HBR post: Should You Get an MBA

A few months ago, there was a blog post on HBR titled, "Should You Get an MBA?" This seems to be a growing question among physicians who are interested in transitioning into a non-clinical career in the business or corporate world. Many will convince you to make the investment to pursue an MBA while others will persuade you to save your time and money since you don't "need" an MBA. Which is right? I believe it depends on your level of experience, your skill sets, your knowledge base, your social network, and your ultimate career goals and ambitions. Those factors are going to be unique for each person.

You can read the HBR perspective by Ed Batista here. Let me quote some interesting comments that might stick out to you:

I knew that some people in my field had negative impressions of MBAs, and I needed a chance to prove myself as an individual before being stereotyped... there are many fields and organizations in which MBAs are viewed with skepticism and even disdain 

While some firms seek out graduates from elite schools, others avoid them out of a concern that they will be difficult to work with and disruptive to the established culture.

What do you think? Does this perspective by Ed Batista sway you one way or the other?

MBA programs for physicians

These days, there are a growing number of MBA programs that are tailored specifically for physicians. If you run a search on Google, you'll find:

• Physician Executive MBA Program - University of Tennessee College of Business
• Physicians Executive MBA | Auburn University College of Business
• Physician MBA program at Indiana University : Kelley School of Business
• Isenberg University of Massachusetts Amherst | MBA American College of Physician Executives

The summer's a good time to do some research, explore programs in your area, consider your schedule, and answer the key question: Why do you want to get an MBA? What is your primary goal? Your answer will help you choose the right program.

U.S. News ranks top 25 online MBA programs

There was a time when U.S.News & World Report didn't rank online MBA programs. As online MBA and other graduate degree programs became ubiquitous, I guess it was time to add online graduate business programs to the rankings list. So, here are the top 25 online graduate business programs to consider if you're thinking about getting an MBA online:

#1 Washington State University 

Pullman, WA

#2 Arizona State University (Carey) 

Tempe, AZ

#3 Indiana University–​Bloomington (Kelley) 

Bloomington, IN

#4 University of Florida (Hough) 

Gainesville, FL

#5 California State University–​Fullerton (Mihaylo) 

Fullerton, CA

#6 Central Michigan University 

Mount Pleasant, MI

#7 Auburn University 

Auburn, AL

#8 University of Connecticut 

Storrs, CT

#9 University of Texas–​Dallas 

Richardson, TX

#10 University of Tennessee–​Martin 

Martin, TN

#11 Arkansas State University–​Jonesboro 

State University, AR

#12 Clarkson University 

Potsdam, NY

#13 Marist College 

Poughkeepsie, NY

#14 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

Worcester, MA

#15 Georgia College & State University (Bunting) 

Milledgeville, GA

#16 University of Illinois–​Springfield 

Springfield, IL

#17 University of Nebraska–​Lincoln 

Lincoln, NE

#18 St. Joseph's University (Haub) 

Philadelphia, PA

#19 Pennsylvania State University–​World Campus 

#20 University of North Texas 

Denton, TX

#21 University of Michigan–​Dearborn 

Dearborn, MI

#22 University of Massachusetts–​Amherst (Isenberg) 

Amherst, MA

#23 University of San Diego 

San Diego, CA

#24 Quinnipiac University 

Hamden, CT

#25 Thunderbird School of Global Management 

Glendale, AZ

If you're thinking about getting an MBA, what's motivating you? Rank the value of each of the following elements on a scale of 1-5:

• The education - to learn about business administration, to increase your business acumen
• The networking - to make meaningful connections with colleagues and professional associates
• The degree - to leverage the MBA in your professional pursuits
• The school's reputation - after all, who wouldn't want to have a degree from Harvard or MIT?

If you're drawn to the networking opportunities, then an online MBA experience will significantly limit your ability to network as effectively as a live, in-classroom MBA experience. So, choose carefully as you plan your MBA pursuits. 

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.

7 popular business degrees

Thinking about business school? Here is an infographic about different types of business degrees:


Via: Potomac College

The Economist Which MBA?

If you're thinking about business school, The Economist Which MBA? online MBA business school fair provides you the opportunity to interact with people from different B-schools from around the world. Signing up is free and easy. Learn more here.

Best Online MBA Programs Ranked by U.S. News

Did you know that U.S. News has started ranking online graduate business programs? If you've been thinking about getting an MBA online, you may want to look at this list.

