A classmate of mine matched at Vanderbilt after doing an MD/MPH. I believe the focus of her MPH was clinical research, and she did do some ortho research during her MPH year.

Dr. Mininder Kocher, one of the Pediatric/Sports Surgeons at the Harvard Combined Program did an MD/MPH and has obviously done very well in his Ortho career. He has a high research/publication volume, which may be in part associated with his public health training.

If you have a good reason to do an MPH, I say do it. If nothing else it will give you something interesting to talk about on your interviews.

In a field like orthopedic surgery, where evidence-based medicine and translational research are still developing a following, an MPH could be an incredibly valuable tool, especially if focused in biostatistics or epidemiology. A great deal of prominent orthopedic research is outcomes-based and heavy on statistics, and epidemiology can lend itself very well to injury prevention, etc.

Many programs like to see research, not necessarily for its specific content, but because it theoretically shows dedication, scientific curiosity, and technical/cognitive skillsets... the MPH will demonstrate these same characteristics, especially if you put it to use and get some research published.

I have an MD/MPH with a biostatistics concentration. Having a stats background seemed to be a hot topic on the trail, and allows you to speak intelligently about research. In addition, I had the opportunity to do all sorts of ortho research during my MPH year (which is a bit of a joke compared to med school). It did look a little suspect to smaller programs, but to any place academic it is nothing but a plus (provided you do something like stats or epi) if you do something fluffy like health education, it may be suspect. Like most anything else on the trail, you have to make sure you have the right spin.

In addition, since starting residency, the stats background has helped me get into some projects, and has boosted me into other research situations that can only help in the future. Even should you decide to can research all together when you finish, it will still help you critically evaluate the literature. Really a no lose situation (particularly if you are young, and even more particularly if your med school is picking up the tab like mine was)

all these ortho-specific replies ...... (i know, you asked for that kind of reply )

my thought was: do you want to do an MPH? are you interested in it? is it a year you'd enjoy? then do it. do it because you want to. not because it'd help an application. (likewise, don't shun the opportunity if you "hear" it won't "look good" to ortho programs.) confidence in your (ortho) application and your interests and being able to explain what you did and why you did it go much, much further than doing something just for the sake of doing it.

all that being said - i think a degree where you get to focus on an area of study that you enjoy and find interesting is a great opportunity and a program would be lucky to get ya!