Student Testimonials
Katherine Wehri Takayasu
M.D./M.B.A. participant
Beta Cohort, Class of 2009
“I think where the BPLDP really succeeds
is in fully integrating the M.D. and master's curricula. As
my education in medical school became more clinical, I began to see
the commonalities among my two degrees and how integrated the topics
in medicine and business really are. The
program has definitely exceeded my expectations in terms of helping
me to connect two seemingly dissimilar topics.
“What I've realized over the past few years is that I can combine
my knowledge in business with medicine in so many other ways. I've found
throughout medical school that I enjoy working with under-served populations
because of the need to be both a caring clinician and a smart utilizer
of valuable resources. There
is need in almost every area of medicine for people like us, and
what's exciting is that we can truly do anything we want. My plan
for now is to complete a residency in family medicine at New York Presbyterian/Columbia
University and then to practice clinically for several years with increasing
amounts of administrative duties. I can imagine doing that in a
variety of settings, perhaps through an academic institution, a private
practice or a federally qualified health center. When I have more
experience, I'd like to move on to an executive leadership role
and affect change from a larger scale. As
you can see, there's a lot of fluidity in my career plans, and that's
my favorite
thing about the BPLDP — you can do anything!”
Luke Rothermel
M.D./M.P.H. participant
Gamma Cohort, Class of 2010
“The
scheduling of this program through the clinical years is one of its
most unique academic opportunities. Though the schedule varies
for each student, my experience had me working in two- to five-month blocks
of clinical rotations with three-month intervals interspersed with public
health classes and research. This
M.P.H. schedule afforded me significant amounts of time for extracurricular
activities including international travel, attending conferences and
catching up on news and personal interests that are neglected during
the clinical schedule. Other students used the time to take additional
classes offered through the university, such as parasitology (clearly,
infectious disease enthusiasts).
“I started my third year clerkships with a 12-week internal medicine rotation
and then six weeks for psychiatry. Public health classes ran through the winter,
and afterward I spent eight weeks in surgery, eight weeks in pediatrics, then six weeks
in family medicine. I spent the fall taking another round of public health
classes while I prepared for an international medical and public health trip
to India. I finished my third year curriculum with an eight-week block for ob/gyn
and then started my fourth year with a medical and public health trip to rural
India. With the dual credits from this trip, I essentially fulfilled a fourth-year
elective month along with my public health practice placement requirement.
“As the master’s classes offer a different
time obligation for students than clinical work, I was able to expand
my opportunities into various leadership and research roles during
these times. Though a year is added to the medical school experience,
I feel very fortunate for the added time to accomplish many goals
beyond the medical curriculum.”
Sherry Liles
M.D./M.P.H. participant
Delta Cohort, Class of 2011
“I
really enjoyed my first summer of public health classes, between my
first and second years at Wright State. Sharing classes
with mid- and upper-level professionals returning for their degrees
was so refreshing. It reminded me of the importance of the public
health course material to the development and maintenance of a
quality health care delivery system in real life.
“I would like to practice family medicine in
a small town or rural setting in the Midwest, preferably in Ohio.
I want to improve relations between clinical practice and public
health departments and maybe someday serve as health commissioner
or staff physician for a local health department.”
Brian Merrill
M.D./M.B.A. participant
Delta Cohort, Class of 2011
“I
feel like our program is most appealing in the way that the additional
degree is integrated into the medical curriculum. Having spoken with
students at other universities at the M.D./M.B.A. conference, I came to
appreciate what I have learned through the monthly seminars and quarter
of study in the summer between first and second year. I think
our program offers good experience and learning at a minimal time expense
during medical school. I also
appreciate the time spent with the M.P.H. students. I think that
the monthly group meetings will help us all work with others in groups
in problem-solving settings in the future. Especially as we pursue
different careers and our studies diverge, we then all will have unique
interests and knowledge and therefore a lot to learn from one another.
“I have enjoyed the business classes. A business quarter is definitely
a nice time to catch your breath following a difficult third year rotation
and a great learning experience. The amount of information that
I learn in business school that I feel is applicable to my career as
a physician leader has surpassed my expectations.
“At this point I am undecided between two
medical specialties, psychiatry and internal medicine, but largely
leaning toward psychiatry. As a psychiatrist I believe my career
would involve working in community psychiatry, studying health delivery
systems, and finding ways to provide better, more efficient health
care to those suffering from mental illness. I am also interested
in child and adolescent psychiatry. I have
experience working with children with various mental and physical
disabilities in recreational settings and have recently developed
an interest in working with this population as a psychiatrist. I
believe that the business and leadership training I am receiving
in this program will augment my clinical knowledge and allow me to
see problems in a new light and hopefully work toward solving those
problems and improving health care in whatever field or capacity
I decide to practice.”
Chad Garven
M.D./M.P.H. participant
Epsilon Cohort, Class of 2012
“The
integrated style of the Boonshoft Program absolutely was what drew
me to this opportunity. Rather than seeing the two degrees as isolated
events, the in/out style allows me to involve both disciplines at
the same time. Public
health needs medicine and vice versa, and there is no better way to
show that than in this program. The leadership stressed in this program
was also attractive. Having this second degree in the medical field
makes you a leader in the community and this is an opportunity to
foster those leadership characteristics.
“The monthly seminars have really been interesting.
Not only have current community leaders and professionals given us
lectures, but it gives the 10 of us students a chance to get involved
in fascinating discussions. The seminars are a break from the monotony
of medical school and give us an idea of the end goals in achieving
both the medical degree and public health degree.”
Thomas Hagele
M.D./M.B.A. participant
Epsilon Cohort, Class of 2012
“The
program is unique in that the M.B.A. and M.P.H. students are grouped together
during seminars during the first two years. This allows for interesting dialogue and
discussions due to the independent nature of each discipline.
“In addition to working in clinical medicine,
I am interested in medical process efficiency and quality. Due
to the successful results of Six Sigma and Lean processing quality
theory within the manufacturing sector, I am interested in how these concepts might be
utilized to make health care delivery faster, safer and more cost effective.
Pooja Lahoti
M.D./M.B.A. participant
Zeta Cohort, Class of 2013
“I
specifically chose Wright State’s program for its experience
in working with dual degree students, the high level of collaboration
between the M.B.A. program and the medical school, and the complete integration
of my degrees.
There are only about three other schools in the country that not
only give M.D.s the business skills needed, but also teach them how to
lead effectively. Joining an M.D./M.B.A. program that does not teach you
how to fully integrate and apply your knowledge does not make sense.
Also, the program directors had me hooked the minute I met them!
“I plan on going into primary care because
I feel that it will put me in the best position to help change our
health care system. I would like to see more physician-led hospitals
and would like to be a part of that team as one of the physician
leaders (think Mayo Clinic). I plan on practicing the rest of my
life, but also using my knowledge to help build a system where we
can practice effectively.”
Meaghan Ebetino
M.D./M.P.H. participant
Zeta Cohort, Class of 2013
“I
am pursuing the dual M.D./M.P.H. because I am interested in learning how
health systems affect access to medical care for under-served communities,
both internationally and locally. I am especially interested in helping
Spanish-speaking immigrants in the United States who may be underinsured
and lack access to the primary care/preventative medicine
they need to avoid chronic illness such as hypertension and diabetes. Ideally,
having a public health background will make me a physician who is
more informed about health disparities and other issues that will
affect my patients; and being trained in
leadership through BPLDP will prepare me to participate in the
improvement of health care delivery to communities.”
Colleen McCormick
M.D./M.P.H. participant
Zeta Cohort, Class of 2013
“This
program was very appealing to me because I felt it is imperative to
understand the health care system and the health of the public in order
to effectively treat each patient. I am now approaching the end of
my first year in the program, and I cannot imagine being in medical
school without also being in the BPLDP. This program has opened
my eyes to medicine and health care in so many ways, and I believe
I will be a much more informed and capable physician because of this
additional guidance and education.
