Executive MBA for Physicians Blog

Educating physician leaders in the new science of medicine and management

Category: Special Events

Class of 2020: Wrapping up the EMBA for Physicians Program

Zoom meeting with students, friends, and family in small squaresThis May, the Class of 2020 finished their courses and degree requirements for the Executive MBA for Physicians program. The graduating physician-leaders presented their Executive Team Consulting Project, reflected on their leadership skill development with their executive coaches, and gathered with family for a virtual graduation party. The final 10 day residency which concludes the program provides physicians time to share what they have learned and how they have applied it, gain perspective on their growth, and celebrate their achievements.

The Executive Team Consulting Project is a 16-month capstone project where EMBA students lead a team of colleagues in their organizations in addressing a significant management issue. Typically students participate in a live poster session. Although the posters were presented virtually this year, students still shared their learning and successes with their colleagues. They used training in giving concise presentations from media expert Mike Nikitas and guidelines on creating clear, effective posters from ETCP professor Dr. Sally Ourieff. Students presented on numerous types of management and business challenges within healthcare, such as the role medical scribes can play in reducing physician burnout, ways to decrease the likelihood of readmission after heart failure, and strategies to reduce wait times between referrals at a spine center.

Participants also met with their executive coaches and their learning groups to participate in a final 360 degree leadership coaching session. With the help of the executive and peer coaches, students reflected on feedback gathered from colleagues for the second time in the 16 month program. The students also gave each other feedback and analyzed the goals they set at the beginning of the program while developing further goals for the future.

After their final intensive classes and presentations, the students gathered together with faculty, family, and friends to celebrate their graduation. They heard from graduation guest speaker Daniel Dawes, JD about health equity and the social and political determinants of health. Graduates Dr. Samaan Rafeq, a pulmonologist in New York City, and Dr. Shaneeta Johnson, a bariatric surgeon in Atlanta then gave inspiring speeches about their transformative experience within the program including the lifelong network of colleagues and friends they developed with each other. The students then toasted with champagne and moved their graduation cap tassels from the right to the left.

The Executive MBA for Physicians program is proud of everything the Class of 2020 has accomplished so far and is excited to see what they do in the future. Congratulations graduates!

Putting the Degree into Action: EMBA for Physicians Students present their Executive Team Consulting Projects

Earlier this month the EMBA Class of 2019 participated in the Executive Team Consulting Project (ETCP) interactive poster session. This session was the culmination of the 16-month capstone project where EMBA students led a team of colleagues in their organizations in addressing a significant management issue. All 41 students presented their posters in a series of rotations throughout the morning. ETCP Professor Dr. Sally Ourieff, and EMBA Program Director Dr. Jon Chilingerian joined the students in circulating to all of the posters and learning about each others’ projects. It was a great opportunity for the physicians to support their fellow classmates and gather ideas to address their own organizational challenges in the future.

The ETCP curriculum is designed to be a practical application of the learning physicians do throughout the course of the program. EMBA physicians are able to take their new understanding of the science of medicine and management to their own organizations. Many have seen a significant result from their project be it negotiating successfully with stakeholders, reaching consensus on tough decisions, or achieving notable improvement in various metrics (including quality and performance measures, operations, and the bottom line).

One physician analyzed and implemented the closing of a major service line to strengthen and focus his hospital’s service delivery and financial health. His region has multiple hospitals but still lacked beds. The line he chose to close was offered at other locations regionally and had low utilization (42% occupancy rate), thus freeing up beds for other high-need areas (an average of 10 people were held waiting for beds daily in another part of the hospital). In the first quarter after project implementation, there has been a revenue increase of 18%. The hospital is still waiting to complete the implementation, and they expect this percentage to increase even further at that time.

Another physician instituted a new financially beneficial imaging service line at his organization. This new line resulted in high patient satisfaction and financial benefit. It also improved employee morale due to a breakdown in silos between two departments and other byproducts of the project, such as improved scheduling.