By earning a business degree online, working students don’t have to put their jobs on hold. Besides an MBA, other online business degrees include master’s programs in accounting, marketing, and entrepreneurship. U.S. News evaluated several factors to rank the best online business degree programs, including reputation, faculty credentials, and graduation rates.

Top online MBA programs ranked by U.S. News include:

#1. Washington State University
Pullman, WA

#2. Arizona State University (Carey)
Tempe, AZ

#3. Indiana University--Bloomington (Kelley)
Bloomington, IN

#4. University of Florida (Hough)
Gainesville, FL

#5. California State University--Fullerton (Mihaylo)
Fullerton, CA

You can see the full U.S. News Online MBA  ranking list here. You can also read about their ranking methodology here.

Upcoming online MBA fair (free)

Considering an MBA?

Today’s executives need inspiration, a diverse professional network and a global perspective to stay competitive in a changing economy. The Economist’s Which MBA? Online Fair features the world’s most innovative business schools, bringing you a unique forum to:

• Talk online with admissions officers from MBA programs around the world
• Broaden your perspective and learn how an MBA can help you take your career to the next level
• Gain insight into the MBA experience by chatting with alumni and watching webinars and videos
• Log in from anywhere and attend at your convenience

Their next event is scheduled for Feb 6, 7, and 9th 2013. You can sign up here.

Leadership in Healthcare Program at Yale

The Yale School of Management MBA is highly regarded for its mission to educate leaders for business and society, which attracts a purposeful minded community of high achieving individuals. The students are taught how to be successful in a rapidly changing global economy through an innovative integrated curriculum designed and developed by our highly respected faculty. In addition, the Leadership in Healthcare program is focused on recruiting professionals from across the healthcare industry to study the fundamentals of business and leadership and how to apply them to the unique challenges in the healthcare industry.

Join an upcoming information event (dinner meetings at local restaurants) or attend an online informational webinar on Jan 24 at 12 pm ET.

You can learn more about the Leadership in Healthcare Program at Yale.

2012 Full-time MBA ranking (The Economist)

The Economist has ranked full-time MBA programs around the world. Their top 10 schools for 2012 are:

1. Chicago, University of - Booth School of Business  
2. Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business  
3. Virginia, University of - Darden Graduate School of Business Administration  
4. Harvard Business School  
5. Columbia Business School
6. California at Berkeley, University of - Haas School of Business
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT Sloan School of Management
8. Stanford Graduate School of Business  
9. IESE Business School - University of Navarra  
10. IMD - International Institute for Management Development

See the full list here: http://www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking

10 ways to use your business degree (infographic)

Via: DeVry University

Kaplan Road to Business School Virtual Fair

If you're interested in business school, don't miss the Kaplan Road to Business School Virtual Fair.

Find the right MBA program for you with seminars, meet-and-greets, and admissions advice.

• Engage with schools one-on-one in an open networking session—more than 30 top schools present in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
• Hear key application advice from a panel of admissions officers
• Get an edge on your application in breakout sessions

New this year: Join Kaplan at the Road to Business School Virtual Fair, with representatives from over 30 business schools, each in a virtual booth. All you'll need is an internet connection and a desire to get an edge on your business school applications.

Event	Date	Time (Local)
Chicago	Thursday, Aug 9, 2012	6:00PM-9:30PM
Los Angeles	Saturday, Aug 11, 2012	11:00AM-2:30PM
San Francisco	Sunday, Aug 12, 2012	1:00PM-4:30PM
Boston	Monday, Aug 13, 2012	6:00PM-9:30PM
New York City	Wednesday, Aug 15, 2012	6:00PM-9:30PM
Washington, D.C.	Thursday, Aug 16, 2012	6:00PM-9:30PM
Virtual Fair	Sunday, Aug 19, 2012	2:00PM-6:00PM EST

Learn more here.

Contemplating B-School?

If you're thinking about business school, you may want to sign up for the next Which MBA? Online Fair on September 5th and 6th 2012. Meet admissions officers from even more business schools and watch new webinars. Sign up and learn more here.

Which MBA? online fair

Thinking about getting an MBA? Before you enroll in a program, you may want to research some schools through The Economist’s MBA Fair.

The Economist’s MBA Fair features the world’s most innovative business schools, bringing you a unique forum to:

• Talk online with admissions officers from MBA programs around the world
• Broaden your perspective and learn how an MBA can help you take your career to the next level
• Gain insight into the MBA experience by chatting with alumni and watching webinars and videos
• Log in from anywhere and attend at your convenience

Learn more about the free event (Sept 5 and 6, 2012) here.

