He is not alone. Increasing numbers of physicians in the middle of their careers are examining the altered health care landscape and deciding for personal or professional reasons to become involved in both business and medicine. Among other experiences, service on teams or committees may awaken an interest in more formal management training. Many believe that physicians with business training will make better managerial decisions regarding health care than businesspersons with no medical background.
Many opportunities now exist to combine the two fields.
Nondegree certificate programs, which range in length from several months to 1 year, offer business training to practicing physicians. Some medical schools combine study for medical and graduate business degrees in the same 5-year period. Over the past 10 years, MBA programs specifically tailored to practicing physicians have emerged across the United States. Michael Stahl, PhD, a professor of management who directs the Physicians' Executive MBA program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, explained that before the advent of managed care, change in the profession happened slowly and managerial issues were less compelling for physicians. Business decisions are not life-threatening.