in my agency doing policy work. MPH will generally lead to research and policy work. 
I think both are interesting paths with many opportunities in the DC area. 
Psychology usually requires a PhD or PsyD to do direct clinical work so an MSW is a faster path to a clinical role if she wants to pursue that direction. [/quote]

What about doing both, it doesn't need to be either or. We need more clinicians who understand prevention - we have a mental health crisis going on and a cascade of public health issues that stem from it, like youth violence, domestic violence, alcohol and substance abuse. I don't have an MPH, but I've been deeply involved in communicating about major public health issues in my job as a consultant.   Not quite the same but I've notice a lot more MDs getting MPHs, I think the same makes sense for mental health clinicians. There's also a bunch of work happening in the healthcare system with linking the sickest people to supports they need like, housing, food, transportation in recognition that achieving good health is not just about individual behaviors, but having access to strong social determinants of health. I could see MSWs being engaged in this work.[/quote]

I am one of the MSWs PPs above and this is exactly the work I do with social determents of health. I work directly with clients/patients with care coordination for housing/food/childcare/transportation and have also work on a lot of research for social determents of health within specific populations.  I will tell you that from my experience having first hand/direct line work with the clients/patients is far more valuable than any meeting I am in with someone with a MPH whose only experience is from text books/anecdotal knowledge. It is easy to walk the direct service to research/policy, but nearly impossible to go the other way.  I am a big fan of MSW/MPH programs (and would have done it myself had it been offered at my school) but I wouldn't incur huge loans to do that.[/quote]

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