The newest MBA class represents a range of backgrounds and experience—from business, science, the humanities, and military backgrounds (including a nuclear submarine captain). Enter Taleef Khan and Ramin Lalezari: both students in Washington University’s rigorous MBA and medical school programs. What’s it like to juggle the workload of two such demanding degrees? Washington University MD/MBA students Taleef Khan and Ramin Lalezari provide some insight into this unique post-grad experience. Be sure to check out Part One of our Q&A Series.
How will an MBA help you in future practice? Conversely, how will an MD help you in your business ventures?
Ramin: It is far too common a misconception that the concepts covered in an MBA program are limited to traditional business ventures like finance, accounting, operations, or marketing.
The policy implications of economics and healthcare management are striking and of huge importance to the practice of medicine.
In my career, I hope to advise health policy decisions on a state and national level alongside a clinical practice, and having the insight on how and why we pay for healthcare the way we do is indispensable. I’m interested in understanding the ways in which policy can create incentives to both drive healthcare providers to control costs, as well as drive patients to take a stake in preventative health. Economic fundamentals are essential to that framework. Furthermore, the leadership training that comes from such a program is hugely valuable for my ability to lead interdisciplinary, increasingly complex medical teams as a future surgeon. My medical training, on the other hand, provides a very unique insight to bring to the table for these discussions. As a future practitioner, I will understand the clinical implications of policy changes, and hope to contribute that viewpoint to the table at which these discussions occur.
Taleef: The MBA will help me understand the business side of medicine. With all the changes coming to healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, I hope the MBA gives me the tools needed to adapt to this shifting landscape so that I may provide patients with the best possible care, while also reducing the costs associated with it. On the other hand, I hope to use my MD to help hospitals make business decisions that positively impact patients. Unfortunately, when the focus is on the bottom-line, healthcare providers and patients are neglected, and the quality of care that is delivered can be hindered. In this way, I hope to use the MD/MBA to help solve the complex problems that exist in the hospital and deliver affordable healthcare to patients without compromising the quality they receive.
What do you think are the greatest business challenges facing healthcare?
Ramin: What are we doing so differently in the United States that causes us to spend nearly 20% of our GDP on healthcare, while receiving no mortality benefit? What are the activities that we engage in that are not adding value? How can we innovate reimbursement models to incentivize quality care while curbing exorbitant cost? How do we incentivize patients to invest in preventative healthcare? What is the best way to ensure that all Americans have access to quality healthcare without sacrificing the values that define our country? I don’t have answers to these complex questions, but I hope to use the principles gained at Olin to be part of the long conversation ahead.
Taleef: The greatest business challenge is finding a way to pay for the increasing costs associated with healthcare. Healthcare costs in the US continue to grow at a rate faster than that of inflation. Furthermore, we are living longer than ever, and with more individuals entering the healthcare system under the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare industry must find unique solutions to pay for otherwise expensive services.
What should students think about before pursuing a MD/MBA?
Ramin: As with any decision, this one should be strategic. What is important in your life? Tough as it can be, try to pinpoint as specifically as you can what you are trying to achieve. If the dual degree fits into that plan, go for it. But it’s important to have a plan going in, because the front-end investment is heavy.
Taleef: The first question students must ask is how the dual degree will benefit their career. It is important to know this because the cost, in terms of time and money, associated with both degrees is significant. However, if it will advance a student’s career in the direction they desire then the investment is obviously worth it. Thus, students should have a general idea of how they plan to use the dual degree before pursuing it full-time.
How are the disciplines of medicine and business related? How are they unrelated?
Ramin: They are both heavily focused on problem formulation and the development of frameworks to solve those problems. They are both involved in taking theoretical and scientific principles and applying them to ever complex practical scenarios. They differ in their fundamental end-goals, however, in that the practical application of business is generally geared to maximization of profits, while medicine attempts to maximize health. It is for this reason that I will maintain the argument that medicine is not a business and cannot be treated as such, which I believe is important for any MD/MBA student to remember.
Taleef: Both medicine and business require a great deal of critical thinking. I find it striking how similar the two disciplines are in formulating problems. The aims of the two disciplines, however, are different. In medicine, the goal is always to maximize a patient’s health, while business is often concerned with metrics such as market share or maximizing profits. This is not to say that the aims of business and medicine cannot align, but the very nature of both lend themselves to achieving different goals.
What skills do you need to succeed as a joint MD/MBA student?
Ramin: It is important to remain organized and diligent, as completing two difficult degrees will test your time management skills and your persistence. It is important to stay motivated and be able to think about the long term. Skills in interacting with people, communication or otherwise, will take you far in both fields. And it’s crucial to be able to make time to have fun outside of school and work.
Taleef: Being coachable and having a strong work ethic. The ability to incorporate feedback and work diligently every day to get better are skills required to be successful in any endeavor one undertakes and obtaining an MD/MBA is no different.
Taleef Khan and Ramin Lalezari are both MBA candidates at Olin Business School.
