Certificate vs. MBA

[SleepIsGood]

Hey everyone

If one is a MD already.

Do you think getting a "Certificate of Health Care Mgt" would give a leg up? As opposed to getting a full MBA? I'm sure the MBA carries more weight, just wanted to know if a Certificate in something does any good (yah, i 've not heard of this certificate business either).

thanks

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[Law2Doc]

Hey everyone

If one is a MD already.

Do you think getting a "Certificate of Health Care Mgt" would give a leg up? As opposed to getting a full MBA? I'm sure the MBA carries more weight, just wanted to know if a Certificate in something does any good (yah, i 've not heard of this certificate business either).

thanks

I doubt it would give you a "leg up" in terms of employment prospects. The schools that offer them tend not to offer much resume clout (eg. Kaplan University), and the programs tend to have too much variation, running 10 weeks to 1 year, being open to doctors, nurses, hospital management, and (from the web descriptions) try to teach basic situational management and leadership skills. It's a very different kind of program to the MBA which is really a degree designed to enhance existing skills. So if you are interested in the knowledge and developing these skillsets, it probably couldn't hurt, but if you are looking for a hook to get you a better job, I wouldn't put many eggs in this basket.

 

[SleepIsGood]

I doubt it would give you a "leg up" in terms of employment prospects. The schools that offer them tend not to offer much resume clout (eg. Kaplan University), and the programs tend to have too much variation, running 10 weeks to 1 year, being open to doctors, nurses, hospital management, and (from the web descriptions) try to teach basic situational management and leadership skills. It's a very different kind of program to the MBA which is really a degree designed to enhance existing skills. So if you are interested in the knowledge and developing these skillsets, it probably couldn't hurt, but if you are looking for a hook to get you a better job, I wouldn't put many eggs in this basket.

thanks Law

Yes, I would agree w/ the Kaplan Univ. comment. However, there are some locally recognized universities such as Loyola Univ in Chicago, which offer a certificate program (called mini-mba).

I hear you on the fact that it's certainly not a degree. But, for example, if I'm a doc, would having one of these certificates help me get into more an administrative role? Could it increase my pay. There are few docs in the game that have a MBA. Probably even fewer that have one of these certificates, that's why I guess I dont know wht I should do.

thanks again!