How would business schools view this?
Hey guys,
Kind of an odd question, but I have a friend who is in Medical School (I recently dropped out and am pursuing finance) that plans to enter into a Psychiatry residency. After the 4 year program, he then wants to eventually go to Business School for consulting. I told him that business schools would probably look down on psychiatry as opposed to a more medically oriented field, but he is so sure that the diversity will help him. What are your thoughts on this? How would business schools or the corporate world in general see a psychiatry residency (with maybe a few years of experience)?
Thanks
Med school is med school, the guy is a doctor. Unless he's applying for some really niche specialty job, he's more qualified than the majority of people to make judgement calls on medical business issues. My MD was a psych major. Probably half of adcoms took a psych course at some point. I'm a psych major. My CEO's son is a psych major. Point? The confirmation bias alone among the decision makers will likely be useful. It's also incredibly useful in business because we studied relationship and power dynamics....y'all are playing catch up. Adcoms know this. After business school the playing field will be pretty level.
A psychiatrist can also advise on psychiatric medcation niches, making them enormously useful to pharma analysis. Who you gonna listen to, some 20 year old kid saying the company's financials look fine or an actual psychiatrist picking out a better drugs/therapies among the merely good? 25% of America is being treated for some type psychiatric condition...either deficiency treatment or some type of enhancement. The market is HUGE. Think about it: in the age of information, your brain is THE most important tool.
I'd compare it to military candidates where they're pretty much just interested in the diversity factor and they don't care if you were 2nd armored or airborne. I really don't think they know the difference either. He just has to market himself well.
Does he even need to go to business school? I know for MBB they would put him in the PhD, JD, MD category if he were to apply after (or before, I can't remember) residency.
+1 to TwoThrones.
He's going to have a hard time demonstrating that he fits into the typical FT MBA applicant mold, and that's going to be true regardless if he picks psychiatry, pediatrics, ophthalmology, or other speciality. Some might argue that just being a doctor pushes some kind of professional diversity button, but it'd probably be tough for him to effectively translate his medical experiences into business language and show how his experiences are transferable. Sure, his goals might make sense when answering the "why MBA" question, but that's one piece of the puzzle.
The other high-level thing to consider is his age, regardless of how he ends up calculating his years of FT work experience . . . four years of med school plus ~ four years of residency plus a few years of practice (if I'm understanding you correctly) would probably put him in his 30s. Another yellow flag when it comes to fit for FT programs. If I saw his app, my knee jerk reaction would probably be that he's likely better suited to PT programs or maybe EMBA programs in a few years.
Jon
No need for an MBA if you have your MD. I know a few who went straight from med school to McKinsey: http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/create_your_path/career_pathways/career_pathways_advanced_degrees
Quote from the McKinsey website on advanced professional degrees: "Some with advanced professional degrees leverage their training in related fields—for example, many doctors now work at McKinsey on healthcare reform, in our Pharmaceutical & Medical Products Practice, or in our Healthcare Solutions Practice."
Does the medical school matter? Is MBB biased between Harvard med and St. Barts? My guess is yes, but a doctor is a doctor, yes?
Its all about that prestige though.
Serioua question though: do consulting firms actually care what med school you went to?
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