Even though school’s out for summer, maybe it’s the right time for physicians to consider continuing their education. We know what you’re thinking. Doctors already go through enough schooling. But in today’s uncertain health care environment, a physician MBA can be a worthwhile investment.
When we first investigated the potential MBA advantages for doctors in 2013, we asked MD/MBA student Abrahan Nunes what he hoped to gain. “Since business training is about learning to measure and enhance value delivery, the business-trained physician can apply those principles to his or her practice and the broader profession.”
Now that he’s completed his degree, what’s the advice from Abraham J. Nunes, MD, MBA?
First off, don’t discount the business side of medicine. “Money is often seen solely in terms of its ability to afford luxuries, and consequently as something that perverts patient-centeredness.” Instead, he says, embrace how money reflects the value physician services provide. Once you think this way, “the applicability of most skills you learn in business school to your practice will become obvious (and fascinating). As physicians, we offer something of great value to patients: quality-weighted longevity.”
Pursue an MBA for the additional skills and because you’re interested in the business of medicine, Dr. Nunes adds. “The three letters will not guarantee you a position, nor will they alone change your practice. Don’t do an MBA for the designation.”
Something surprising thing he learned? “Marketing classes taught me a great deal about patient-centeredness and the role of effective interpersonal communication during medical interviews.”
How is Dr. Nunes, Resident Physician, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, using his dual degrees? “I am working on various ways to use business principles to measure effectiveness and refine the efficiency of clinical programs.”
Business Intelligence
It used to be that doctors only had to focus on patient care, but as changes continue to transform the economics of medicine, it pays to know a little something about business. A growing number of universities nationwide offer Healthcare MBA programs, including Florida International University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duke University.
Physicians looking into taking supervisory roles should also consider the advantages of a health-related MBA degree. Not only do these degrees make them better at running the day-to-day operations of the practice setting, but open the possibility of taking on higher-level administrative roles at large health organizations.
Physician Executive MBAs
Dr. Michael Stahl, Program Director of the Physician Executive MBA program at the University of Tennessee, sees physician MBAs as the best route to discover lean healthcare models and techniques for reducing inefficiencies.
“If you think about all the changes going on in healthcare, it’s important for a physician in a leadership role to be equipped with the knowledge to analyze the business side of the enterprise. To do that, skills in financial statement analysis, design, marketing, process improvement and lean healthcare are key.”
According to Dr. Stahl, since the launch of the Affordable Care Act and other government health IT initiatives, he’s seen a big push by doctors desiring a more tech-driven curriculum. “We try to focus on the implementation issues relating to what it means to change the culture of an organization through technology.”
After all, the processes of medicine are changing by the day and no physician wants to be left behind. Experienced healthcare providers must lead the way for change, and a physician MBA may be the key that opens the door to health innovation.