Taking an MBA course this weekend: Drug and Device Regulations

This weekend, I'm sitting in an MBA course focused on drug and device regulations. You won't find a course like this is many other MBA programs, but I'm enrolled in a program that focuses on the pharmaceutical and health care industry. It's great to be surrounded by other colleagues who understand the issues that impact a rapidly evolving industry. Here's a brief description of the course:

With the plethora of new communications vehicles, including direct-to-consumer advertising and the Internet, the goal of achieving marketing objectives and remaining in adherence with FDA regulations/ guidelines has become increasingly difficult. This course will provide a working knowledge of the federal regulation of prescription drug promotion and associated marketing practices and will provide insight into drug promotion issues currently of interest to FDA and the pharmaceutical industry. The course will also consider the impact of products liability and anti-kickback concerns on developing marketing programs for prescription drugs.

A new GMAT exam

Thinking about applying to business school? Depending on the program, you may need to take the GMAT (and you thought you were going to be done with the MCAT!)

Q: A new GMAT exam? What changes are coming in June 2012?

A: Beginning in June 2012 the GMAT exam will include an integrated reasoning section designed to measure a test taker’s ability to evaluate information. The test will remain 3 hours, 30 minutes (four hours with breaks). The Analytical Writing Assessment will be streamlined from two 30-minute essays to one Analysis of an Argument essay. Immediately after the essay question, the Integrated Reasoning section will start.

Read more about the new GMAT here.

9th Annual Healthcare Conference at Harvard Business School

9th Annual Healthcare Conference at Harvard Business School
Saturday, February 4th, 2012 (Register before 12/31)

Come network and discuss The Future of Healthcare: Innovative Business Models with senior business and thought leaders at the 2012 Healthcare Conference at Harvard Business School (agenda). Keynote speakers include Bill Crounse (Senior Director of Worldwide Health at Microsoft), Lawrence Culp (President and CEO of Danaher), and Karen Ignagni (President and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans).

Panel topics include biotech/pharma, device/diagnostics, entrepreneurship/venture capital, global health, health IT, and payer/provider. You can interact with company representatives at networking sessions and a career fair, including sponsors Athena Health, Cardinal Partners, Danaher, Deloitte, Genentech, Health Advances, Lilly, Medtronic, and Tenet.

Value-Based Health Care Delivery Intensive Seminar

Based at the Harvard Business School, the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness is dedicated to the study of competition and its implications for company strategy; the competitiveness of nations, regions, and cities; and the relationship between competition and society. The Institute seeks to develop new theory, assemble bodies of data to test and apply the theory, and disseminate its ideas widely to scholars and practitioners in business, government, and non-governmental organizations such as universities, economic development organizations, and foundations.

The Institute is led by Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor. The Institute is dedicated to deepening, extending, and disseminating the body of research that Professor Porter has pioneered over the last two decades.

The Economist's Which MBA? MBA Fair

Meet business school admissions officers, join new MBA webinars and download free career guides at The Economist's Which MBA? MBA Fair November 9th and 10th 2011.

At the MBA Fair you can:

• Meet MBA admissions officers, professors and alumni
• Chat with alumni, join webinars and download applications
• Watch The Economist’s Business Education Editor interview MBA alumni
• Log in from anywhere and attend at your convenience

Learn more and register here: http://mbaevent.whichmba.com

Taking an MBA Course in Pharmacoeconomics

This weekend, I'm taking an MBA course in pharmacoeconomics with other students who work in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and health care industries. It's great to have an opportunity to take a course that is so relevant to what I do on a regular basis. In our company (MCM), we develop continuing medical education (CME) activities for managed care professionals and we're dealing with pharmacoeconomic issues all the time. In health care, we grapple with challenging issues like cost-effectiveness, cost-consequence, cost-minimization, cost-utility, or cost-benefit of medical therapies. I look forward to the discussions we'll be having in class about these things.

I am approximately 1/3 of the way through my MBA program at this point. This will be my 7th MBA course this year.

Here's a brief course description:

This course reviews the principal elements and concepts in economics, history and development of health economics, and the applied uses of the discipline of economics made possible since the quantification of studies has been developed and perfected. These introductory sections are presented by lecture and discussion group. In addition, the need for uses of, and value of health economics studies is reviewed and pharmaceutical-related examples are presented.