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The Eller College of Management and the College of Medicine will collaborate on a new dual-degree track for MDs with MBAs.

By University Communications
May 14, 2008

With health care at the crux of the 2008 elections and the challenge of managing issues ranging from skyrocketing insurance costs to medical malpractice and drug safety, the need for business-savvy physicians is paramount. The 21st-century physician will need a solid grasp of the complexities of modern medicine as well as modern business practices.

The University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management and College of Medicine are answering this surging need through a collaborative dual-degree program. Graduates of the program will earn a medical degree and a master’s degree in business administration.

The Eller MBA program currently offers dual-degree programs in pharmacy, law, engineering, optical sciences, international management, finance and science. The new program will reduce what would otherwise be a six-year education track to just five years.

“Each year, physicians contact us about pursuing an MBA education,” said Brent Chrite, associate dean and director of the Eller MBA program. “The problem they have is juggling a rigorous MBA course load with an already busy medical practice."

New doctors,he said, quickly recognize the need for business education in the medical school curriculum. "When doctors finish the program they will have both the medical and business acumen they need to successfully negotiate 21st-century health care.”

“The challenge for any medical school is finding time to incorporate business skills into a curriculum that places so many demands on medical students,” said Philip Malan, vice dean of academic affairs at the UA College of Medicine. “We are fortunate for the opportunity to collaborate with the Eller College, whose national and international reputation is well known."

Students enrolled in the dual-degree program will concentrate exclusively on their medical education for the first two years. Year three will focus on MBA core curriculum courses at the Eller College, including finance, marketing, accounting and leadership development. In the fourth year students are back at the College of Medicine for clinical rotations. Year five will be a combination of both programs; students will complete their clinical rotation requirements as well as MBA elective courses.

“Modern medicine is run like a business, so communication and leadership are crucial,” said Francisco Arabía, an Eller MBA alumnus as well as chair of the division of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery and surgical director of the heart transplant program at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix. “The MBA has not only helped me to read a financial statement and understand it, it has also enabled me to understand the needs of other health care providers so we can more effectively work as a team to take care of patients.”

UA College of Medicine students may apply to the Eller College of Management during their second or third years.