Torchbearer: Summer 1998

Doctors Mean Business

Thanks to a new UTK program, physicians can keep their fingers on the pulse of their businesses as well as their patients.

Realizing that today's physicians require business and managerial skills in addition to medical expertise, UTK's College of Business Administration designed the Physician Executive MBA program, or PEMBA, a year-long master's degree in business administration geared to keep physicians in their offices and out of the classroom.

"Physicians are the decision-makers in the expenditure of health care dollars," says Dr. Michael Stahl, distinguished professor of management and director of PEMBA. "This program will enable them to become better business leaders."

Accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, the program involves weekly three-hour Saturday classroom sessions over the Internet and four one-week campus sessions spread over the year, he says.

The first class had 25 students from across the nation, including several from East Tennessee. It consisted of chief executive officers, managing partners, chief medical officers, and other physicians.

"Much of the content is similar (to the conventional MBA program). But all the applications are customized for health care," says Stahl.

The course focuses on three areas: conceptual, interpersonal, and technical/analytical skills. Participants are exposed to a variety of business activities from team leadership to financial statement analysis.

The program was originally designed for Columbia/HCA Corp. by UTK business faculty as a corporate custom program for the health care giant. When they canceled the program, UT educators decided to administer it themselves because of the enthusiastic response they received from physicians all over the nation.

Because of staff limitations, the program will be offered only once a year beginning in January.

Return to Summer 1998 table of contents.





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