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MBA/MHA vs. MD -- Input please!

post #1 of 22
6/9/09 at 8:19pm
Thread Starter 
I'm graduating next year and I'm at the point where I must make one of the biggest decisions of my life... Basically, I can go the doctor route or the MBA/MHA route. I'm guaranteed entrance into my school of choice for both paths.

I'm currently leaning towards the MBA/MHA, but would really like some input from anyone who has experience in either field. What do you like about it, what don't you like about it. Would you recommend it, etc.

My thoughts:

Med School: I know I'd be a great doctor. I've also already put in a lot of effort during my undergrad...I've taken all the med school pre reqs and have busted my ass to make a 4.0 each semester. On the other hand, I know that I'm more business minded and I'm not really sure if I can feed that desire as a doctor. Also, I hate the idea of 8+ more years to go.

MBA/MHA: It's only 2 years and one of those years is a paid internship at a hospital of my choice. The focus of the MBA program would be management of various parts of a hospital. As mentioned above, I'm very business minded and I think this would satiate that desire.

For those who have experience in either field, I'm very interested in how happy you are with your job and also what your work schedules are like. Feel free to add in anything else too!

I know that this is the internet and I don't know any of you personally, but I also believe that there are quite a few very smart and diverse people on this forum. I'd like input from as many people as possible for such a big decision.
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post #2 of 22
6/9/09 at 8:26pm
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post #3 of 22
6/9/09 at 8:37pm
I am not sure of the correct answer-both are valid routes. I would suggest to you that an MD is very likely better job security for the future, possibly at the expense of great paperwork which someone else will do most of. I would personally lean that way.
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post #4 of 22
6/9/09 at 8:41pm
uhhh lol, simple. if you don't think it's your destined path to become a doctor, definitely don't do that. LOL.
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post #5 of 22
6/9/09 at 8:44pm
I'm curious... Are you caring, compassionate person? Are you a good listener? Are you a good communicator? Are you the type of person that is concerned with "status"? Are you a leader? Are you an over-achiever? Are you at all attached to the city you live in? Do you have a family or plan to have a stable family by the time you are 30? Do you enjoy learning? Are you a critical thinker? Does the idea of "lifelong" learning scare you? Have you dismissed more business-like health professions such as dentistry or optometry? Do you consider an 8-hour day long? Did you find your health science pre-requisites genuinely interesting? Are there any doctors in your family? Are you the type of person that regrets things/mistakes in the past?
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post #6 of 22
6/9/09 at 8:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artisan Fan View Post
I am not sure of the correct answer-both are valid routes. I would suggest to you that an MD is very likely better job security for the future, possibly at the expense of great paperwork which someone else will do most of. I would personally lean that way.

I am not sure, there will always be hospitals that need to be managed.



these are very different paths, its hard for me to see that a person wouldn't be clear which was better for them. it would never dawn on me to think of being a doctor, I have always been more business oriented. both are very good, valid choices, the quesiton is really what fits you better


good luck
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post #7 of 22
6/9/09 at 9:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by globetrotter View Post
these are very different paths, its hard for me to see that a person wouldn't be clear which was better for them. it would never dawn on me to think of being a doctor, I have always been more business oriented. both are very good, valid choices, the quesiton is really what fits you better good luck
+1. The difference between direct patient care and administrative responsibility is immense. You need to decide whether you are deeply interested in and able to take on the responsibilities of direct patient care. If your decision is really about money and working decent hours, choose administration. Most of the happy docs I know view medicine as something of a calling and are deeply committed to taking care of people one at a time.
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post #8 of 22
6/9/09 at 9:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Notreknip View Post
I'm curious...

Are you caring, compassionate person? People describe me as this. Maybe?
Are you a good listener? Are you a good communicator? Better listener than communicator, but more than sufficient at both.
Are you the type of person that is concerned with "status"? No
Are you a leader? When something seems very critical. Basically, when I think my leadership would greatly affect the outcome of something.
Are you an over-achiever? Depends how you look at it. My aspiration are high, but I don't believe overworking yourself is the way to get places in life. At least it rarely is.
Are you at all attached to the city you live in? No
Do you have a family or plan to have a stable family by the time you are 30? By 30, I'd see myself with a long term SO. Maybe married, maybe a kid on the way.
Do you enjoy learning? Are you a critical thinker? Does the idea of "lifelong" learning scare you? I like learning when it's relevant to me...Actually I love learning when it's relevant to me. I've always prided myself in being a critical thinker. My chief complaint about the older generation is that they seem to think they've learned everything there is to know, so no.
Have you dismissed more business-like health professions such as dentistry or optometry? Well, they don't sound very appealing.
Do you consider an 8-hour day long? No, not really...It also seems like most 8 hour/day jobs aren't truly 8 hours of work because some of it is spent fucking around
Did you find your health science pre-requisites genuinely interesting? I find o chem and genetics beyond interesting. Chemistry and biology not so much, but only because it was memorization/surface level bullshit type of learning.
Are there any doctors in your family? No. Mom's an RN
Are you the type of person that regrets things/mistakes in the past? I regret nothing in my past.

