Public Health Track
For WVU Medical Students

This is a new program which will be offered to WVU medical students. The Public Health Track will be in addition to the regular MD curriculum and will be offered by the Department of Community Medicine of the School of Medicine. This track was approved by the WVU School of Medicine Curriculum Committee on May 7, 2007. Students may apply in February of the year in which the summer program is offered. Four students will be selected for the program each year by a committee made up of faculty.

The components of the Public Health Track are:
Completion of core Master of Public Health (MPH) courses online
Completion of MPH practicum
Participation in community service experiences linked to Public Health
Opportunities to receive unique training experiences with external agencies
Completion of remaining requirements of MPH degree during primary care residency at WVU (optional)

The Public Health Track offers a focused learning experience in public health, with graduate level education and the opportunity to pursue professional education cooperatively with experienced faculty. Candidates achieving A or B grades in other coursework and/or honors and satisfactory evaluations in the medical curriculum may apply these toward the attainment of the WVU MPH degree.

Program Description:

1. MPH Core Content

Students will complete a minimum of four core courses or 10 credit hours of the MPH Program. The courses are all available on-line. Students may choose to complete all MPH required coursework or 13 credit hours.

PUBH 630 Policy and the Health System 3 Credits. Spring
PUBH 650 Environmental Health 3 Credits Spring
CHPR 612 Social and Behavioral Theory 3 Credits Fall
CHPR 634 Health Promotion Research Methods 3 Credits Fall
PUBH 691 Public Health Seminars 1 Credits Summer, Fall or Spring

2. MPH Practicum

Students will complete the MPH practicum (8 credits), with a research proposal relevant to Public Health during the one month RHEP rotation in the MSIII year. The identified research will be completed during the 2 month MS IV RHEP rotation at a designated local health department. Students will complete and present a scientific paper, with details of the culminating experiences acquired, during the MPH Student Practicum Presentation

3. Community Service

Students will complete 50 specified community service hours that will be tailored to Public Health and the medical curriculum, from the existing requirements for 100 hours while in medical school.

4. External Agencies

Students will receive unique training experiences from:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
  • Epidemiology elective program
  • Competitive 1 year fellowship in applied epidemiology for rising 3rd & 4th year students at CDC in Atlanta, designed to increase the pool of physicians with a population health perspective.
    
• 4 week STEER program, the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Scholars program.
  
• The eleven-week summer internship program at the Public Health Sciences Institute at Morehouse College.
  
• National Institute for Occupational & Safety Health (NIOSH) for Morgantown students
  
• West Virginia Bureau for Public Health (WV BPH) for Charleston area students
  
• Baltimore ”beltway agencies” and/or Washington, DC sites for Eastern Division students
  

5. Completion of MPH degree during primary care residency training
Students can complete the MPH degree during residency training in Internal Medicine; Family Medicine; Pediatrics; Obstetrics & Gynecology; Emergency Medicine (RHEP) Residency Programs, and in post-graduate Years 2 and 3 of training.

Students accepted in the Public Health track must remain in good academic and professional standing within the MD degree curriculum. Should a student have an adverse action imposed by the Dean removing this good standing, the student will no longer be eligible for the participation in the program. Due process for adverse actions will follow the standard procedures in the Policy on Academic and Professional Standards Governing the MD degree program. There will be no readmission to the program once the status is lost.

Rachel Abraham, MD, MPH,
Director, MD/PH Track
Dept of Community Medicine
(304) 293-0267 or rabraham@hsc.wvu.edu

For more information please review these websites:
Public Health Track for MD/MPH Program
Combined MD/MPH Program