Multiple physicians addressed various aspects of the opioid epidemic resulting in significant changes in prescribing patterns and access to care. One physician created a Pain Management Committee at a safety net institution, which resulted in a total decrease in narcotic utilization of 20% during a narcotic shortage. After the shortage was over, there was some recidivism, but decreases have continued. Another physician implemented a multifaceted response to reduce the overprescription of opioids in her medical center. As a result, prescriptions in the emergency department decreased by 20%.

Throughout the past 16 months, 41 organizations were touched by the students’ learning. Projects ranged from new entrepreneurial ventures to new service lines, to closed service lines. They have garnered significant organizational support, including one $300,000 grant for implementation. We are excited to see how these projects continue to evolve and what doors they are able to open for these physicians, their organizations, and their patients.

Alumni Reunion: Maintaining Relationships and Forging New Connections

Current students meet alumni

The informal connections that participants make with one another throughout Brandeis’s Executive MBA for Physicians program are as important as the formal classroom learning. Participants create and nurture professional connections, which allow them to provide support to one another throughout the program and beyond.

Earlier this month, Executive MBA for Physicians alumni gathered back together, almost one year after graduation. Alumni participated in a variety of social, academic, and reflective events, including a simulation and facilitated discussion with Dr. Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld and a webinar with Dr. Stuart Altman. Alumni also met the current class of physicians, both in the classroom as guest speakers and during an evening reception.

We are heartened to see that these strong connections forged during the program continue with our alumni and that new connections are being formed between cohorts.

 

Our alumni had this to say about the reunion:

“Being with my eMBA classmates centered me.  We picked up right where we left off. Not a beat skipped. I am so proud and honored to be part of this cohort.”

 

“It was incredibly gratifying to be back on campus with 13 of my classmates almost exactly a year after graduating the Heller EMBA program.  The highlight of the event, and it was always the central focus, was the time spent with my classmates sharing ideas, experiences, and new challenges.  It is such a unique, insightful, smart, collegial group – I think we all just feel grateful that we have each other to lean on as friends and colleagues.

To be back, walking the long pictured hallways, surrounded once again with the sights and smells that were the backdrop of our amazing 16 month journey was icing on the cake.

What EMBA reunion would be complete without dedicated time to commune with key faculty – we enjoyed every minute of both sessions.

Dr. Gershenfeld, a tremendous new addition to the faculty, was very generous with his time and expertise and managed in a short morning exercise to impart as much insight on negotiation as we gleaned in several sessions during our 16 months.   We’re grateful for the gift of his time.

My sense is that we are going to want to do this again next year.  And the year after.  Etc…”

 

“I loved the instant re-connection with our classmates.  The Saturday session brought me back to our classes instantly and in a good way.  By having an organized facilitated session on campus, it felt like we never left the program, and the day was just a wonderful continuation of the learning and friendships.   I personally enjoyed meeting the new cohort both in the social setting and facilitating a short session on focused clinic.  I hope I was able to teach them something and felt like I connected with cohort in a way that I would not have otherwise.   I hope other students in our class can become guest speakers, facilitators, peer mentors, coaches for this or future classes  – I think there will be mutual benefit.”

 

“Reunion May 2018 was a fantastic way to:

  • catch up with over 30% of our class (we missed all you others who could not make it this time, but you were in our hearts!)
  • meet members of the current EMBA class (go new team!)
  • meet Prof. Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld who has clearly hit the ground running teaching Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
  • and see faculty and staff!!

For old times’ sake, classmates shared some wonderful work they are doing – leading (!) sessions on leadership at his hospital in MD; addressing large scale policy issues in VT; and wrestling with the intersection of his company’s program development and hospital HR matters at his clients’ hospitals. Sharing these experiences once again gave us the greatest gift of all from our shared learning and time together – the opportunity to problem solve together and provide one another with mutual support!

Thanks to all who made this possible and here’s to many more reunions in the future!”

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