Medical Toxicology and the Masters in Public Health Degree
Stephen Munday, MD MS MPH FACMT Medical Toxicologist, Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group, Inc.
San Diego California Poison Control Center
*Joshua G Schier, MD MPH FACMT Team Lead, Environmental Toxicology Team, NCEH, CDC
Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine; Emory School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA
Agenda
• Job opportunity overview
• MPH program types
• Finding the right program
• Examples of speci!c Med Tox MPH job opportunities
• CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service Program
Med Tox and the MPH
• Objective – Inform medical toxicologists about the types,
value and utility of the MPH degree
• So… Why get an MPH degree?
Med Tox and the MPH
Having public health credentials and speaking the language helps!
Job Opportunities • Jobs that you can do better with an MPH degree
– Public health position with the local, state or federal health organization
– Work for a private, public health organization or non-governmental organization (NGO)
– Leadership role in a hospital or healthcare system
– Research career
• Academia vs Industry
– Clinical practice (being able to critically evaluate the literature)
Job Opportunities • Public health practice jobs
– CDC and health departments
– MPH degree and the skill sets indispensable
– MDs with an MPH may be “a dime a dozen” in public health but an MD without an MPH certainly stands out for the wrong reason…
– Skill sets
• Speaking the language
• Data analysis skills (SAS, SPSS, etc…)
• Understanding study design and application to public health issues
– Study type, confounders, choice of analysis, etc…
• Understanding problems in the context of populations
Job Opportunities
• Federal agencies in Health and Human Services with public health practice jobs for the Med Tox MD-MPH
– CDC (including NIOSH)
– ATSDR
– FDA
– EPA
• Other US Government Departments
– DHS
– DOD
Job Opportunities
• Local and state health departments
– Epidemiology
– Environmental health
– Occupational health
– State toxicologist
– Emergency preparedness
– Other
Job Opportunities
• Various private public health organizations
• Various public health NGOs (Non-governmental
organizations)
MPH Programs
• Core, traditional disciplines – Biostatistics
– Epidemiology
– Environmental Health
– Health Policy and Health Administration
– Social and behavioral sciences
• Traditional MPH degree requires coursework in all of these areas but a focus in one
MPH Programs • Various other disciplines (school dependent)
– Global health
– Community health education
– Family and child health
– Gerontological health
– Population health
– Leadership & management
– Public health nutrition
– Forced migration and health
– Aging and public health
– Sexuality and public health
– Urbanism and the built environment
– Health care outcomes
MPH Programs ! Requirements
" Vary a little from school to school
" Dependent on format • Online
• Full-time
• Part-time
" Common themes include • X number of credit hours (probably around 40 or so for most
programs)
• Need to !nish within 5 years
• Most require a thesis paper (no defense)
! Masters of Science in Public Health (MSPH) " For academics mainly interested in going the PhD route
MPH Programs • Requirements
– Vary a little from school to school
– Dependent on format • Online
• Full-time
• Part-time
– Common themes include • X number of credit hours (probably around 40 or so for most
programs)
• Need to !nish within 5 years
• Most require a thesis paper (no defense)
• Masters of Science in Public Health (MSPH) – For academics mainly interested in going the PhD route
Finding the right program
http://ceph.org/accredited/search/
Finding the right program
http://ceph.org/accredited/search/
Finding the right program
http://ceph.org/accredited/search/
Finding the right program
http://ceph.org/accredited/search/
Finding the right program
http://ceph.org/accredited/search/
Finding the right program
http://ceph.org/accredited/search/
Finding the right program
• Often comes down to: – Geography
– Money • Check to see if your institution or department would partially
or fully support the degree
– Reduced shifts
– Offset tuition costs
– Both
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• Local/State
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
– Environmental Health • National surveillance of poison center data via the
National Poison Data System (NPDS)
• Exposures, illness and incidents of potential public health signi!cance
Wolkin A, et al. Using poison center data for national public health surveillance for chemical and poison exposure and associated illness. Annals of Emergency Medicine 2012. 59(1):57-61.
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Environmental Health
• Radiation Disaster Epidemiology
– Establishing data collection tools for an epidemiological response to a radiation incident
– Overlap with preparedness and response
– More to follow…
http://www.oasisadvancedwellness.com/health-articles/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/radiation-exposure.jpg
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
! ACMT-ATSDR Partnership " 1999: First 5 year cooperative agreement
" 2003: Regional Consultation Network established
• 10 ACMT regional medical directors in 10 EPA regions
" 2003: First ACMT/ATSDR contract for bio-preparedness
" 2003: First Toxic Industrial Chemicals/Materials courses
" 2004: First renewal (cooperative agreement)
" 2006: First Methamphetamine Clandestine Lab course
" 2009: Second renewal (cooperative agreement)
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• ACMT-ATSDR collaboration – Document review, education, public meeting participation
– Referral site for citizens with concerns about environmental exposures
– Federal Region ACMT representative
– Administering ACMT educational courses (Agents of Opportunity and Methamphetamines)
– Developing environmental toxicology educational modules (there have been 12 of these to date)
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
! ACMT-ATSDR collaboration " Compensation
" Hourly rate for non-clinical care related consultations
" Clinical referrals – 3rd party payor
" Course work often a set amount
" ACMT/ATSDR Network meeting on Tuesday, October 1 from 12-2PM
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• ACMT-ATSDR collaboration – Compensation
– Hourly rate for non-clinical care related consultations
– Clinical referrals – 3rd party payor
– Course work often a set amount
– ACMT/ATSDR Network meeting on Tuesday, October 1 from 12-2PM
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
Paulozzui L. Prescription drug ovedoses: A review. Journal of Safety Research 43 (2012) 283–289.
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Medication Safety • Use vs abuse
• Pediatric sub-program
http://www.cdc.gov/medicationsafety
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Environmental Health
• Laboratory Science
http://orise.orau.gov/cdc/applicants/ http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/dls/
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• Food and Drug Administration – Of!ce of Surveillance and Epidemiology
• Multiple divisions
– Safety issues and pharmacovigilance
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOf!ces/Of!ceofMedicalProductsandTobacco/CDER/ucm169536.htm
Examples of Jobs for the Med Tox MPH
• FDA – Center for Drug Evaluation and Research – Of!ce of Generic Drugs
– Safety & ef!cacy of generic is not signi!cantly different than that of the RLD
– Medical Of!cers
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOf!ces/Of!ceofMedicalProductsandTobacco/CDER/ucm081244.htm#Position
Practical Training Alternative Practical training programs (CDC)
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/download/id/60400/name/Inside_the_Outbreaks_The_Elite_Medical_Detectives_of_the_Epidemic_Intelligence_Service_by_Mark_Pendergrast http://www.virusmyth.com/aids/hiv/beeis.htm http://www.cdc.gov/eis/
Summary
• Consider a formal degree if interested in public health issues
• An MPH may assist you in
– Obtaining a public health practice position (state/federal public health)
– Achieving a leadership position in your hospital/healthcare system (e.g., healthcare policy and management MPH degree)\
– Launching or improving a research career (e.g., epidemiology, biostatistics)
– Improving your clinical practice (via learning how to properly evaluate the literature
Contact Information
Stephen Munday, MD MPH [email protected]
W: 858 616 8400
Josh Schier, MD MPH
[email protected] W: 770 488 3401
