Why an MBA?

Why an MBA: Changing healthcare one physician at a time.

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, there’s a growing demand for leaders who possess both medical expertise and business acumen. We believe physician MBAs are uniquely suited to lead this change. Physician MBAs have the intimate experience in clinical settings needed to understand the challenges in the healthcare landscape, and they've also earned the business acumen to help solve them. Combining the Kelley Physician MBA with your clinical expertise, you’ll be uniquely positioned to lead change—not just react to it.

Why a Kelley MBA: A program for physicians

Ours is the only top-ranked business school to offer a Master of Business Administration degree exclusively for physicians. This 21-month program is innovative and built on a rigorous curriculum, collaborative learning, healthcare-specific courses and a flexible schedule that prepares physicians to succeed in their dual roles as patient advocate and business strategist. You can earn an executive MBA in many places, but Kelley is the only school that translates business and management principles into actionable skills for physician leaders.

Physicians Applying Their MBAs

Michelle Fenoughty, MD, MBA'16 | Obstetrician and Chief Medical Officer, Hendricks Regional Hospital

An obstetrician and chief medical officer, Dr. Fenoughty explains why the Kelley Physician MBA equipped her with skills she could immediately apply to do her job the way she feels it should be done.

Dave Hormuth, MD, MBA’15 | Cardiologist and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St. Vincent's Medical Center – Evansville

An experienced surgeon and chief of cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Hormuth discusses how the Physician MBA Program helped him manage healthcare costs while providing compassionate patient care.

Unfortunately, this knowledge isn’t taught in medical school, and we need more Physician MBAs to fix the U.S. healthcare system. I got so much more out of it than I ever expected.

Gagan Pawar, MD, MBA’22 | CEO at Clinicas del Camino Real, Inc. in Ventura County, California

Direct Application in Healthcare

Mahdi Ajjan, MD, MBA’17

Hospitalist, CEO & Founder of Optimed Hospitalists

“No course in this MBA was irrelevant to what I do. Every single class fit exactly with what I’m doing on a daily basis in terms of patient treatment, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Explore our curriculum

Cameual Wright, MD, MBA’16

Obstetrician-Gynecologist and Market Medical Director of Indiana at CareSource

“Don’t be afraid to be ambitious. Kelley gave me the skills—but also the confidence—to come out of my comfort zone and do something different.”

Explore leadership coaching

Peter Kang, MD, MBA’16

Radiologist and Medical Executive Committee President at Fort Madison Community Hospital

“I chose the Physician MBA Program because it focused specifically on physicians and healthcare. I wanted to be among like-minded physicians so we could really zero in on the business of medicine."

Explore peer learning

From Classroom to Board Room

Wherever you take your MBA after graduation, you are prepared because of your experience at the Kelley School. Our hybrid online and in-person delivery model, combined with expert faculty and personal coaching, creates a learning environment to match your needs now and your goals for the future.

Learn more about our learning experience