Business schools for physicians

There are a handful of business schools that focus on a physician audience. These programs can be especially beneficial for physicians who plan to stay in the health care delivery environment. If you are thinking about a career in another industry such as pharma, biotech, consulting, or finance, you may want to consider other b-school options where you will have a greater opportunity to meet influential classmates and expand your professional network.

MBA programs focused in health care or that target physicians are excellent environments where you will meet other physicians and health care executives who are dealing with challenges surrounding hospital management, practice management, quality improvement, patient safety, resource utilization, health care reform, accountable care, hospital leadership, delivery transformation, physician alignment, and much more.

The U Mass Amherst online MBA program for physicians is provided in collaboration with the American College of Physician Executives.

The Kelley Business of Medicine MBA for physicians is one of the newer programs that targets physician executives and delivers most courses online.

The University of Tennessee has a Physician Executive MBA Program that utilizes a novel class schedule.

The George Washington University offers a Healthcare MBA Online for health care executives.

Earlier this year, the Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph's University recently partnered with Lancaster General Health to offer a health care MBA for physicians, nurses, and hospital administrators.

Thinking about an MBA? Keep in mind that some MBA programs are based on structured cohorts while others provide much greater flexibility in when you start and finish.

Physician Executive MBA

I don't have an MBA (yet), but I'd like to pursue one someday. Like many of you, I've been thinking about the pros/cons of an MBA. When's the right timing? Given the current economic conditions, I feel like I should be saving instead of spending towards further education. After all, I don't "need" an MBA to work right now. Therefore, when would it make sense to make the time and financial investment? What type of ROI (return on investment) will I see if I invest an an MBA? Why do tuition costs vary so much from one school to the next?

If you're thinking about getting an MBA in healthcare management, there's a long list of programs that focus on healthcare or medical management. One program that comes to mind is the University of Tennessee College of Business Administration. This program is offered exclusively for physicians seeking high-quality leadership, management, and business operation skills. This program is conveniently available nationwide, requiring only four, one-week, on-site residence periods during the 12-month program. All other course hours are available at your computer desktop through the Internet. Classes start in early January; graduation is in December of each year.

Want to see some of the profiles of recent graduates? Click on this link to see graduates from 2009. You'll see a mixture of U.S. and foreign/international medical graduates (IMGs/FMGs) in various hospital positions throughout the country. Modern Physician has consistently ranked the University of Tennesse program as the "#1 Preferred MBA Program Exclusively for Physicians."