This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series
Jul 2024Dear Editor,
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I recently read “Doctors Who Attend Policy School: Who Are They and Where Do They Work?” in the July 2024 issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. I would like to applaud Velasquez, et al for approaching this understudied topic of physicians who seek to uphold the virtues of Rudolf Virchow who espoused that medicine has an obligation to point out societal problems and attempt to find solutions.1
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Read the article in JPHMP
While a useful study to see what careers people choose after obtaining advanced policy education, the decision to exclude people with masters degrees in public health leaves out an important cohort of physician graduates, such as myself, who used that particular degree path to focus on health policy and management. Masters programs in public policy and public administration provide similar training from which to enter the policy space as an advocate, educator, or public health or policy professional. A recent survey of dual degree MD-MPH graduates showed that 11% pursued the health policy and management tract.2
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I also believe the authors are under a misunderstanding, as are many other people who think that the term “professor” in academics means someone who stands at a lectern and not an actual clinician. As evidenced by the fact that the majority of physicians in their search still maintain active licensure, I would suspect that many of the “academics” categorized by their study still lay hands on patients in addition to doing policy work.
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For many of us, medicine pays the bills while policy proves to be a side hustle. In the terms I was taught many decades ago, the “golden handcuffs” of medicine explain why many physicians do not leave medicine to work in government or the nonprofit sector.
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Sincerely,
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Cedric Dark, MD, MPH, FACEP
Baylor College of Medicine
Henry JN Taub Department of Emergency Medicine
Associate Professor
Director, EM Health Policy & Advocacy Fellowship
Director, EM Digital Media Strategy
Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy
Health Policy Scholar
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References
1. (with acknowledgements to Siân Anis) JRA. Virchow misquoted, part‐quoted, and the real McCoy. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2006 Aug;60(8):671.
2. Reilly JM, Plepys CM, Cousineau MR. Dual MD-MPH Degree Students in the United States: Moving the Medical Workforce Toward Population Health. Public Health Rep. 2021 Sep-Oct;136(5):640-647.
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