Understanding the Benefits of a Dual Medical Degree and Master of Business Administration
Medicine is usually seen as a humanitarian profession with noble aspirations, yet it is also a profitable industry. "Whether we like to accept it or not, medicine is a business," says Mel Rosenfeld, senior associate dean for medical education at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine.
Future doctors who are interested in the financial aspects of the health-care system may choose to combine an MBA with an allopathic M.D. or osteopathic D.O. medical degree. Combining these two programs is difficult, but this curriculum is great for ambitious physician executives. Students who complete this dual degree program are prepared to run health-care organizations.
According to Dr. Victoria Dinsell, associate dean of student affairs at the Grossman School of Medicine, having an MBA can help a doctor stand out by exhibiting leadership qualities that are useful in any field of medicine.
"Even if they end up being a leader in a research field or a clinical leader, they are going to need to have experience in how to manage large teams," she says. "Whether they like it or not, being a (medical) leader has other components in addition to the clinical and research skills that we're teaching, and so having an MBA and having that training will set them apart.”
Who Is a Good Fit for an M.D.-MBA?
A good candidate is someone who aspires to work in diverse fields that demand a combination of clinical and managerial skills.
"Medical school to business school and then back to medical school is not exactly the easiest path in the world, and so students who are making this decision are doing it based on what their long-term career goals are, and not necessarily to make a gazillion dollars down on Wall Street," Rosenfeld says.
Although graduates of medical-MBA dual degree programs can go straight into the private sector to work as medical consultants or investors, according to June Kinney, associate director of the graduate program in health care management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, the majority go on to complete a medical residency and become doctors within a specific medical specialty.
How Long It Takes to Earn a Medical Degree and an MBA
If a student pursues both degrees at the same university, an M.D.-MBA or D.O.-MBA program can generally be completed in five years. When the degrees are completed at multiple colleges, it can take up to six years.
Dr. Daniel Briggi, a second-year medical resident at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, believes that the six-year path was the best choice for him since it offered him more time for academic inquiry at Yale, where he participated in a health law course at the law school and attended public health lectures.
The M.D.-MBA Application Process and Coursework Timeline
People often apply to dual degree programs that integrate business and medical education after they have already begun their second or third year of medical school.
Students admitted to an MBA program typically begin taking B-school classes after finishing their third-year medical school curriculum, then take a sabbatical from medical studies before returning to the med school curriculum after completing their MBA coursework. Depending on where a student enrolls, the actual course timetable may differ.
MBA applicants in medical school must normally meet all of the same application standards as their classmates who are not pursuing a medical degree, and they may be required to submit an additional essay or participate in an additional interview.
What You Can Do With an M.D.-MBA
According to Dr. Stan Finkelstein, the founding director of Harvard University's M.D.-MBA dual degree program, a combination degree in medicine and management prepares future physician executives to manage complex health organizations and have a positive impact on the welfare of others.
Aspiring medical researchers who wish to commercialize their scientific discoveries, such as medical equipment or drugs, frequently combine D.O. or M.D. degrees with MBAs. Others participating in the dual degree program want to run medically focused government organizations, health technology enterprises, or hospitals. Then there are some who want to be prospective medical entrepreneurs. However, according to Finkelstein, what graduates really do is all over the place.
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