Business/Biology Double Major

[Strigon]

Out of curiosity, would the business half of my academic career be looked down upon in applications?

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[gyngyn]

Out of curiosity, would the business half of my academic career be looked down upon in applications?

We really don't care.
Your majors (and minors) are for you, not us.

 

[FutureOncologist]

What? No one cares about what you majored in. I know a guy that majored in Music and decided to go to medical school. All they care about is if you did your prereqs and if you got the grades.

 

[panda16]

I have a half-science half-business major, and it's been a great supplement to my science curriculum!

 

[Strigon]

That's reassuring to hear all, thanks! Is there a chance I'll get asked about it if I score interviews?

 

[panda16]

That's reassuring to hear all, thanks! Is there a chance I'll get asked about it if I score interviews?

I mean, perhaps, but the main content of your interview will be about "why medicine," and all your clinical experiences, and getting to know you. If your business major ends up being a part of that then you might be talking about it!

 

[Strigon]

I mean, perhaps, but the main content of your interview will be about "why medicine," and all your clinical experiences, and getting to know you. If your business major ends up being a part of that then you might be talking about it!

Awesome! Out of curiosity, what majors are you pursuing? It's kinda rare to see that at my school.

 

[panda16]

Awesome! Out of curiosity, what majors are you pursuing? It's kinda rare to see that at my school.

Mine's a combined degree...essentially a Pre-Health/Bio major with a business minor. The type of program you should pursue just depends the level of depth you want. You won't get serious business training unless you get a business internship over a summer. For me, I just wanted to get a feel of the basics of business practice, so a "minor" that gives me the intro class of management, finance, marketing, etc was exactly what I wanted. If you want to go more in depth you should perhaps pursue the major, and maybe spend a summer interning at a business firm.

 

[Ad2b]

One of my clients is an orphan drug company spun off from a larger pharma behemoth. Everyone in executive management had bio of some sort AND business degrees. If you look at the course curriculum for Georgetown starting in 2016, you will see they are incorporating business management into the MED school program. Why?

Because, sadly, most doctors are great physicians but may be a little lacking in the business aspect of being a medical facility.

 

[Strigon]

One of my clients is an orphan drug company spun off from a larger pharma behemoth. Everyone in executive management had bio of some sort AND business degrees. If you look at the course curriculum for Georgetown starting in 2016, you will see they are incorporating business management into the MED school program. Why?

Because, sadly, most doctors are great physicians but may be a little lacking in the business aspect of being a medical facility.

That makes sense. Kinda my mindset too, it's important for physicians to understand the business factors that engender changes in healthcare, and vice versa. With the advent of corporatized healthcare (Banner Health in Arizona, Kaiser in California) it's especially vital for physicians in more administrative roles to understand how to navigate the intersection of business, legislation, and healthcare in order to lead a successful facility.

Mine's a combined degree...essentially a Pre-Health/Bio major with a business minor. The type of program you should pursue just depends the level of depth you want. You won't get serious business training unless you get a business internship over a summer. For me, I just wanted to get a feel of the basics of business practice, so a "minor" that gives me the intro class of management, finance, marketing, etc was exactly what I wanted. If you want to go more in depth you should perhaps pursue the major, and maybe spend a summer interning at a business firm.

That's actually pretty awesome! My school doesn't have a combo program, so I just went with a second major in accounting. Didn't do an internship in business per se, did a half business/half public health internship with a non-profit. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a fun ride. It's interesting to see the similarities and differences between the pre-med/science student and the business student cultures.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Certainly not a negative. Might even be good for a doctor to have some business sense, just don't make everything about turning a profit!

 

[Strigon]

Certainly not a negative. Might even be good for a doctor to have some business sense, just don't make everything about turning a profit!

Hey, if I was after profits and money, I'd work for Goldman or the Big 4 accounting firms! Frankly, I personally wouldn't be happy or fulfilled working stocks or audits. And I'm going to be careful not to fall into the trap of pursuing profits over patients in whatever capacity I serve in within healthcare. Lord knows there's horror stories about that...

 

[Ad2b]

Strigon, it's not necessarily that physician leaders pursue profits over patients. That I can honestly say I have NEVER seen; not at any academic health center, medical school, hospital/clinic, etc.

What I have seen is a general misunderstanding of how financial statements work within the parameters of US GAAP and how to leverage US GAAP to make improvements in the business. Throw in the big insurance companies... Even with a CFO, if the CEO is a little rigid (the initials can lead to that), decisions negatively impacting the business do happen; though I sincerely doubt the CEO - M.D. has that intent... which is why business coupled with medicine is a good idea. Let's have leaders at the top of the food chain be solid physicians AND business people.

As for Big 4, WS -

 

[Strigon]

Fair point. One of the only egregious examples I can come up with is Dr. Oz. And that's true, GAAP principles are rather complex, especially if physicians don't have any knowledge of tax principles. They wouldn't be able to leverage favorable differences between the company's accounting books and the tax accounting books as effectively, not to mention all of the rules for federal taxation in and of itself. It's likely a good sign that Vivek Murthy has that medicine/business background and is the Surgeon General.

And jeez, I thought pre-meds were cutthroat, but wait until you see the fights for Big 4/Goldman internships... Not my speed.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Hey, if I was after profits and money, I'd work for Goldman or the Big 4 accounting firms! Frankly, I personally wouldn't be happy or fulfilled working stocks or audits. And I'm going to be careful not to fall into the trap of pursuing profits over patients in whatever capacity I serve in within healthcare. Lord knows there's horror stories about that...

Same. I'm not sure I could feel like I was doing something of any substantive value if I worked with abstract concepts of finance all the time.

 

[Ad2b]

jeez, I thought pre-meds were cutthroat, but wait until you see the fights for Big 4/Goldman internships... Not my speed.

Ha! Big 4, little 6, tiny 8; mediocre middlers wanting to be Big 4 ... yeah, it is competitive and far more cut throat than any premed. You don't read books about physicians entitled, "Learning To Swim With The Sharks" I generally get told, "You're too nice for the business world."

I agree.

BTW, to get an internship in Big 4 is not the difficult. I used to do the college recruiting for two of the firms. The biggest differential is GPA, GPA, GPA and extracurriculars (sound familiar??) AND ... don't push the recruiting director to get a 1x1 with senior partner of the firm who just happens to be located in the office and THEN push your way past the admin to get to said partner and expect to get anything. At that point, there's nothing I can do to help a person out except give a bigger shovel. (true story)

 

[Strigon]

AND ... don't push the recruiting director to get a 1x1 with senior partner of the firm who just happens to be located in the office and THEN push your way past the admin to get to said partner and expect to get anything. At that point, there's nothing I can do to help a person out except give a bigger shovel. (true story)

Sounds as desperate as some folks I've talked to in both halves of my academic career.

It was always interesting to talk to recruiters. I did a case comp with PWC and when I handed a copy of my resume over to the head honcho, they kinda tilted their head at me with a quizzical look. Same thing at a career fair with a recruiter from Deloitte. (Disclaimer, I did those to get experience in interview-esque situations)

 

[Strigon]

@UNMedGa

Now promoting financial literacy in underserved communities would make for a more fulfilling use of those skills than finance as we know it. Especially with how closely related personal finance can be with the affordability of healthcare moving forward.