Combined Degrees Promote Health Care and Healthy Business
INDIANAPOLIS - Kevin W. McGarvey is taking care of business in his journey to become a physician.
The fourth-year student at the Indiana University School of Medicine recently entered the M.D./Master of Business Administration combined degree program, a joint endeavor of the medical school and the Indiana University Kelley School of Business at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus.
Five years of full-time study are required to obtain the M.D./M.B.A. instead of the minimum six years that normally would be undertaken if they were pursued separately. Typically, IU medical students spend three years in full-time study before they begin to integrate business courses.
That's the path McGarvey is taking and in doing so is in a class all by himself. He's the first and only medical student to enroll in the newly established combined degree program and will take four, six-month periods of study, alternating between medical and business coursework.
"I've always wanted to have a hand in business and find it fascinating," says McGarvey, who plans a career in emergency medicine. "Moreover, medicine is becoming more constrained by outside economic forces - insurance, pharamaceuticals, federal government and regulation - and believe it's essential I have a strong understanding of these forces if I am to become an effective physician-leader."
Both the M.D. and M.B.A. are conferred at the same time once all requirements for both disciplines have been met. McGarvey expects to receive his degrees in 2004.
"The ever-evolving nature of medicine in this country has created an interest in this kind of program," says D. Craig Brater, M.D., IU School of Medicine dean. "In partnership with the Kelley School of Business, we are responding to a need that will develop top-notch clinicians-managers who understand and meet the needs of their patients and balance it with the changing health-care delivery environment."
Anticipating and responding to the business end of medicine is a reality that cannot be ignored, Kelley officials note. "Understanding that changes in the health care industry are forcing physicians to pay more attention to the bottom line, we are pleased to partner with the IU School of Medicine in providing a program that facilitates the achievement of both a first class business and medical educational experience," says John M. Hassell, associate dean and professor of accounting at the IU Kelley School of Business.
McGarvey understands he's walking the point in pursuing both degrees. "In a sense, I guess you could say I'm a guinea pig, but overall the transition has been smooth," says McGarvey. "This program is a tremendous opportunity."
For more information about the IU School of Medicine and its educational programs, go to http://medicine.iu.edu/. For more details about the IU Kelley School of Business, go to http://kelley.iupui.edu.
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Media Contact: Joe Stuteville
317-274-7722
jstutevi@iupui.edu
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