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Why doctors are joining MBA programs

It is often said that healing is an art, medicine is a profession, and health care is a business. In the troubled health system in the US, the challenge has been to make the business as good as the art. This is so although the country has among the world’s best talent in both medicine and business management.

Strangely, the fact that health care is an economic activity that has to be professionally managed is a new realization, in the US and also in other countries. Mark V. Pauly, Professor at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, puts it nicely, “A light bulb went off and they realized that health care is a business.”

In response to the need for better health-care management, more and more doctors in the US started enrolling themselves in business schools. There were medical schools and there were business schools the medical students could attend after graduation. However, there were only very few dual-degree MD/MBA programs specifically meant for physicians. Around the late 1990s, doctors could choose from only a handful of joint MBA/MD degree programs in all of the US. But by 2000, the number had increased to 30. Now, medical school applicants can select one of about 65 joint MD/MBA degree programs (MBA admission with non-traditional profile).

Quite a few dual-degree holders opt for a career in health-care management. An NYT article gives the example of Dr. James S. Kuo, who joined a health-care venture capital fund after completing his medical degree and his MBA. He was later at the helm of affairs at health-care companies, including one in California headed by his wife, Dr. Geraldine P. Kuo, herself a specialist in muscular-skeletal medicine.
 

Pursuit of efficiency

Though belatedly, concerns about the cost of health care have become part of the job profile of doctors. Young students and physicians feel that the best way to tackle this worry is to equip themselves with business basics by getting an MBA. A business degree enables them to see the hospital and treatment process from an efficiency perspective that would bring down costs without dragging down quality.

Here’s one example of how an MBA helps, from an article on the website Marketplace. Dan Blumenthal, a Harvard MBA and a doctor training at the Massachusetts General Hospital to become a cardiologist, found that doctors on daily rounds were taking too long to see all their patients, because of which their effectiveness was being compromised. The problem, Blumenthal discovered, was that the doctors were also teaching medical staff during their rounds. So he sat down with his boss to improve the quality of doctors’ rounds.

Doctors with dual degrees, such as Blumenthal, are the ray of hope for the US health-care system, where inefficiencies are causing a leakage of an estimated $1 trillion annually. Not just a few tweaks, a major surgery is required to save the health care system in the next five to ten years, according to Dr. Kevin Schulman, who ran the MD/MBA program at Duke University for over a decade.

Innovation is what Dr. Schulman feels MD/MBAs will bring to the system, as these dual-degree holders will be thinking like entrepreneurs. The system requires them, as the traditional health-care executives have obviously not been able to manage it very well so far. And managing the system well is an imperative if it is not to collapse.

Harvard Business School professor Rob Huckman says process management is now a key area for health-care professionals as much as it has always been for manufacturing executives. More doctors joining business management courses will make medical treatment not only more efficient, but also safer and cheaper.
 

 
MBA for DentistPooja Gunjikar, former dentist from Mumbai and current MBA student at HEC Paris, shared her story with MBA Crystal Ball.

“When I started studying dentistry I had the feeling within that I would not be able to work on peoples’ mouths all life long 🙂 .. During my study at dental school, I realized that the beauty of the smile is in sync with the shape of the lips, nose, cheek bones, forehead, chin etc. This brought the idea of my first start up and I set up a business of cosmetology centers in India (Mumbai) in 2012 which provided services in cosmetic dentistry, cosmetology and cosmetic surgery (all that would make one look and feel good under one roof).”

“My passion to make people feel more beautiful and confident about themselves made me run this business for 2 years. The business was called Mage Therapy (a coined word for Masking your AGE). I practiced dentistry in this period in the clinic along with other dentists while managing the business. I could attract the Bollywood industry and Mage soon became the buzz word for Cosmetic treatments in Mumbai.”

“However, as I never had a formal education in business I did not have the confidence to scale it up. Hence when a VC approached me in 2 years of starting my business, I got into an acquisition with them. I worked with a new company that acquired my business for another two years as a regional director along with practicing dentistry. At that time, I realized that a MBA would help me climb the next big step.”

“Today, I am at HEC Paris, which has not only honed my skills but is also shaping me as a person. The diverse cohort and experienced professors have helped me realize how I shall leverage my medical and business knowledge to achieve greater success in the coming future. This has helped me open myself to the Pharma / Biotech industry in which I plan to continue my career in post MBA.”

“My plan after graduation is to be able to start a social business in Pharma/ Biotech that will help the society and more importantly the less privileged in India who cannot afford medicines/ quality treatments due to high costs. The MBA program at HEC Paris has not only broadened my perspective towards business but has also made me realize my true passion that I can pursue for the rest of my life.”

 

More career options for doctors after MBA

Developments in the medical field have opened up a number of career options, Maria Chandler, president and founder of the Association of MD/MBA programs and a recipient of both degrees, is quoted as saying in an article in US News and World Report.

Advances in the sectors of biotech, medical devices, medical informatics, data analysis, and population management have increased the requirement of physicians with MD and MBA. Students with MD/MBA degrees can go also into pharmaceutical marketing, hospital administration, or wellness center or medical organization management. They may even be invited to participate in health-care policy-making or help implement a government health-care program. One extra advantage that a MD/MBA program brings to the student is the opportunity for a mid-career move.

For many young Indian doctors in America mulling dual-degree programs, perhaps the search for an idol may end with Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States. Murthy, an MD from the Yale School of Medicine and an MBA in Health Care Management from the Yale School of Management, is the son of immigrants from Karnataka, India.
 

 
Careers after MBA for doctorMBA Crystal Ball asked Steven Thompson, Executive Director of the IE International MBA Program, if they’ve had doctors in the class and what they’ve done after graduating. Here’s what he shared.

“It is not common, but we do have medical doctors in our full-time MBA from time-to-time. Recently, we had an MD who graduated from the International MBA Program and went on to work for a top consulting firm. He later transitioned to a bio-tech company where he served as a Vice President focusing on a big digital transformation initiative (in fact, we invited him back to campus to discuss this challenge with our students). In a recent call, our Vice Dean learned that he is currently fully-dedicated to launching his very own start-up.”

 

Hospital management

Doctors with dual degrees are seen as ideal candidates for the job of hospital administrators, who earn higher salaries than clinical doctors—according to a New York Times analysis in 2014, hospital administrators earn an annual salary of $237,000 and clinical physicians $185,000. A study has found that hospitals managed by doctor-CEOs have done better than those without a physician at the top, reports The Atlantic. Chandler feels doctors cannot become administrators without business training. How will they handle a big hospital budget, for example?

However, Sanjeev Jain, former Merck CMIO and a Harvard MD/MBA, warns students against straying too far away from the medical path after completing the joint-degree program. He says not completing the sequential academic and legal steps in the medical profession could prove to be a big mistake for a student. For example, putting off residencies could rob MD/MBAs of opportunities to do clinical medicine, which is what helps doctors keep in touch with trends in treatment and problems in the health-care system.

In addition to career motivations, students who join MD/MBA degree programs are also motivated to make a difference to health care—from an altruistic perspective, feels Chandler. She says she has seen a rise in the number of students opting for the dual program. About 500 students are estimated to be enrolled in joint MD/MBA programs across the US.

At a time when health care has been beset by business problems, and as hospitals implement the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), medical students find themselves increasingly wishing that they knew more about business management. They have realized that issues such as team building and budgeting are better handled by an MBA degree holder. Additionally, doctors with joint degrees seem to have more clout in hospital decision-making.

It appears that completing a dual-degree program also brings personality advantages to the graduate. Chandler says that business-minded people who earn their dual degrees become more compassionate, while, in business contexts, they become more ethical, as per the medical creed.

In the past, medical students doing joint MD/MBA programs faced criticism from their peers as they felt that the mission of health care clashed with business goals. They were labelled as “traitors” and seen as distracted from their primary calling. Not anymore, it would seem.
 

Difficulties

No surprise, but taking up the dual-degree program is not the easiest of academic pursuits. The program is a substantial time and money commitment. It takes five years—three years of medical school, one year of business school, and one year combining both—instead of four for just an MD, and after tuition and other payments for the MD program, the student has to find additional funds for an extra year for MBA, though the introduction of the five-year time frame has somewhat lowered the total cost of doing the MBA part. Moreover, some dual programs do not have the facility of a full internship, and students may well have to experience most of their business-management situations in the classroom.

Can an MBA be done after an MD? Yes, but Chandler says that doing an MBA during medical school gives the student a new perspective, “like you are wearing two sets of glasses all the way through.” Thanks to the MBA, joint-degree students are able to see how things can be done differently as early as when they go on their rounds in the last year of their program.

But despite the benefits that doctors with an MBA bring, there is something, after all, to be said about those who are focused only on giving treatment and care to their patients to the best they can, as they have been taught to do in medical school, leaving management to others. “The world still needs doctors who are very deep and thoughtful about specific clinical problems,” says Jain. “Even though I think the degree is valuable to anyone, I don’t think everyone should get an MBA.”

Related articles:
Masters Degree in Healthcare
How recruitment works at the top international business schools
MBA in Canada vs India decision for Healthcare professional
MBA after MBBS, at Cambridge Judge, with scholarship, despite low GMAT
MBA for a Physiotherapist
Medical Schools Guide
 
Resources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | Image credit: Fox News


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10 thoughts on “Why doctors are joining MBA programs”

  1. Hi. I just completed my BDS ( Dentistry ). I am in great dilemma right now that whether I should go for GRE or GMAT. Can you please help me in sorting it out

    Reply
  2. Hello sir,

    I am currently persuing mbbs but i want to do mba after my graduation. So can i do it or not. Also i want to do a mba from the usa or maybe uk so which courses can i apply after doing mbbs, do they consider a mbbs doing mba in the usa if yes then please recommend which universities provide such mba courses in usa or maybe uk and do i have chances in it.

    Reply
  3. Hello. Please guide me.
    I am currently pursuing dentistry and I am planning to do mba in either healthcare or pharmaceuticals from abroad as it will make my doctorate degree assist me after I am done with bachelors in dental surgery. Please suggest how should I move forward.

    Reply
  4. @Sabhnani & Aman: All the good international business schools expect applicants to have worked for a few years before considering an MBA degree.

    Since you are still studying / just graduated, it would be too early for you to consider going abroad for an MBA.

    @Raghvendra: A large number of the top MBA programs programs that traditionally insisted on GMAT scores have now started accepting GRE scores as well. This article should give you some more perspectives. https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2015/06/19/average-gre-scores-mba-business-schools/

    Reply
  5. My Profile is:MBBS-Total Percentage-61%,3 years clinical experience,Toefl-80,GRE-Next month,I am Doctor,I am from India,wanted to do Masters(Research based Masters) and Residency In USA.Which masters should I choose?What are list of Universities that are linked to hospitals where I can get clinical experience while doing masters and can apply residency in same universities.What are their application deadlines,fee structure,course schedule,OPT.Which majors should I pick?as I am interested in doing residency in neurology or Internal Medicine

    Reply
  6. Dear Crystal Ball team, thank you for this insightful article! My name is Arthur, I have an M.D. degree with 3 years of experience in Dominican Republic and I’m finishing an MBA in ESADE Business School. At the moment I am doing research on job positions aligned with my skills and values. Would it be possible for you to put me in contact with profiles similar to mine to have a chat about their profesional experience in the business world? Best regards, Arthur.

    Reply
  7. @Ripudaman: Start from here and see if you get the answers and direction you are looking for: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/masters-degree

    @Arthur: Try LinkedIn to find the folks with the qualifications and experiences you have in mind. No other professional database is as extensive. It has virtually every professional with a profile worth looking at.

    The other source is your ESADE alumni network. What better time to use it than now, when you really need it.

    Reply
  8. I am a dentist with post graduation in public health and have 7 years of experience working in social impact, non profits and clinical dentistry. What are the employment opportunities in Canada in the social impact, non profit sector post MBA.

    Reply
  9. hey,i am student of 2 year mbbs from gujrat india. i want to know about fees structure about mba cource in usa,canada,uk. please inform me about scolership .please inform me.

    Reply

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