The Physician's MBA: Is It Worth It, and Where to Start?

Over the last year I've contemplated going down the path of obtaining an MBA. Since starting BackTable, and after being part of starting two independent IR practices, I've realized a huge gap in my education- the business side of medicine. So I want to learn more about how to fill that gap. I recently got the chance to sit down and chat with Aneesa Majid, MD MBA FSIR CPE and Roger Tomihama, M.D., M.B.A. about why they chose to get an MBA, how the extra training can benefit docs and our career goals, and how they both went about getting/starting their MBAs as mid career physicians.?

Aneesa and Roger begin by discussing the paths they both took to get their MBAs, and what their individual goals were for this extra degree. Dr. Aneesa Majid works at VIR Chicago and is the CEO of Zipdata, a biotech company working to get rid of fax machines in health care. She completed her MBA at Kellogg before her move into the biotech industry. Dr. Roger Tomihama is an associate professor of Interventional Radiology at Loma Linda, a former navy doctor, and recently started his MBA program at Wharton.?

“Having done an MBA, what it allowed me to do was to articulate better what?my strengths are, which we don’t really have the language for. I think everybody who’s in IR is good at operations, because they know how to make that efficient, but thats not something I had the words to articulate. Now I can say that some of my strengths are in strategies, operations, marketing, branding and growth. I think that it gives us a language that allows us to interact better with the people that deal with the money but also in terms of understanding the finance of starting a practice.” -Dr. Aneesa Majid

In our discussion we go over the different types of MBAs, including the traditional MBA path and the healthcare specific MBA. They both recommend IRs do the traditional track because it opens up many more networks outside of the physician community, and allows you to develop a business mindset, which may be more limited in a group of physicians only. Roger recommends talking with both physicians and non physicians who have done MBAs to better understand the culture and the expectations before signing up. It is important to do your research about which institution is best for your goals, as well as looking at specific program criteria. For example, some institutions don’t require physicians to take the GMAT before applying.?

“I felt that there was so much great information out there that we just don’t have access to. As I was prepping for this MBA last year, I spent hundreds of hours talking to people, researching websites and watching videos. I just felt like there had to be a better way. I wanted to save the next generation of physicians by condensing the information down into the most high yield facts.” - Dr. Tomihama

Finally, we discuss how physicians can grow their business knowledge without getting an MBA. Many docs need a better understanding of business especially if they are interested in starting an independent practice. Aneesa and Roger both recommend educational material provided on Coursera or AAPL (links below) as ways to gain important information without the huge time and monetary investment of an MBA, which is not feasible for all physicians, especially those who want to maintain their clinical IR practice.?

“People say your network is your net worth, and that’s 100% true. It is who you know, and that comes as you get older, through shared passions, values, goals and principles. It’s going to be hard, but it’s worth it.” -Dr. Aneesa Majid

Resources

Coursera:

https://www.coursera.org?

American Association of Physician Leadership:

https://www.physicianleaders.org?

Dr. Tomihama's YouTube Channel on his MBA journey: