Does MD + MBA = Happiness and Success?

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Charles Guernsey, DO, MBA, the medical director of Southern Michigan Pain Consultants in Kalamazoo, Michigan and an associate professor at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of Michigan State University, recently completed the one-year-long MBA program for physicians at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He favored a physician-exclusive program because he is focused on health care and wanted to contribute to health-care policy. With heavy practice commitments, it was also important for him to be involved in a program with “defined goals and timetables giving me structure and discipline.”

The MMM degree has been available through the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) since 1997 and involves completing programs in medical management through ACPE followed by additional coursework at one of three business schools (Carnegie-Mellon University, Tulane University, or the University of Southern California). Ruggles pursued his MMM degree at USC because “I’d already completed several ACPE courses, so it was logistically easier and less expensive. Also, I knew where I wanted to go with the rest of my career.”

A distinct plus of physician-exclusive MBA programs is the networking opportunities they present. Guernsey saw great benefit from networking, feeling he’d developed “professional friends for life” and was delighted that his program had active alumni group meetings. Other dual-degreed physicians say there are also benefits to being in programs with non-medical MBA students. Bottles says physicians “have much to learn from industries like airlines and hotels.” Case studies from these industries are more frequently discussed in general MBA programs than those that are physician exclusive.

Know what’s involved

Once you have identified one or two educational programs to which you feel most suited, you must consider several practical hurdles. Evaluation of these potential roadblocks will allow you to complete your degree while sustaining your personal and current professional activities and avoid any of those “well, I never thought about that” moments.

* Advance testing and preparation.

GMATs, the business school equivalent of the MCATs, will usually be waived. Program directors feel the demands of your undergraduate and graduate medical training already indicate you possess the intellectual capacity and self-discipline to successfully complete the course requirements. As a prospective MBA student you should be comfortable with e-learning and Internet usage. Knowledge of statistics, and an understanding of software programs like Excel and PowerPoint are also prerequisites. If you fail to master Excel or brush up on statistics before starting the MBA in the belief that you’ll “wing it,” you’ll be sorry. The pace of learning is fast, the assignments come week after unceasing week. Don’t expect sympathy for your life as a busy physician

* Cost

You should anticipate tuition costs of $40,000 to $90,000 spread over the duration of the program. This includes books and special software programs, but not the cost of particular features of some programs. Remember to factor other costs like travel, lodging, and meals, and the cost of lost income while you are not at your practice. Tuition support may be available from your employer—clarify the tax implications with an accountant as this may constitute imputed income.

* Course Duration and Time Commitments

Course durations vary from one to two years, most requiring some on-campus class time. I completed the Weekend MBA program at Michigan State University’s Broad Graduate School of Management. On campus time commitments were three full weeks and 35 weekends (with 12 hours of classes from 4pm Friday to 5pm Saturday) over 17 months. Most weeks required about an additional 20 hours of self study, assignment completion and a three- to four-hour face-to-face meeting with three teammates who lived nearby. This is representative of the time commitments required at many programs around the country for students trying to get maximum value from their experience.

* Intellectual Challenge

While you’ll be well up to the intellectual demands of a graduate business degree, you should anticipate that some course work, especially the quantitatively intense material, will prove challenging—there may be more than one reason for economics being called the dismal science. “I was able to gain mastery of finance, statistics, and the on-line marketplace simulation, but only with a significant time penalty,” says Guernsey. Other physician colleagues describe the challenging courses as “humbling.”

* Reactions of Colleagues

Annual expenditures on health care within the United States may be at $1.7 trillion, but the culture of the medical profession is one still uneasy at accepting the business dimension to our patient care work. Physicians are almost reflexively skeptical of colleagues who choose to acquire formal business or management training. I encourage meeting that skepticism head on-the best interests of both our patients and professional colleagues can be a primary driver for a physician to acquire an MBA. What’s more, the qualifications do complement one another. Your colleagues will feel affected even if their actual workload does not change. They, like our families, are entitled to know what we are embarking on, and the legitimacy of their opinions should be acknowledged. Transient discomfort in a collegial relationship is preferable to being perceived as a deceitful.

* Minding Friends and Family

Your MBA program, however demanding, will end, but life with your spouse/partner, children, and other family and friends continues. When considering an MBA, reflect on how to integrate such a sizeable time commitment into your professional and family lives. You should seek and obtain the willing support of your loved ones before you commence the program, allow time for them throughout the course, and celebrate your completing the degree by rewarding them in some particular way.

Overall, formal business and management training offers opportunities to expand your professional role, interact more effectively with senior non-physician administrators in their practice, and advance your career in ways you may or may not anticipate. Positive returns from acquiring the degree are most likely to occur when you critically assess your rationale with the aid of seasoned colleagues and know what you (and your family) are committing to before you cross the threshold of an MBA classroom. END

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Ivo Drury, MD, MBA advises physicians considering career transitions. A board-certified neurologist, he practiced at academic medical centers for 26 years and has experience as a physician executive in multiple capacities. He may be reached through www.career-consulting-physicians.com.