Opportunities for Medic with MBA

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rcoyle85

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I am age 32. I enlisted as a medic (68W) with the U.S. ARMY and ship out to boot camp in September 2012. I have a MBA (Master of Business Administration) from Thomas More College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I should have the GI Bill to obtain further education if necessary (e.g., PHD); however, I'm primarily interested finding out what I need to do to get into healthcare management.

Can anyone offer professional advise about the best way(s) to get into healthcare management? For example, should I look to volunteer at hospitals, 911 dispatch or local fire departments when I'm not deployed with the ARMY? I feel it's in my best interested to begin a transition into the healthcare field now.
 
Just from how things work around here..

To be a executive/ops manager these are the requirements...

-7 years as a road medic
-min of bachelors in Business.
-5 years supervisor exp

If operations are what you are looking at.

Most hospitals around here just require health care exp. And a Masters.

I think your degree will serve you well.

Are you currently a medic? Or will you be going through that training in the service?

I might of missed it if you already answered that?
 
My last job was getting ready to lay off employees. Also, I just went through a divorce. I was unable to join the NAVY in 2001 due to a medical condition. I decided to revisit the idea of joining the military and was able to pass a physical for the ARMY. I am going into the ARMY to gain experience in the medical field.
 
In general, healthcare administration calls for one of two degrees-- MBA with healthcare work experience, or MPH with management experience (or a management track in school).

Are you interested specifically in prehospital management? Hospitals? For Profit? NFP?
 
Ok.... Well others may correct me. But to my knowledge, the medic.training you will receive in the army will not allow for a medic license outside of the army.

So just keep that in mind.

However,

I really don't see you having an issue obtaining employment at a hospital or urgent care type setting.

Not doing patient care. But just administration like you said.
 
The ARMY training will get me to the point of NREMT (Nationally Registered EMT-B). I can continue with civilian training afterwards. I may pursue an associates degree as a LPN or just become a RN. I'm concerned the market for RNs will be saturated in a few years, thus driving down wages. I'm running into a similar problem with my MBA. It doesn't really stand out when everyone else has one.
 
What exactly is pre-hospital management? Would I be better served to pursue a career in the not for profit market?
 
emt.dan said:
In general, healthcare administration calls for one of two degrees-- MBA with healthcare work experience, or MPH with management experience (or a management track in school).

Are you interested specifically in prehospital management? Hospitals? For Profit? NFP?
Click to expand...

I think I'm more interested in healthcare administration positions requiring a MBA with healthcare work experience. I may try to pick up some Spanish classes as long as the ARMY can cover them while I'm in. I think this will help give me an edge in the market.
 
You need to decide whether you want to be on the street or in an office. In healthcare management, spanish isn't going to help you much... if you're in a cubicle away from patients. What you have is what are considrered to be entry level credentials as either a street patient care provider (albeit military credentials that when transferred to the civillan world have less value), and a basic level as education in business. Without experience working in either of these areas, or more detail about what you're looking for it's hard to help you.

I will say this... there are very few jobs out there that combine the true education and experience of medic and MBA-- although the intangible skills each teaches will help with the other. My suggestion to you is to pick one.

Management within pre-hospital care might include sales or marketing for a private ambulance company, business strategy, all the way up to senior management of that service. For this, though, you likely need industry experience-- and it seems these jobs still recruit from within, although advertising your education may be your ticket... You need to think about whether you're interested in non-profit work (within EMS) as well.

If you're looking for management within fire or third service, an MPH is much more valued.
 
emt.dan said:
You need to decide whether you want to be on the street or in an office. In healthcare management, spanish isn't going to help you much... if you're in a cubicle away from patients. What you have is what are considrered to be entry level credentials as either a street patient care provider (albeit military credentials that when transferred to the civillan world have less value), and a basic level as education in business. Without experience working in either of these areas, or more detail about what you're looking for it's hard to help you.

I will say this... there are very few jobs out there that combine the true education and experience of medic and MBA-- although the intangible skills each teaches will help with the other. My suggestion to you is to pick one.

Management within pre-hospital care might include sales or marketing for a private ambulance company, business strategy, all the way up to senior management of that service. For this, though, you likely need industry experience-- and it seems these jobs still recruit from within, although advertising your education may be your ticket... You need to think about whether you're interested in non-profit work (within EMS) as well.

If you're looking for management within fire or third service, an MPH is much more valued.
Click to expand...

I have a background in call center customer service (5 years, 2.5 as a supervisor with Macy's) and 6+ years as a market research analyst with Nielsen. I have an undergrad in Marketing. I have plenty of relevant work experience. I already have a mortgage equivalent in student loan debt on a MBA that isn't doing much. I can't spend anymore of my own money to get additional training. It just makes me think the military is the way to go, at least to get training in another area. I think non-profit work (within EMS) is the way to go, ideally with emergency management services.
 
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emt.dan said:
You need to decide whether you want to be on the street or in an office. In healthcare management, spanish isn't going to help you much... if you're in a cubicle away from patients. What you have is what are considrered to be entry level credentials as either a street patient care provider (albeit military credentials that when transferred to the civillan world have less value), and a basic level as education in business. Without experience working in either of these areas, or more detail about what you're looking for it's hard to help you.

I will say this... there are very few jobs out there that combine the true education and experience of medic and MBA-- although the intangible skills each teaches will help with the other. My suggestion to you is to pick one.

Management within pre-hospital care might include sales or marketing for a private ambulance company, business strategy, all the way up to senior management of that service. For this, though, you likely need industry experience-- and it seems these jobs still recruit from within, although advertising your education may be your ticket... You need to think about whether you're interested in non-profit work (within EMS) as well.

If you're looking for management within fire or third service, an MPH is much more valued.
Click to expand...

Pre-hospital care might be a great route for me to go with my marketing experience, education and future baseline medic skills.
 
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