Looking back, the group coursework expanded my network of colleagues and friends from diverse and impressive backgrounds and interests.” —Travis T. Tollefson, MD, MPH
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September 2023“My early career involved clinical outcomes and animal model research, but I lacked biostatistics and epidemiologic skills,” said Travis T. Tollefson, MD, MPH, a professor in the department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery and director of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, Calif. After the first six weeks of a clinical effectiveness program at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, “I had exponentially expanded my grasp in clinical research and decided to pursue the full MPH degree,” he added.
Wins and Challenges
A willingness to take a reduced salary while working on career advancement was the biggest tradeoff, according to Dr. Tollefson. “Efficiency with time management is a side effect of balancing coursework, clinical workload, and academic responsibilities,” he said, noting that the “‘ah-ha’ moments in advanced degree coursework are a big dopamine burst for us all.”
Careful time management takes some extra effort and sacrifice. “Squeezing the time for classes into a busy early career academic head and neck surgeon schedule was a challenge,” Dr. Sturgis said. However, he found it easy to find projects in his clinical/research work to meet assignment needs at the school, and then turn them into peer-reviewed publications when the schoolwork was complete.
Dr. Lindsay’s executive MBA program takes, on average, 10 to 15 hours per week. “But when you’re meeting amazing new people and learning skills that directly apply to your daily life, the time is more than worth it,” she said. One particular challenge has been remembering her skills in calculus. “It had been a long time since I had thought about derivatives, but by the end, it was a good experience and proved to me that I could still figure out complex equations and learn new material. It’s an important lesson to learn about yourself as you age,” she said.
Dr. Wei experienced a learning curve over her 18-month MMM program, figuring out how to juggle working full time clinically and meeting home life and demands. “I found myself spending nearly all nights and weekends doing homework,” she said. Despite the technical challenges, such as using the online Canvas app to submit homework, attending nighttime classes, and occasionally traveling for in-person classes, Dr. Wei enjoyed the MMM program and strongly endorses professional education for physicians. “Learning from my peers who were all physician leaders was tremendously valuable,” she said, “because we all knew we wanted to influence more than we already do.”
The extra workload as a student, while maintaining a full clinical load throughout her 15-month MMHC program, was challenging for Dr. Garrett. “I did reduce some of my administrative hours to help with the heavy teamwork time required for the various projects,” she noted. “Business school was very different from medical school in that way—you were dependent on your various project teams for the success of each project. You had to adapt to the weakest link on your team to get the work done.”
Taking exams remotely on the computer from home for some classes was also a challenge for Dr. Garrett, as was essentially losing one weekend a month for the entire 15 months. The easiest aspect of the program was having colleagues who were also in the medical field who could relate, she said.
Long-Term Value
“Without a doubt, this experience did more to transform my perspectives on the operations and leadership strategies of a large healthcare institution than any other. At the time, the degree also opened doors to other opportunities, including chair openings across the country,” Dr. Garrett said. “The degree program as a whole was transformative for how I view healthcare, but also how I view economics in general, from everyday life to what’s happening nationally.”
Dr. Sturgis has continually used what he learned while completing his MPH 20 years ago and believes it was worth the extra effort to gain an advanced degree. Dr. Tollefson agrees, and said the time spent gaining his MPH was life changing. “Looking back, the group coursework expanded my network of colleagues and friends from diverse and impressive backgrounds and interests,” Dr. Tollefson said.
“Understanding health law, health policy, and so many other aspects of the practice of medicine simply decreases the limited perspective we all have no matter how hard we work,” Dr. Wei said. “I would do this over again anytime, and I now wonder when I may be able to consider another degree program such as a Master of Public Health.”
Katie Robinson is a freelance medical writer based in New York.