Tulane School of Medicine vs. Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>This post is really long. Please bear with me. :/</p>

<p>I really need help deciding which school I want to take part in. I heard that in order to enter a certain school, there are several course requirements that should be taken as an undergraduate. I know I'm getting a bit a head of myself, considering that I have yet to apply to Tulane, but I want to be prepared in case it happens.</p>

<p>I want to be a pediatrician for UNICEF in Latin America. I say Latin America because I plan to perfect my Spanish during my years in college and be able to effectively communicate with the patients that I will serve. To be employed by UNICEF, one must fulfill the following criteria:
1. Master’s Degree in a field relevant to the work of UNICEF or equivalent professional experience
2. Relevant professional work experience, some of which has been obtained in a developing country, at least five years for mid-career and two to three years for an entry-level position
3. Proficiency in English and in another UN working language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)--Knowledge of the local language of a duty station where the position is based is an asset.</p>

<p>Now here is where my problem lies--I don't know which school would better suit me for this career choice, Tulane's School of Medicine or Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.</p>

<p>Yes, I know that the school of Public Health seems to be the obvious choice, but in this school, the only degrees offered are Master of Public Health, Master of Health Administration, Doctor of Philosophy, and Doctor of Science. I guess that if I had to choose, I'd choose the Master of Public Health. But I had originally planned to major in Biomedical Engineering, because I'd still be well-qualified to work in a hospital in the event that I ever decide to take a break from UNICEF. With a degree in Public Health, I just don't think that it's possible. It's too specific to global health (which would be great if I planned to work for UNICEF from the moment I leave college to the day that I retire). If I choose this school, I think I'd participate in the school's Health Office for Latin America based in Peru, because it offers annual summer courses in Latin America.</p>

<p>But then again, I suppose since the School of Public Health and the School of Medicine are interlinked, I could do so in the School of Medicine as well.</p>

<p>Now with the School of Medicine, their primary focus isn't centered around Global Health like I would like. However, I could apply to the Pediatrics department where I could enter the Community Pediatrics and Global Health section. On the webpage, it says the Division of Global Health serves to enrich the resident training through exposure to international clinical rotations and domestic immigrant healthcare. I feel like this would be a more stable choice. It would also make me feel more like an actual doctor...</p>

<p>But I feel like for my career ambitions, I should take advantage of a school completely devoted to Public Health.</p>

<p>I don't know. Does it even really matter? Please share your opinions.</p>

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<p>I think it’s a bit premature to worry about this now.lol Take your pre-med requirements, major in public health, and decide later on.</p>

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<p>But that’s exactly where my problem lies: I don’t know if I want to major in Public Health. I originally wanted to major in Biomedical Engineering.</p>

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<p>I have not really looked at the Public Health program. Do you have to major in Public Health as an undergraduate in order to get into the graduate program? Or would the graduate program accept you with a Biomedical Engineering undergrad degree? If the graduate program would accept the biomedical degree and that is what you want to major in, then go for it, makind sure you have any required courses for both medical school and the public health graduate program so that you can choose which you want later.</p>

<p>And, the thing to think about is what degree do you want to have in case the UNICEF thing doesn’t work out for whatever reason?</p>

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<p>According to the Public Health school, they only offer the four majors I listed which does not include Biomedical Engineering. I’m not really sure if they’d accept me with a different major than what they have. :/</p>

<p>And you’re right about choosing the best degree in the event that UNICEF doesn’t work out. That’s exactly what I’m thinking. I may just go to the School of Medicine.</p>

<p>I really do like the Public Health major, because it focuses on a wide range of things, from maternal and child health to behavioral science to environmental health and so on. But is it really the major that I want to be stuck with my whole life? I don’t want to work in UNICEF for twenty or so years and then when I’m fifty and want to settle down and work in a hospital, be turned away because my major isn’t taken seriously in an urban hospital. And I most-certainly do not want to go back to school at that point. Biomedical Engineering is much more practical, while Public Health is fanciful.</p>

<p>So yes, I think I’ll just do the School of Medicine and learn everything I need to know about humanitarianism in my free time… :/</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

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<p>I am not sure if you are confused or not.

and

You cannot “just go to the school of Medicine”. You have to get an undergrad degree in something like BME or Public Health, take the pre-med requirement courses like 4 semesters of chem, bio, physics, etc., get really really good grades, and do well on the MCAT. Then you get accepted to med school someplace when you are 21 or 22 or 23, usually.</p>

<p>This is probably what you meant, but the way you phrased things in your first and last posts made me a bit concerned you thought you had a choice going in as an undergrad between the med school and these other schools. Just making sure you knew that is not the case.</p>

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<p>No, I am well aware of how the system works. I apologize if my phrasing confused you.</p>

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<p>Speaking from the experience of a simple Tulane student: I may be a bit late for a reply, but from what I’ve read, you definitely seem nearly convinced that Tulane School of Medicine is a stronger choice. From my limited knowledge, not going to the School of Public Health does not at all limit you from pursuing a career in that field. However, not going to a School of Medicine does in fact limit you from pursuing an immediate career in normal American hospitals as a physician.
As for undergraduate, a major in Public Health in the undergraduate-level School of Public Health or Biomedical Engineering from Tulane School of Science should both allow you to enter Tulane Medical school, provided that your academics are up to par. I don’t know much about the graduate-level School of Public Health’s requirements, but they shouldn’t prohibit you from my knowledge. However, if you were to enter the graduate-level School of Public Health, then yes, you would not be receiving a degree in Biomedical engineering, but in one of the four offered, as BME would only be your undergraduate major. </p>

<p>But of course, nothing on college confidential replaces speaking with the advisers from Tulane. They’re quite helpful when it comes to requirements. Hope I helped.</p>

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<p>Thank you very much for the information! :slight_smile: It’s not too late since I have a good five years until entering either school. Haha. But I’ve decided that the School of Public Health is definitely not for me.</p>

<p>[What</a> is Public Health? - Careers in Public Health](<a href=“http://www.whatispublichealth.org/careers/index.html]What”>http://www.whatispublichealth.org/careers/index.html)</p>

<p>The link above differentiates between a degree in Public Health and a degree in Clinical Health, and I found that Clinical Health definitely entails the kind of doctor I want to be, while the Public Health degree is nothing like how I envision my future occupation.</p>

<p>But your information is definitely news to me. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind in the event that I want to make a different decision. Thanks for your experienced advice. :)</p>

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<p>I recently talked with a Tulane senior about Public health and your situation came to mind. apparently, there is the possibility of getting both a masters in public health and a MD program in a single program, though I don’t know the details. You may want to look that up if you are still interested. Think of public health as being more preventative medicine, trying to stop outbreaks and illnesses before they happen, while clinical medicine is more, now it’s happened, what do we do about it?</p>

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<p>Thanks for the information! I see the difference in both schools clearly now and I definitely like the “it happened–now what do we do?” idea more. :)</p>