“The best part of this experience has been learning
about U.S. health care. When I entered medical
school, I did not feel informed about this ‘system’ of
care at all. Although
there are many aspects of health care that I still do not fully understand,
I feel much more informed about how it works and about the possibilities
of future change.
“I have many interests for my future such as
global health, pediatrics and working with under-served patients. I
am also interested in the diabetes/obesity epidemic in the United States. I
think that this leadership-focused M.P.H. will give me the tools and
knowledge necessary to help me care for the large population of people
suffering from the metabolic syndrome. I also think it will assist
me in whatever career path I choose because I will be able to care
for single patients as well as the whole community in which I live.”
Kiran Faryar
M.D./M.P.H. participant
Zeta Cohort, Class of 2013
“As
I look back on my first year of medical school education and the public
health seminars, I have begun to realize not only how integrated
these two fields are, but also the necessity of physician leaders
in our society today. As physicians, we are a vital component of
the health care system, however we often know very little about the
system itself. After attending the monthly seminars and taking management
and health economics classes this summer, I feel as if my medical
education would be lacking if I had attended a traditional medical
school program. Our
discussions with health economists, public policy leaders, politicians
and local health commissioners within the monthly seminars has not
only challenged me to view medicine within these diverse contexts,
but also encouraged a type of comprehensive understanding of health
care beyond scientific facts.
“Currently, I am very interested in emergency
medicine. I hope to use my master's in public health to rectify the
growing misuse of emergency rooms. As the number of patients without
health insurance increases nationally, the emergency room is transforming
from an acute care to a primary care setting which is draining hospital
resources and driving up the cost of health care. The leadership
skills and public health/economic knowledge that I will have gained
in this program will help me tackle this growing problem and hopefully
better serve both individual patients and my community as a whole.”
Lakshman Swamy
M.D./M.B.A. participant
Zeta Cohort, Class of 2013
“The
reason this program was created, and the reason I am in it, is to take
back control of health care by understanding that health care is a
complex field that requires more than medical knowledge to manage.
I hope that my training with the M.B.A. will give me exposure to and
the tools needed to deal with these unfortunate aspects of modern
health care. This doesn't mean I want to be the CEO of a hospital
or work for United Health Care by any means. I just
think that in whatever way I make use of them, these skills and this
knowledge will allow me to be more aware and in charge of my own
profession. There is a lot more to being a doctor than medical school teaches you.
“This track has two components to it besides
the M.D.: There is the M.B.A. coursework and related capstone project
as well as the Boonshoft Physician Leadership Development Program. This program is essentially a series of seminars and workshops
(one session, three hours, once a month) which are geared towards teaching
leadership strategies. The program is based on a lot of research
into successful physician leadership programs. It also integrates
the course ‘Health Systems Management’ in
the first two years, and ‘Strategic Leadership in Health’ the
second two years.
“The second component is the M.B.A. itself, which
comes with a concentration in health care. They have specifically
designed the program to minimally interfere with the course work of
the first two years. After the first two years, the third and fourth
years of medical school are extended into a fifth year. This is the
only M.D./M.B.A. program in the country that is not a ‘year out’ program. We don't ever leave the clinic
for an extended period of time. The goal is to make it so that when
we are doing our rotations, we are still thinking about the health care
system that is running not-so-far behind the scenes, and while doing
our M.B.A. work, we are remembering that the real goal is better health care.”
For more information on the Boonshoft Program, contact:
Jennifer Webb, Program Coordinator
Center for Global Health Systems, Management, and Policy
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
3123 Research Blvd., Suite 200
Kettering, OH 45420-4006
Campus Mail: 200 Tech Center IV; Research Park
Phone: (937) 258-5554
Fax: (937) 258-5544
E-mail: jennifer.webb@wright.edu
|
