I’m often asked whether physicians aspiring to leadership roles need to have an MBA or other advanced degree. The short answer is, like so many things, it depends.
Let me use my situation as an example. I was interested in management (the business of medicine), but had only been out of my residency for about five years. As a young female physician in the new specialty of emergency medicine in 1982, I didn’t have much credibility. Despite doing committee work in the medical staff and in my own group of ED docs, no one seemed very interested in moving me into leadership positions. I believed that in order to have a better understanding of the business of medicine and to distinguish myself from the older, “wiser” doctors I needed an advanced degree to go farther in medical management.
If you are thinking about a full-time job in high level management in a large organization, such as CMO of a system or VPMA of a large hospital, you will need a degree in business or a related field such as public health or medical management. One exception occurs if you have already been doing this work without an advanced degree and have a strong track record of successes.
Working as a high level full-time physician executive means you will be the medical expert in a senior leaders group. If you are unable to understand the finances, strategy, marketing, cost benefit analyses and organizational budgeting you can easily be left out of the loops in which you need to have a voice.
On the other hand, if you are considering part-time executive work not in the C-suite, such as Medical Director of a provider group, you can learn as you go. It is still a good idea to take online or in person seminars and classes in the above topics. If you find you like it and have an aptitude for the content, you may decide to go further.
Barbara LeTourneau, MD, MBA – Senior Consultant, the Greenley Company
As healthcare organizations are forced to balance complex quality and cost issues, talented physician executives are needed to lead the required reforms. The question of the nature of the educational background that is best for a successful medical management career for physicians is a subject covered in “Lessons Learned: Stories of Women in Medical Management” (release date: March, 2013) and as Dr. LeTourneau states here, controversial. As a executive physician recruiter, I would advise any physician considering going back to school that an MBA does not provide the same kind of ticket that the MD did. By that I mean having a business degree on your resume, even from one of the elite schools, is not sufficient to land you a job as a manager, nor is it generally required for most positions. What really counts is management experience and the ability to show that you have produced tangible results for an organization, often identified by such measures as greater market-share, larger profits, decreased costs, reduced utilization, better outcomes, and increased patient satisfaction.
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I agree with the “it depends” response. Experience and results are more important. If you are able to get opportunities for “on the job” learning of business skills, and do your homework and reading, it is possible to learn what is needed without spending the money on a business degree. For those that aspire to find a role in management without that experience, the degree may help you stand out in the crowd. However, it is critical to take opportunities to build experience in the business side and that may require starting out in a more junior management position and demonstrating your success along the way.
I agree with the “it depends” and my peers comments, but would say if I am asked for an advice with no consideration for specific situation, I would go with the degree versus the no-degree option.
Yes an advanced business degree will not get you a position or career advancement without a solid track record and the right skill sets but, it will positively reflect on your attitude toward learning outside the clinical realm, and the educational experience would offer leadership and management tools that are useful in your career path.
I am personally biased toward a degree at the right time and place: my impression is we are moving further and further in that direction and soon it will become similar to the need for board certification to be able to join medical staffs.
I do not have statistics to prove it but I notice more business degrees with physician executives who move between organizations and less for physicians who move into management roles later in their career or at the same organization. Would be interesting to get such stats!
The advantage of a degree is formally learning where unknown gaps of knowledge reside. On the job training was acceptable a decade ago. With the complexities of the health care system, and the legal and financial issues, I think the advanced degree sets minimal qualifications. If we look at other industries, an advanced degree is mandatory.
Board certification used to not be mandatory. Now medical staffs and insurers are recognizing the value. I think the same is true of the proper education, training and background for a physician executive.
Medicine is a business, and understaning and keeping abreast of the legal issues with health reform requires a different skill set. Compare this to requirements to introduce new technologies and treatments in the health care setting. We no longer accept a weekend course at a hotel before letting physicians perform procedures unmonitored. Proctoring and mentorships exist in many institutions to ensure competence and quality.
The same standards should be followed for physician executives, to allow for formal education and subject matter expertise. This is a fiduciary responsibility, as well as common sense.
As a long time physician-in-management who had to learn by doing….I would strongly recommend taking classes in financial management. Community colleges offer great flexibility for short intense sessions on using/creating a spreadsheet, reading financial documents (especially financial reports), doing a business plan with budget, etc. Also classes on compliance concerning health care law, insurance law as well as risk management can be very useful. Most on the non-physician managers had years to learn this stuff as they worked their way up the management ladder, but as a physician leader you will be thrust into situations where at a minimum you don’t want to appear ‘clueless’ in a formal meeting or in the more frequent informal discussions you will be exposed to. Take a class a semester-and over time you will fill your skills kit with a valuable set of attributes to tap into…
I posted this on one of the Linked in Groups (American Medical Practice and Hospital Executive Leadership Forum and Network) and have gotten a couple of thoughtful responses- Mark Ackey Executive Director, CHRISTUS/ST. Vincent Medical Group at CHRISTUS Health, Santa Fe, New Mexico Area who pointed out that just because someone has the title “executive” does not mean they are necessarily a good leader. David L. Korn, CEO at Integrated Physicians Management Services, Inc.,Hartford, Connecticut Area stated that having ad advanced degree may broaden your understanding of business, but in and of itself does not make you either a good executive or a good leader. If you’re on Linkedin, check out this forum.