Advanced Management Training for Clinician Leaders

The University of Minnesota is offering a Certificate program in Advanced Management Training for Clinician Leaders. This one-year course of study prepares clinicians how to be successful leaders within healthcare organizations. The program includes a concentrated curriculum focused on strategic decision-making and advanced leadership within complex health systems.

The Certificate in Advanced Management Training for Clinician Leaders is designed for clinicians in integrated health systems with interests in deepening their managerial skills and competencies. Specific features of this design include:

• The curriculum focuses on the management of complex, integrated health systems, including the expanded role of physicians as providers, managers and leaders in those systems.
• Program faculty are actively involved in applied research with health systems, with a focus on integrated health system performance.
• The on-campus sessions invite alumni and other expert speakers to participate with students in symposia and other learning events.
• Students complete the certificate in 12 months.
• The program is designed to minimize interference with work and family: most of the coursework is online and asynchronous; students spend only seven days on campus over 12 months.
• The program builds on the practical application of learning to the participant’s organization.
• The program is based on a learning cohort model in which all students start the certificate together and progress through the same curriculum, providing myriad opportunities for students to learn and work together.

Coursework is designed for clinicians with leadership experience who hold positions of organizational accountability.

Finding a public health job

When most people think about job opportunities in public health, they tend to focus on government organizations such as the FDA, the CDC, the NIH, the WHO, or a state-level public health department. If you can demonstrate public health competency as a physician, then you won't need an MPH to get a public health job. Make sure you brush up on epidemiology and biostatistics.

The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) has a public health job search engine at PublicHealthJobs.net.

Some physicians also forget about public health jobs in the private sector. Many jobs focus on population health management by including elements of disease management and patient education. Some organizations rely on the Internet to disseminate health information while others may use innovative approaches to impact population health.

• Interested in the private sector? Make sure to explore some of the links found here.
• Wish to work for a non-profit organization? Take a look at the links found here.
• How about federal government jobs? Make sure to visit the links here.

The other day, I was speaking with a physician who accepted a public health job with the state department of public health.

Global Health Fellows Program

I often meet individuals who are interested in global health opportunities. How many people do you know who are working in some type of global health organization? I know an infectious disease physician (MD, MPH) working for the WHO in China. I also know a few individuals working in international continuing medical education (CME) companies. CME rules and regulations are very different when you go outside the United States.

If you have an MPH and you're thinking about international health opportunities, consider the Global Health Fellows Program. 

The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute (PHI) in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health, Management Systems International, and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. GHFP is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

GHFP’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID Population, Health and Nutrition programs by developing and increasing capacity of health professionals in Washington, DC and overseas. This is accomplished through the recruitment, placement and support of junior, mid- and senior-level health professionals; a diversity initiative focused on providing internship and mentoring opportunities in international public health to under-represented communities; and professional and organizational development activities to bolster USAID’s ability to maximize results and strengthen its leadership role in global health.

There are currently two fellowship openings:

Number	Title	Location
GHFP-10-162	Private Sector Technical Advisor	Washington, DC
GHFP-10-160	Demographic and Health Surveys and Evaluation Technical Advisor	Washington, DC

To learn more about the Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP), visit: http://www.ghfp.net/

Top universities providing online graduate degrees

There are some top universities providing distance learning (or online) degrees. What does this say about the concept of distance learning? If top universities like Johns Hopkins and Stanford are willing to provide online degrees, then does this support the idea that online graduate degrees are equivalent to degrees obtained on campus?

• Stanford University offers an online masters program in biomedical informatics
• Johns Hopkins University offers a distance-learning master of public health
• Northwestern University offers an online master of science in medical informatics
• New York University (NYU) offers an online master of science in management and systems
• Duke University offers an online master of environmental management

I think it's fair to say that we'll see other top universities that will eventually offer online graduate degrees. I doubt that all of them will, but the trend will gradually change as universities recognize that certain programs can be delivered effectively online.

The online graduate degree that interests me the most right now is the Northwestern University Master of Science in Medical Informatics (MMI). Maybe you know some physicians who are currently enrolled in this program.

Deputy Director of Health

Here's an interesting public health job position titled, "Deputy Director of Health." Here's some more information:

Description:
The position of Deputy Director in a large urban health department is quite challenging. On the one hand, the Deputy must be able to “fill in” for the Director when the Director is out-of-town, on vacation or working on another issue. As a result, the Deputy plays a role in all of the major programs in the department. To do this, the Deputy Director must achieve working knowledge of many areas of public health programming. Additionally, the Deputy must have deeper responsibility with regards to several programs in the Department. The Deputy will spend some time becoming oriented to several programs before being given full administrative responsibility. The first program area over which the Deputy will assume deeper responsibility will be Division of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control. This is the area of the health department that requires the most physician input and has the greatest visibility in the community. This division houses four different types of clinics and associated communicable disease control programs The Deputy Director has both administrative and medical responsibilities. The medical responsibilities include, but are not limited to the establishment and periodic review of health and medical policies, conduct of epidemiologic investigations, provision of advice and consultation to practicing physicians and others within the community relative to management of cases of public health importance and supervising the work of other physicians and other professional staff within the department. The administrative responsibilities consist of acting for, and in place of the County Health Director in all matters of public health administration. The work is performed in accordance with the general policies and objectives prescribed by the Monroe County administration and with applicable State and Federal law and guidance. The Deputy Director will be asked to speak to the media about local public health issues when the Director is not available. The Deputy Director may be asked to sit on boards and advisory bodies in the community. The Deputy may be asked to attend statewide and national meetings related to local public health programs. As the current Department Director is nearing retirement age, appointment as Deputy Director at this time may be viewed by applicants as a step toward appointment as Department Director.

