title: Should I get a Master of Business Administration? The anesthesiologist with education training: training options and professional opportunities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many physicians want to know whether they should get a Master of Business Administration (MBA), what type of program is best, and what career paths exist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It is commonly (incorrectly) assumed that a physician successful in clinical practice can easily transfer to managing/leading an organization. To be effective, the MD/MBA must bridge the cultures of the business world and medicine. Often just a single management course is sufficient to give the physician the knowledge they seek. MBA programs come in many forms and require choosing from a range of time commitments. Leaving a good clinical job in favor of the less-defined course of an MD/MBA can be daunting. Although a wide spectrum of opportunities are available, the MD/MBA may have to start over professionally, most likely with a pay cut, and will have to 'work their way up' again. A stigma exists for MD/MBAs because they are often perceived as caring more about business than about patients. Many MD/MBAs eventually choose to stay in full-time medical practice because financial and geographic stability may be more easily attained.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MBA is a good idea for the physicians who enjoy the intellectual challenges of business administration and proactively plan their own career.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5640, USA.
authors.forename: Arjun M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.forename: Raul A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Trillo
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Macario
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel / Q000193:education*; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education* / Q000941:ethics; D002322:Career Mobility; D003132:Commerce / Q000193:education*; D003479:Curriculum; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires