What is the spectrum of fields doctors can use an MBA for?

[and 99 others]

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What do doctors typically use MBAs for? Say it is an MBA for a top ranking program like Wharton, just for the sake of covering as much of the spectrum of what they can use the degree for.

 

[CoitusInterruptus]

Hospital management. I shadowed a PCP with an MBA and he was running several veritable urgent care fiefdoms around the state. Honestly, an MBA is just a 2 year networking vacation you take in the middle of the beginning of your finance career (between Analyst and Associate) so it's where you meet future titans of industry. Networking can be easily accomplished by going to trade shows, product demos, and biotech conferences so an MBA isn't strictly necessary anymore. The fact that more schools are winding down their MBA programs is pretty strong evidence that the cachet and lure of the MBA is fading and becoming increasingly superfluous.

To answer your question, though, Wharton would be great, because it's a hub for other top-shelf talent.

 

[Cornfed101]

The president of the ophthalmology group practice I work for (9 MDs/DOs, 6 ODs) is an MD/MBA. I could see it being useful for something like that or hospital admin.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Hospital management. I shadowed a PCP with an MBA and he was running several veritable urgent care fiefdoms around the state. Honestly, an MBA is just a 2 year networking vacation you take in the middle of the beginning of your finance career (between Analyst and Associate) so it's where you meet future titans of industry. Networking can be easily accomplished by going to trade shows, product demos, and biotech conferences so an MBA isn't strictly necessary anymore. The fact that more schools are winding down their MBA programs is pretty strong evidence that the cachet and lure of the MBA is fading and becoming increasingly superfluous.

To answer your question, though, Wharton would be great, because it's a hub for other top-shelf talent.

I have an MBA. Do you? An MBA program is not a networking vacation. Believe it or not, students at top 25 programs work their butts off. Furthermore, these programs address much more than banking and finance. There is a host of other disciplines addressed within a solid MBA program such as supply chain management, cost accounting, operations research, organization management, facilities location, quality control etc.

Lessons learned in MBA programs can be applied to the health care sector. For example, there is a crying need to improve health care cost accounting. The price charged for a service should be linked to its underlying cost. Unfortunately, nobody knows the cost of anything in health care. Have you ever seen med school tuition rationally justified? Based on the number of duplicative health care facilities I see popping up, I suspect that the people who manage health care could use a few lessons in supply chain management and operations research.

Finally, if you aren't looking to go to Wall Street, you don't need to go to the Ivy League or Stanford for an MBA. There are solid MBA programs at Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Chicago, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa, Texas, Cal, USC, UCLA, Washington, North Carolina, Duke and several other state flagship schools.

 

[Engrailed]

What do doctors typically use MBAs for? Say it is an MBA for a top ranking program like Wharton, just for the sake of covering as much of the spectrum of what they can use the degree for.

win friends and influence people. 🙂

which is a good skill to have regardless of job.

 

[and 99 others]

win friends and influence people. 🙂

which is a good skill to have regardless of job.

Why do a whole MBA when I can just read the book??

 

[deleted947265]

Management.

Ruining everything they touch.

 

[Cornfed101]

Ruining everything they touch.

Is there a personal story here?

 

[Engrailed]

Dale Carnegie move over

Lol.

Why do a whole MBA when I can just read the book??

Well so... mostly MBAs are really useless. Even in business oriented jobs like finance/consulting, MBAs are a time/money sink. Experience > MBA.
Unless the MBA is from a top 10, the degree is a $200K piece of paper.
I guess this is where it would be helpful to go to a T10 med school and do a combined MD/MBA for those truly considering the management side of healthcare.

 

[and 99 others]

Lol.



Well so... mostly MBAs are really useless. Even in business oriented jobs like finance/consulting, MBAs are a time/money sink. Experience > MBA.
Unless the MBA is from a top 10, the degree is a $200K piece of paper.
I guess this is where it would be helpful to go to a T10 med school and do a combined MD/MBA for those truly considering the management side of healthcare.

Well I was mostly joking but yeah, I was specifically asking about a T10 MBA and what docs can do with that. I've got an idea now

 

[skk_]

Hospital management. I shadowed a PCP with an MBA and he was running several veritable urgent care fiefdoms around the state. Honestly, an MBA is just a 2 year networking vacation you take in the middle of the beginning of your finance career (between Analyst and Associate) so it's where you meet future titans of industry. Networking can be easily accomplished by going to trade shows, product demos, and biotech conferences so an MBA isn't strictly necessary anymore. The fact that more schools are winding down their MBA programs is pretty strong evidence that the cachet and lure of the MBA is fading and becoming increasingly superfluous.

To answer your question, though, Wharton would be great, because it's a hub for other top-shelf talent.

While I don't really disagree with your overall point that an MBA isn't a necessity even in contexts where an MBA would be useful (although I feel you could make the same argument against any kind of dual degree program...), I think you're underselling the benefit that an MBA from a good business school can provide. Would also argue that a lot of what you mentioned is very school dependent, since it also doesn't really mesh with my experiences as an MD/MBA student (especially in terms of it being a "networking vacation" and the school winding down their MBA program, neither of which have been the case at my school).