Compensation:
$115,115-$145,436.

Qualifications:
Candidates for Deputy Director must be physicians licensed to practice in the State of New York. In addition, it is preferred that the candidate hold a Masters Degree in Public Health or Epidemiology (or a closely related field) or be eligible or certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in either Preventive Medicine or Public Health. Candidates must have two years of administrative experience in a health related organization or government agency. Alternatively, the candidate may have certification by one of the American Boards as a diplomate in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Family Medicine and/or one of their respective subspecialties plus two year full-time or its part-time/volunteer equivalent experience in supervision, management, research or practice in one of the following areas: communicable disease control, chronic disease control, epidemiology or general public health.

Notice how the job description indicates a preference for an MPH, but this is not a mandatory requirement. Many physicians have the misconception that they are unable to work in the public health field unless they have an MPH. Click here for all the details about this current public health job posting.

What's the value of an online degree? (MPH)

Have you considered an online degree? Maybe you're even pursuing one right now. What's the value of an online degree like an MBA? These degrees are not inexpensive. You may easily spend over $150,000 for an Executive MBA (or EMBA if you prefer). An MPH may still end up costing $30,000 to $50,000, depending on the school. Can you calculate an ROI (return on investment) on your education? (it should be ROE = return on education)

I personally think the value of an online degree ultimately depends on several different factors:

• The type of degree
• Why you're getting that degree
• Where you go to school
  
• How you plan to leverage your degree

Let's evaluate a few examples that are highly relevant for physicians who are interested in a career transition into the non-clinical sector:

• MPH (master of public health)
• MMM (master of medical management)
• MBA (master of business administration)

People often pursue an MPH because they want to work in public health. There is a national shortage of public health professionals, so there is a growing demand in this specific industry. Johns Hopkins University has repeatedly been ranked as the #1 public health program by US News. Now, if Hopkins offers a distance learning MPH, then what does this say about online MPH programs? Also, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Emory University (ranked among the top programs on US News) also offer distance learning MPH programs.

My personal opinion is this: if you want to pursue an MPH, as long as you get your degree from an institution that is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), you will probably be OK with an online program. By the way, you will NOT find schools like Strayer University, Walden University, Benedictine University, Capella University, Kaplan University, or University of Phoenix on that CEPH list of accredited schools. (to clarify: Some of these schools may not offer an MPH, but if you type "online MPH" into search engines like Google and Yahoo, you will see some of these schools featured even though they do not offer an MPH degree. Some of these universities are accredited by other organizations, so I am not suggesting that these are not accredited universities. For example, the University of Phoenix is accredited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and offers a Master of Science in Nursing degree.)

Many health care professionals pursue an MPH while they are working full-time, so they end up taking courses part-time. Others get an MPH by taking one intense full-time year of study. Some may take a year off from residency.

If you already have an advanced degree, then the MPH will add some value, but it won't be your primary degree, so you need to answer the next critical question: "how do you plan to leverage your MPH degree?" Do you really need an MPH or are you looking for something that will improve your qualifications for some type of position or career opportunity?

A distance learning MPH is a great option because it offers flexibility and you still have the opportunity to learn, interact with students, and write your papers. Most MPH programs are not filled with exams and quizzes. Instead, you're expected to generate papers, have facilitated group discussions, and work on some team projects. You can do all of this online.

Well, I've run out of time. Tomorrow (or the next day), I'll address my thoughts on two other degrees that often interest physicians: MMM and MBA.

MPH during residency?

One question that often comes up is: "Should I get an MPH (Master of Public Health) while I'm going through residency?"

• If you're in a preventive medicine residency, you're probably getting an MPH through your residency program.
• If you're in a fairly "busy" residency, you probably won't have time for the MPH coursework during residency. You could take one year off and do an intensive one-year MPH.
• If you're in a rather "cush" residency, then I suppose you could take a few MPH courses and start your MPH degree. However, you probably won't finish the MPH before your residency is over.
  

Remember: you can always get your MPH after you complete your residency. If you take one or two courses each semester, it's really not too bad.

Environmental Health Epidemiologist?

No, this isn't a job description or a job ad. Instead, it's a question. Would you consider working as an environmental health epidemiologist? You'd need to have some public health (or epidemiology) training, so I'd encourage you to get an MPH (Master of Public Health). You can get an MPH in one year through an intensive full-time program. Otherwise, you can take courses part-time and compete the degree in 2-3 years.

If this sounds interesting, then read my article on: Is it Dangerous to Live Next to Power Lines?
This might give you a taste of what life might be like if you pursue a career in environmental health and/or epidemiology.

Getting a Master's Degree While You Work

Part of my new book will include a section on how I received a master's degree while working full-time. I pursued an MPH (master's in public health) through the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst School of Public Health. I was in a program with hundreds of other students who were also taking courses while working.

One common misconception is that you must have a master's degree to be successful in the non-clinical world of medicine. I'd say that's a myth. You don't need a master's degree to be successful. It may be helpful, especially if you're able to make some meaningful connections through your alumni network, but it's far from necessary. As modern distance-learning technology continues to improve, it becomes easier and easier to pursue a degree at your own pace. Would you pursue an MBA if you could do it slowly over 5 years? I would.