9 years+: Studying MBA (Healthcare Management): Just Finished and Feeling Relieved

I attended MBA in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in one of their "persisir" or you can call it outcampus program where they conduct classes for special group of students in a department like in the state health department. It was a great experience, despite having to postpone studies due to Covid-19 and going online after that.

My first subject was marketing. It was quite hard at that time because I did not have any idea regarding all those business terms and words and calculations etc. I think everyone struggled during that time. But, our lecturer was super duper amazing and was very tolerant and patient with us 😅 Like seriously we were super duper blur and confused most of the time, she had to teach us the basics of finance and accounting during the first class. Then we had accounting for decision making, economics, finance management and others.

I think the most important thing I learned from MBA is how to "unlearn" things. This MBA program helped me to see problems and situations from different angles before making a decision. It helped to widen my view of the world and understand the different struggles of different stakeholders in a situation. The new perspectives we were taught and the introduction of various analytic tools during classes can be applied even when dealing with daily situations in life. It freed me from continuing "inherited" practices that are usually done in the workplace that has become core traditions and culture within the organization.

The analytic skills gained from MBA is beneficial in dealing with daily situations as a manager. At the core, we are all managers. We are managers of our daily lives, at the very least. As a doctor, the study of MBA taught me how to deal with problems regarding patients, colleagues and supporting staff. With the people management skills learned during MBA, it benefits consultation sessions and also when dealing with internal problems related to the behaviour of colleagues and other levels of employees.

Personally, I would recommend studying MBA for doctors who are interested in improving their people management skills and those who seek to improve their workplace. During MBA classes, we were always encouraged to criticize and discuss improvements that could be practiced in workplace. It also improves our skills for presentations and creating slides (there is always something to present during class!). By the end of it, you can create slides and present ASAP - which is a very important skill in life lols.

For me, my experience during MBA was more than just in business and administration. People should give it a try.

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