By Karen Caffarini, AMNews staff. Aug. 4, 2008.
The American College of Physician Executives says that at any one time, at least 2,000 physicians are enrolled in its affiliated master's degree-level programs to improve their business and management skills. The number of physicians who are returning to the classroom to get physician executive MBAs has spiked in the past couple of years, as has the number of medical students who are pursuing a combined MD/MBA degree. Other doctors are getting advanced business degrees from programs that cater to the general student.
Does that mean that every doctor needs a business degree?
Experts say that physicians who want to become more business-savvy aren't hurt by seeking an MBA. But they also say that doctors who want to learn how to manage their practice better have other, less-expensive and time-consuming options.
"I'm not sure the MBA program is worth the expense for a solo practice physician whose sole goal is to better their practice. Maybe seminars are a better mix," said Chapel Hill, N.C., orthopedic surgeon Selene G. Parekh, MD, who co-authored a study on the effect of MBAs on physicians' careers.
The advanced degree, experts say, is best for those doctors who want to take a leadership role in health care, move into the business world or have some entrepreneurial bent beyond the everyday work of their practice.
"An MBA program will introduce you to some accounting, but it won't teach you how to balance your books. It will teach you concepts in marketing, but not how to go out and sell yourself," said Francine R. Gaillour, MD, executive director of Physician Coaching Institute in Bellevue, Wash. Dr. Gaillour has an MBA.
