𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 14 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 2 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐁𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦.
* MBBS
* MS
* Super-specialization
* Fellowships
* Years of sleep deprivation, trauma calls, ward rounds, complications, CPRs, and coffee.
13–14 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.
Then I did my MBA from 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲. Not to run away from medicine, but to understand why it often feels like doctors are the only ones not running medicine.
And here’s the irony.
In those two MBA years, I had to unlearn almost everything I knew.
👨⚕️ In medicine:
– Do not assume.
– Rely on evidence.
– Do no harm.
– The patient comes first.
👨💼 In business:
– Assume everything, then build a pitch deck.
– Evidence? Optional. Excel can prove anything.
– Make profit.
– The investor comes first.
At Vanderbilt, I learned how hospitals are financed, why reimbursements work the way they do, and how most decisions in healthcare are non-clinical.
I learned that:
💸 A guy with a weekend certificate in "healthcare leadership" was now CEO of a 1,000-bed hospital.
📊 A doctor with 20 years of clinical experience was reporting to an MBA with 2 years of work ex & 0 years of empathy.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐁𝐀. 𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.
Because it showed me what they never teach you in med school:
🩻 How hospitals function behind the scenes.
🧾 Why patient care often comes second to revenue cycles.
🔌 Why the person saving lives is often the one with the least say in hospital strategy.
𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐁𝐀𝐬?
Because we’re tired of being foot soldiers in a war we didn’t start.
Today’s doctor doesn’t just need a scalpel. They need strategy.
We need doctors who can do a craniotomy and also read a P&L statement.
We need a generation of surgeons who can dissect a balance sheet as confidently as a hernia.
This is not to say everyone should do an MBA.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤—𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐬.
And to the people who say,
“You became a doctor and then did an MBA? Why?”
Let me tell you the real joke...
_It took me 14 years to learn how to save a life..._
_And only 2 years to learn why I’m often not allowed to..._
💬 If you’re a doctor thinking about an MBA, or have done one, share your story. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧-𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬.
📕 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 “*_𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬_”
_Because sometimes, the system is the real killer_
From Blogger iPhone client