My journey towards completing an MBA started in a theatre coffee room on a grey Tuesday morning in Buckinghamshire. I had just taken my first steps onto the surgical training treadmill, as an ST3 in general surgery. One of the questions that all surgical trainees had to ask themselves back then – and still do – is whether to take time out of training and engage in a period of formal research culminating in a PhD. I was not keen on it.
I put it to my consultant as we waited for the elective aortic aneurysm to be anaesthetised.
“I looked through 15 CVs for the consultant vacancy yesterday,” he told me. “I immediately binned any that didn’t have a PhD.”
My heart sank to the soles of my surgical clogs. “But,” he added, “one of the candidates did have an MBA. And I thought, how interesting.”
And so did I…
What is an MBA?
MBA stands for Master of Business Administration. Though nominally a master’s level degree, it is significantly more challenging than a typical MSc or MA (and I have an MSc, so can confirm this!). This is because of the breadth of subjects taught and the speed at which the material is delivered.
An MBA provides the skills and knowledge needed to lead businesses and organizations. CEOs, captains of industry, and managers all covet it.
So why should you, NHS dogsbody and trainee, even think about signing up for one?
Why Should a Doctor do an MBA?
I’ll start by telling you why I did an MBA.
You can glean from my opening anecdote that I was looking for something to make me stand out from the crowd. I wasn’t aspiring to be the next Steve Jobs. But my consultant’s words piqued my curiosity. When I explored the MBA curricula, I was surprised by the range of subjects. Many of them resonated with my own interests:
- Innovation & Creativity
- Leadership
- Organizational Behaviour
In my spare time, I would devour podcasts and books and content on these topics.
None of these were taught in medical school, yet were so relevant to my daily practice as a trainee surgeon – in particular, anything to do with leadership or organizations. The more I investigated, the more I wanted it.
So, if you’re like me and have a wide range of interests outside of medicine, and are looking to bolster your portfolio or CV, an MBA might not be a bad idea.
However, maybe you do aspire to be the next Steve Jobs; or you want to build a healthcare business. You may be a surgeon with ambitions of a rewarding private practice as a consultant. Perhaps you want to be a partner in an inner-city general practice, or take up a senior leadership role within the NHS. An MBA would undoubtedly give you the tools to achieve these.
The degree will cost time and money. It therefore needs to be something that you will gain from in the long term. Though I started with the goal of improving my CV, this alone isn’t long term enough – once you’ve secured that consultant post, what next? Therefore, start by thinking about your long-term goals – what are your long-term goals as a clinician?
Some of you may be looking to pivot away from clinical practice. Certainly, if you wanted a career in business, finance, management, or consulting, many of your peers will have an MBA or a similar degree. Thus, an MBA would allow you to hold your own both in the job application process, and in the workplace itself.
An MBA would also be useful for those of you looking to convert side-hustles into your main source of income.
Different Types of MBA
The classic, 1-year full time MBA was the only version on offer for most of the 20th century. But recent times have seen a proliferation of subtypes. These can be classified into two broad categories:
- How the course is delivered
- Speciality focus
How the course is delivered
As well as the full time MBA, many business schools now offer a distance learning option, which can be completed from anywhere between 2 and 5 years. Material is delivered online during the semesters, and there are usually mandatory in-person sessions held a few times a year. These in-person sessions consolidate the online learning and allow for networking with your classmates. You may have to sit exams during these in-person sessions. The program I ultimately went for at Warwick Business School (WBS) followed this format.
Accelerated MBAs allow students to complete the course either in person or at distance in a shorter amount of time.
Specialty focus
There are a multitude of speciality MBAs e.g. executive or energy MBAs (for those with 10+ years working at executive level, and for those working in the energy industry). Several schools do now offer healthcare MBAs. My own MBA was a general one, but where possible, I steered all coursework and projects towards healthcare issues I was seeing in real life.
Entry Requirements and Fees
Still reading? I hope this is not the point where you lose interest…
MBAs are highly competitive and intense, and so it should not come as a surprise that entry is competitive and intense!
It’s a postgraduate degree, so once you’ve made it through medical school, you tick that box. However, many schools require that you have been in employment for 3 to 4 years, therefore many of you will need to be in core training at least.
Some programs will require candidates to sit the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), a tough 2+ hour exam that tests literacy, analytical skills, and reasoning. However, many do not – my distance learning program at WBS still doesn’t.
You will need to demonstrate experience in leadership and management, either during an interview and/or in a personal statement. You will also need to outline your reasons for applying, and provide references.
One of the biggest barriers will be the fees. Full time MBAs will usually be more than £20,000; however, distance learning courses are cheaper. Many schools do offer scholarships and bursaries.
Which School?
When choosing an MBA program, consider what you can afford, and how much time you want to complete the program – are you going to take time away from clinical practice to do a full-time course? And if so, will you have to move to do it? Or will you continue to work as a medic alongside studying? The latter option may make the degree more affordable, as you will be earning as you study.
A less important factor is the ranking of the program. The ranking of MBA programs has become a niche field, and it is far from an exact science. Each publication uses its own methodology with subjective elements, and I do believe an MBA from any school remains an achievement. In the UK, the Financial Times rankings are considered the benchmark.
