All, I have my MBA (with about 7 years of work experience) and wanted to know if this would have any affect whatsoever on my medical school applications as well as my eventual application for residency (given everything else being equal). I know it’s a pretty broad question, but I appreciate any and all comments/questions. Thanks.
Will having it help by making up for some other academic inadequacy - no. If you are a competitive applicant (solid GPA, MCATs, LoRs and well-rounded application), then having the MBA & work experience may enhance your application. However, having the MBA and being involved in a non-medical career will likely prompt questions on why you are changing and how do you know that medicine will be right for you when you were “wrong” in choosing business. I would sincerely hope that your interviewers phrase those questions far more graciously, but you get the gist…and you will need to be able to articulate and defend your rationale.
AFTER med school and training, I can’t help but think that your MBA and even more so, your business experience would prove massively beneficial! In fact, I am already planning, in a few years, to begin working on my MBA for this very reason. I love clinical work, but as a true ADDer, my interests are far flung and and intend to explore them. Furthermore, the ICU/OR gig is stressful, hard on a body & is something I do not feel can be sustained, physically or emotionally, for 20 years. So, I plan to grow my career towards the administrative aspects of medicine.
FWIW, I am another wannabe med student with an MBA. . .I think Dave has some good points that while it won’t help getting into med school, it will help you function in practice.
I was perusing a med school curriculum the other day, and I was a little surprised that there is no Business Management 101 for Docs. No wonder health care is messed up. 
The people with the business knowledge don’t know medicine, and the people with the medical knowledge don’t know business.
- AliJ Said:
I was perusing a med school curriculum the other day, and I was a little surprised that there is no Business Management 101 for Docs. No wonder health care is messed up. The people with the business knowledge don't know medicine, and the people with the medical knowledge don't know business.
The people with the business knowledge don't know medicine, and the people with the medical knowledge don't know business. You NAILED that one PRECISELY on the head! Add to it, an all too common physicians' attitude of, "If I am smart enough to get through med school, then I am definitely smart enough to also be an expert in (choose your topic)." Folks who think they know what they are doing and DO NOT can be quite dangerous. And, believe me, there is NOTHING in medical education & training that prepares you for the business of practicing medicine. There is ZERO education provided for job hunting, contract negotiation and of a zillion or so topics that are in desparate need of coverage. There is simply too much medicine to cover in a short time anyhow & no one wants to surrender any time to these other needs.