Quote:
Originally Posted by globetrotter View Post
I am not sure, there will always be hospitals that need to be managed.

I think this too. I also think that it may be worth mentioning that the MBA/MHA programs I'm looking into have 100% hiring rate for their graduates. This may seem like bullshit, but the programs are selective in that they choose only 6-8 people a year.


these are very different paths, its hard for me to see that a person wouldn't be clear which was better for them. it would never dawn on me to think of being a doctor, I have always been more business oriented. both are very good, valid choices, the quesiton is really what fits you better

You'd think that it's an easy decision, but all my life I thought I'd be a doctor and I just recently (past two months) have been turned on to this opportunity to do the MBA/MHA thing. Also, I always figured that regardless of what I end up doing, I'd open my own business on the side.

good luck

Quote:
Originally Posted by philosophe View Post
+1. The difference between direct patient care and administrative responsibility is immense. You need to decide whether you are deeply interested in and able to take on the responsibilities of direct patient care.

It's interesting because I'm actually more worried about the opposite. Administrative decisions at the upper end of the chain affect hundreds, even thousands of people. I know that most people wouldn't really think about it that way, but the main draw to the administrative side of medicine is the fact that, if I make it to the upper ends of management, I could help far more people (albeit indirectly) than I could as a doctor.
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post #9 of 22
6/9/09 at 9:56pm
Ask piobaire...
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post #10 of 22
6/9/09 at 10:01pm
I buddy of mine manages Anesthetists and claims they make $100k straight out of a master's program.... working part-time.
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post #11 of 22
6/9/09 at 11:33pm
If you think you can be happy doing the MBA/MHA, then go for it. If after a while you find that it is really not for you, there is nothing wrong with going to med school then. The average age of my entering med school class was around 27-28. There were quite a number of people who had totally different careers. If you decide to go directly to med school, you should note that you loose your 20's - you are either studying or in the hospital. Somewhere in that blur you might wonder if you could have been happy doing something else. Happened to me.
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post #12 of 22
6/9/09 at 11:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by poorsod View Post
If you think you can be happy doing the MBA/MHA, then go for it. If after a while you find that it is really not for you, there is nothing wrong with going to med school then. The average age of my entering med school class was around 27-28. There were quite a number of people who had totally different careers.

If you decide to go directly to med school, you should note that you loose your 20's - you are either studying or in the hospital. Somewhere in that blur you might wonder if you could have been happy doing something else. Happened to me.

IMO, the response above sums it up best.
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post #13 of 22
6/10/09 at 12:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by poorsod View Post
If you think you can be happy doing the MBA/MHA, then go for it. If after a while you find that it is really not for you, there is nothing wrong with going to med school then. The average age of my entering med school class was around 27-28. There were quite a number of people who had totally different careers.

If you decide to go directly to med school, you should note that you loose your 20's - you are either studying or in the hospital. Somewhere in that blur you might wonder if you could have been happy doing something else. Happened to me.

I too was thinking along these lines. You can always give med school a go a bit later.

You seem to be quite passionate about administration; having a bit of an academic history, I think this is pretty rare, especially at such a young age.

If you feel a stronger desire to get your hands dirty in the future, then you should be able to make a quick/easy transition into med school. Once you're done your residency, the world will then be your oyster. Who knows, at that point you'll likely be drawn to law or something because you'll see a niche that inspires you to take yet another step. That's how life works.

How old are you now? 22ish?
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post #14 of 22
6/10/09 at 11:42am
Go to Dental School.
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post #15 of 22
6/10/09 at 1:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by slycedbred View Post
It's interesting because I'm actually more worried about the opposite. Administrative decisions at the upper end of the chain affect hundreds, even thousands of people. I know that most people wouldn't really think about it that way, but the main draw to the administrative side of medicine is the fact that, if I make it to the upper ends of management, I could help far more people (albeit indirectly) than I could as a doctor.

After I posted, I wondered if you were thinking about the decision this way. Among my friends who are happy as docs, helping each individual patient brings tremendous satisfaction. They like the personal interaction and the challenges of figuring out individual cases. The surgeons love to do surgery. I'd urge you think about how you'd like to spend your working hours.

Poorsod makes the excellent point that you can try one path and switch to the other if you wish.

Did you PM Piobaire?
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