Six Ways to Get Hands-on with Healthcare
A visit to Genentech in San Francisco
Considering its status as a top growing industry in America, it’s no surprise that the business of healthcare is an area of growing emphasis at Goizueta Business School. In addition, Atlanta is an ideal location to study healthcare, with world renowned medical research and treatment facilities and the Center for Disease Control located steps from campus campus.
For those considering concentrating in healthcare during their MBA, I wanted to highlight how attending Emory has helped me to delve into this field in exciting and hands-on ways.
1. Help decide how to spend one million dollars in biotech funding… for a class
In the dedicated Healthcare Management Practice course, students are tasked with evaluating the prospects of commercial success of twenty medical device innovations which are competing for translational research funding. Daily guest lecturers with years of experience evaluating such products mentor us and guide our thinking in determining which projects should be presented to funders. Our work will directly inform the awarding of one million dollars of grant funding from the Coutler Foundation, associated with Emory Medical Center.
2. Attend classes at Rollins, a top public health school
Goizueta students are allowed to take classes across campus at any of the other graduate schools or undergraduate classes for no additional fee, and for credit towards their MBA. For example, I recently took a weekend-long course at Rollins – one of the top ranked public health schools in the nation – focusing on preparedness and planning for emergencies, taught by practitioners at the CDC.
Alternatively, if you plan ahead, you can complete both your MBA and your Master of Public Health degrees in only five semester.
3. Expand your interests with Guest Lectures and Speaker Series
This semester alone I attended a phenomenal lecture and discussion led by Naz Modirzadeh, a law professor at Harvard, on international law and ethics regarding the provision of healthcare and humanitarian aid in crises. There was as well a day-long environmental health conference led by both local decision makers and international stakeholders.
4. Mentor a Biotech Start-up
Kevin Manion, a classmate from the class of 2017, has begun a mentoring program which pairs biotech startup companies involved with an incubator program locally with MBA students. We’ve supported them in developing their market research and pitch and in targeting their messaging.
5. Recruit with top healthcare companies
Major players in the healthcare industry such as McKesson, Genentech, and Emory Healthcare actively recruit and interview on campus.
6. Any many more!
Beyond these opportunities, my healthcare-focused classmates have taken courses such as The Business of Healthcare, and Healthcare – Product and Brand. Many have participated in healthcare case competitions hosted by consulting companies, giving students the opportunity to delve into common problems faced by the industry and to show off their acumen to potential employers. Several of us attended Vanderbilt’s Healthcare Conference.
As a major focus in Goizueta’s strategic growth plan, I look forward to seeing even greater opportunities in coming years for the development of those students interested in shaping the future of healthcare in this country and abroad. To me, it’s critically important to combine my interest in business with my passion for healthcare; I hope to keep finding ways to build on this intersection.