How useful is an MD in the business world?

[Pray To Jesus]

Not being a physician obviously.

 

[zerocool84]

Ask God, he has all the answers.

 

[Printer Bandit]

pretty useful if working for big pharma

 

[Pray To Jesus]

Ask God, he has all the answers.

best advice :thumbsup:

 

[sjwaste]

Plenty. Lots of insurance companies staff MDs for claims. I'm guessing a JD/MD could work in pharmaceutical law, which I hear is pretty lucrative. Also, drug companies.

 

[darkxshade]

Are you talking about Managing Directors? Because they seem like an empty suit but I'm sure they actually do "something" behind the scenes.

 

[Zeze]

My friend got his MD at Rochester.

The he decided he didn't like being a doctor. Went to BC and got a law degree, just finished last year.

He joined a nice firm doing intellectual properties in medical field. Job req was just that- MD & JD. I'm sure he gets paid pretty penny.

 

[jagec]

The biggest factors that contribute to business success are hard work and money. MDs have both of those in spades.

 

[OnePingOnly]

Fairly useful, especially if one wants to get into medical consulting.

 

[eits]

an md alone isn't good for business. a mind for business is good for business. you don't need an md for that.

either way, just because you're an md doesn't mean you're good at business or know much about the insurance game. it's experience that typically teaches doctors that stuff, not med school.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

About as useful as an MBA in the operating room

 

[skim milk]

You could make it useful.
If it's from a top school, you can make it into some Venture Capital or Private Equity fund in an advisory/investment role.
If it's not really from a brand name school, you can still get into something like Equity Research covering the medical/health care industries.

These won't be easy to transition into, but it can be done and an MD degree could serve you well.

 

[zinfamous]

About as useful as an MBA in the operating room

mba is useless anywhere outside of "piece of paper" that one needs for certain qualifications.

An MD actually opens doors just about anywhere because it shows that you have skills and talent.

 

[Slew Foot]

Most MDs that go into business are the ones who are too lazy or stupid to deal with patients on a daily basis. There's OK money in pharma/insurance/law but not as good as being a top tier MD.

 

[Imp]

Pay must be pretty damn good, especially if he/she also has a law degree. Debt must be insane though.

 

[Farmer]

MD and then JD? That's a lot of school.

Honestly if you're interested in patent law, PhD + JD is much cheaper way to do it, since the PhD will be free.

 

[Fenixgoon]

look at medical device companies. i wouldn't be surprised if they were more than happy to have an MD on staff who would be able to help them develop tools for surgery.

 

[DaWhim]

Most MDs that go into business are the ones who are too lazy or stupid to deal with patients on a daily basis. There's OK money in pharma/insurance/law but not as good as being a top tier MD.

business is where the money is. motivated MDs will go into business to make far more money than caring for patients.

 

[sandorski]

People in the Business world get sick/injured like everyone else. A MD would seem to be pretty important, given that fact.

 

[Imp]

business is where the money is. motivated MDs will go into business to make far more money than caring for patients.

I forget why there were articles, but there were a bunch fairly recently about how a sizeable number of doctors suck at managing their own clinics and end up with major financial problems. General idea was that MDs were smart, just not in everything or all around (i.e. business).

 

[Farmer]

look at medical device companies. i wouldn't be surprised if they were more than happy to have an MD on staff who would be able to help them develop tools for surgery.

It's unlikely they'd be interested in a fresh MD.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

my brother has an md. he was a prof at a medical school for about ten years and constantly got offers from drug companies for several times what he could ever make at a university. they eventually made him an offer he couldnt refuse and he left academia to head up the cancer portfolio of a major company. there is no way he could have gotten that job without an md. he still sees patients and teaches at a university hospital once a week but his job now is basically in business not science.

 

[Sulaco]

business is where the money is. motivated MDs will go into business to make far more money than caring for patients.

In much of medicine, specifically academic medicine, there is still more than a little to be said for practicing a craft for love of their craft. Despite the ignorant cynics, there are more than a few great docs who truly love helping their patients and practicing medicine. I've seen it all over the country my whole life.

I have a little first hand experience. My father's an MD, JD. Top flight schools all-around (Harvard Law, UCSF M.D.), 25 years of medical practice, B.C. Neurologist, practicing Neuro-Ophthalmologist Neuro-Otologist, Professor of Neurology at a major state medical school.

http://wichita.kumc.edu/im/facstaff/jensen.pdf

You don't do that to make money, and it's some of the most grueling, challenging work out there. You have to live for what you do, and love it to the core. I'm glad there are still many docs out there who live that way.
Medical consulting on cases for law firms would easily net upwards of $300-$400 per hour, with many cases requiring easily 8-10 hours of consultation and review.

As he always taught me though, if you're in it to make money, go somewhere else. There's fantastic money to be made, for sure, but the workload is intense, and it has to be a labor of love.

 

[1sikbITCH]

I do know that disability law firms sometime hire nurses and definitely attorneys with medical degrees of any level as it directly pertains to the type of law they practice.

So I can easily imagine there are other scenarios where this could apply, but it would need to be for pretty specialized applications.

 

[Muse]

Obviously it depends just where you are in the business world. If you are in the accounting department, not worth much. If you are in the pharmaceutical industry, it could be very useful. If you are with a company that manages hospitals, maybe a lot. Could be very useful, but as everybody knows who isn't an idiot, it's a lot of work to become an MD. I don't believe many people are on that path who don't intend to practice medicine or who aren't required to have an MD in their projected career arc.