Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management and Meharry Medical College today announced a dual degree program in management and medicine. The two educational students are both located in Nashville, Tennessee. Participating students will earn their medical doctorate from Meharry and an MBA from Vanderbilt in five years.
Dual degree students will spend their first three years at Meharry and will be able to apply to the Owen Graduate School of Management in their third year. Enrolled students will start the Vanderbilt MBA program in their fourth year and will be registered as full-time MBA students for three consecutive semesters to earn their degree after the fall semester of their fifth year. They will return to Meharry for the spring semester in their fifth year to complete their medical degree.
“By partnering with the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, our students will gain an opportunity to receive business training necessary to run a successful practice or enter into hospital administration,” said Digna Forbes, interim dean of the Meharry School of Medicine. “This could ultimately diversify the pipeline of applicants for executive-level health care roles, which directly aligns with Meharry’s mission to diversify the nation’s health care workforce.”
“Healthcare professionals increasingly need the tools of business to improve healthcare outcomes,” added Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management Dean M. Eric Johnson. “We are delighted to partner with Meharry to prepare the next generation of healthcare leaders.”
Before Digna and others at Meharry Medical School start “jumping for joy they need to consider a few integral components first and foremost. First, how many current medical students from Vanderbilt are currently enrolled in their dual MBA program? Second, what is the completion rate for such students? Third, where will the additional fiscal and material resources come from in order to ensure the program reach its intended goal? Finally, I am curious in knowing the primary impetus behind this collaboration and who benefits the most?