A. D. Turner1, S. Stawicki2, W. Guo1 1State University Of New York At Buffalo,Surgery,Buffalo, NY, USA 2St Luke’s University Health Network,Surgery,Bethlehem, PA, USA
Introduction:
In response to systemic challenges facing the U.S. healthcare system, many medical students, residents and practice physicians are pursuing a business degree. One of the most popular options among U.S. trainees is the pursuit of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) or equivalent diploma. The value of such proposition remains poorly defined, with substantial financial and time commitments added to the already expensive and lengthy medical training. The aim of this review is to analyze current literature pertaining to the added value of MBA training for physician-executives (PE). We hypothesized that skills gained by those who supplement their clinical experience with business education provide a significant competitive advantage.
Methods:
A detailed literature search of four electronic databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, ERIC, and Embase) was carried out. Included were studies published between Jan 2000 – July 2016, focusing specifically on PE. Out of 1,580 non-duplicative titles, we identified 26 relevant articles. Attributes which were found to add value to one’s competitiveness as PE were recorded. A quality index score was assigned to each article in order to minimize bias. Results were tabulated by attributes and by publication.
Results:
We found that competitive advantages deemed to be most important for PE’s in the context of MBA training were leadership (n=19), career advancement opportunities (n=14), and understanding of financial aspects of medicine (n=11). Among other prominent factors associated with the desire to engage in business education were awareness of public health issues/strategy, increased team building skills, higher salary/income, increased negotiation skills, improvement in work-life balance achieved. Of interest, acquired strategies for reducing malpractice litigation did not appear to be as important as the above-mentioned primary drivers. See Figure 1 for detailed depiction of these results.
Conclusion:
This comprehensive systematic review confirms our hypothesis that a business degree confers a competitive advantage for PEs. It identifies that leadership, career advancement and understanding of finance in medical practice are among the added values of pursuing a business degree for our future PE’s. This Information gained from this review may be beneficial to medical schools designing or implementing combined dual degree curricula. Effective physician executives equipped with a business degree represent a unique and highly valued group that collectively holds the promise of reshaping the landscape of our ailing healthcare systems, many of which await well-rounded, knowledgeable, clinically-trained leaders.
