Why Physicians Need Business Literacy: What My MBA Taught Me Before Medical School
by Matthew Dyer, MBA, M2
Two years ago, I was sitting in a strategic management course debating Porter’ s Five Forces and how a hospital system’ s negotiating position with insurers compares to a manufacturer’ s leverage with suppliers. Today, I am a second-year medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine learning the endocrine system and working through clinical cases. It looks like an unusual path to medicine on paper, but looking back, I would not change it.
I earned a Master of Business Administration( MBA) before medical school because I wanted to better understand the systems I hoped to practice in someday, in addition to learning the science behind medicine. At the time, I viewed business school as an opportunity to broaden my perspective. I did not realize how often that perspective would follow me into medical school.
Medical school rightly emphasizes clinical skills and reasoning. We spend years learning anatomy, physiology, pathology and the countless decisions that go into caring for individual patients. What receives far less attention is the environment in which that care takes place. Regardless of specialty, every physician eventually encounters questions about contracts, reimbursement, budgets and other business decisions.
Those decisions can affect patient care, yet most physicians receive little formal preparation for them.
This gap may help explain the growing interest in combining medical and business education. A 2025 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges found that 9 % of medical students were pursuing dual degrees, with MD / MBA programs among the most common. Physician leaders interviewed by Becker’ s Physician Leadership also described business skills as important for physicians who want to take on leadership roles, while noting that these skills are rarely taught in traditional medical education. 1
I do not think every physician needs an MBA, but I do believe physicians benefit from understanding how healthcare works beyond the bedside. For me, the value of the MBA became clearer once I entered medical school and started seeing places where that background could be useful.
Six weeks into my first year of medical school, my classmates elected me class treasurer. I had not campaigned for the position. Most of my classmates knew I had completed an MBA and figured I was probably the one person in the room most comfortable managing the class budget.
30 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE