Best MBA Program for Physicians

[MedNole]

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Is there a list or ranking for the best health care related MBA programs? I'd like to find one that's almost completely online since I'm planning on doing it during my last two years of residency. I'm having a hard time even finding a list of universities that offer MBA programs directed towards physicians. Thanks!

 

[mshheaddoc]

Completely online MBA programs aren't really worth anything in my opinion. If you want an online degree I'd look at MHA (masters in healthcare administration) or something like that.

 

[jmsMD]

Dartmouth (TUCK) has an excellent program for pharma training.

 

[DrJosephKim]

I would never suggest an online MBA to someone who lacks an MD, DO, PharmD, PhD, etc.

However, online MBA programs actually have a unique role for physician executives who don't necessarily need the networking component of a full-time or even executive MBA program. They benefit from:
1. the actual business education
2. the degree after their name

It's a huge time sacrifice for a working physician to enter a full-time MBA program. Executive programs are great, but they offer little flexibility (compared to part-time and online MBA programs). Finally, the key question is: how much will you gain by networking? If you're a seasoned exec and you're already well-connected, then you probably won't have as much to gain when you compare that to the sacrifice associated with a full-time program.

 

[mysterious.mr.x]

.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I think we're in a period of flux; bschools generally are rated by US News & World Report calling all of the Bschool deans, and well-reputed companies that frequently recruit at bschools, and asking their opinions. They also take into account to some extent GPA/GMAT scores, but this is not a very scientific system in general. The potential issue is that recruiters and Bschool deans may not be very comfortable with the new, largely online programs and may rate them lower due to this lack of familiarity rather than give them proper due, if they indeed are good programs.

My concern with the modern physician rating mentioned above is the factors they consider (check the bottom of the page on the link above) don't seem very predictive of a good education to me -- per this list, a short program that is cheap and doesn't require many days on campus and has a good marketing campaign (gets lots of people through the program) will be rated highly. I think I like the other system of calling a bunch of business school deans to see what they think.

 

[DrJosephKim]

All these rankings are biased to some nature. After all, who are they catering to? Therefore, when you go to select your school, you have to take all those factors into consideration. I don't think that anyone will question the value of Ivy League education.

One of the biggest values associated with an MBA is your networking capability. If you attend a school where the alumni network is extremely robust, then you should not have any problems leveraging your MBA training for career advancement.