The American University of Antigua College of Medicine

I encourage current AUA students and accepted students planning to attend AUA in 2010 to take a strong look at this (or the MBA program at PSU) dual degree program. Whether the MD/MPH, or DVM/MPH, this is certainly the wave of the future, with 81 US med schools offering the combined MD/MPH program; Stanford, UPenn, Tufts, Ohio State & Columbia, just to name a few.

Aside from the financial Title IV opportunities these programs afford our students, I think even more importantly, it can only enhance your professional resume and expanded knowledge base. I recently read the following with regard to the MD/MPH degree (with credit to the unknown authors): Having knowledge of public health expands the viewpoint of the clinician to consider things that s/he may not have considered without knowledge of these principles. Each concentration in public health allows for anyone that desires to make an impact on public health to do so in a way that is most productive for them and is most beneficial for the constituents that they serve.

There are many clinicians that practice public health but do not have formal training in it. Public health and medicine were once "one", but made a split in the earlier half of last century. Now, there is more of an emphasis on public health in medicine. Honestly, it is difficult to imagine medicine without the practice of public health and the understanding that with each patient, there is an opportunity to impact overall community health. The utility of the public health degree is not in actually having the additional letters behind your name, but more so in the everyday incorporation of public health into your thought processes and practice. Public health is just an adjunct that may allow (not guarantee) you to be a better physician.

I strongly encourage all of you to take a serious look at this opportunity; take advantage of the hard work that has culminated with this agreement. To Learn More About These Programs Click Here.

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Richard Woodward, MBA
Vice President for Enrollment Management
American University of Antigua (AUA)
College of Medicine; School of Nursing; International College of Arts and Sciences