Transitioning from Medicine to HR: What Career Paths Await Doctors with an MBA in HR?

Please let me know what career opportunities are available for a student who has completed a degree in Medicine and now wishes to transition to a career in Human Resources by pursuing an MBA in HR. Are there any doctors who have pursued an MBA in HR? Please, friends, share your experiences and opinions.

Please give genuine feedback.

Thank you

That's an interesting combination indeed. However, before looking to know about others' experiences with a similar profile, please elaborate on why YOU would like to switch the career track. In short, What Are Your Reasons? That will be important for anyone to suggest accurately and realistically, as others would, at best, have SIMILAR reasons/experiences but definitely NOT IDENTICAL ones.

Regards,
TS

TS has given you sound advice. So, let me ask a few questions. What motivated you to join a medical course in the first instance? Were you forced to continue in the medical field by your parents? Many are always critical of medics who quit and "rob" the country of a doctor. However, I know of cases in the UK where medical graduates do not practice medicine but pursue other fields. The fields they enter are related to the medical field; for example, they join pharmaceutical firms where drug research is carried out. Some work in the medical field and then get into management; this is understandable as non-medical managers can make a mess of the situation when making decisions based only on efficiency measures.

Also, kindly tell us how your medical degree will help in the new field of HR that you would like to switch over?

Please also see [Career options within and outside of medicine with a medicine degree](http://www.newmediamedicine.com/forum/general-careers-advice/46016-career-options-within-outside-medicine-medicine-degree.html)

A MBBS degree is a valid graduation and can be used to pursue any career as one wishes. I know one of my friends who had an MS degree from AIIMS and was working with CGHS in Delhi. He left the profession and joined IAS services in 1985, becoming a very successful administrator. A doctor with an HR degree can have a bright future in the HR field as they have in-depth knowledge of the medical profession apart from HR.

Nowadays, the medical profession is a corporate business, and all good hospitals are managed professionally. Normally, an HR person may find it somewhat difficult to understand the special requirements of medical/hospital staff. In most hospitals, I have seen doctors handling HR jobs, and many of them lack information about HR and other related legal matters. I am sure a doctor with an HR background will have a far better understanding of the needs of the hospital, in addition to understanding the aspirations of doctors and other paramedical staff.

These days, management degrees in the medical profession have become quite common, and many doctors are pursuing these degrees. So, please don't worry. If you have an interest in HR, you should pursue it. I am confident that an HR degree, along with an MBBS, will be a valuable qualification to secure a good job in any reputable hospital.

Best wishes.

Good idea. This will be a post-graduate degree. You may try some organizations in Malaysia, such as the Malaysian Institute of Management or Universiti Putra Malaysia, which have vast experience in MBA coaching in the area of HR.

After obtaining an MBA, you can venture into entrepreneurship, coordinating with some wealthy friends to run a hospital. Nothing is impossible. Good luck.

Regards, Mohamed

Since the inquiry is about the career prospects for a medical graduate who wishes to do an MBA in HR, but not whether he should do HR, I venture to say that as an MBA in HR, you can stand an equal chance across the industrial sector along with other MBAs. However, as a medical graduate with an MBA in HR, you can specifically look for prospects in corporate hospitals as Navneet Sarin already mentioned. Apart from this, the biotech, life sciences, pharma industry, and the surgical and medical equipment manufacturing industry will also hold promise.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Doctors Transitioning to MBA Careers

This is not the first case of a doctor doing an MBA. Way back in the eighties, while lecturing on Organizational Behavior for the MBA program at Heriot-Watt University, I found a doctor in my class. I asked him why he was taking up an MBA. He told me that it was not his ambition to become a doctor and was forced into the profession by his parents, who are both doctors. He confessed to me that he hated doctoring for the long, hard hours and was tired of treating all types of patients.

Today, he is the CEO of a group of clinics in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur. This misfit would not have taken place if he had taken a career fit assessment test before enrolling in the university to ensure that he landed in a profession he enjoys.

I am a doctor and have completed an MBA in HR. I am now working for a Medical Intelligence Firm. There are many opportunities for doctors with a postgraduate degree in HR in the pharma, hospital, and insurance sectors. Even doctors with a postgraduate degree in Marketing are also in demand. Ultimately, the choice one makes is crucial. If you have specific plans, that's great. However, if you are considering HR solely for job prospects, it's worth reevaluating your decision.

Firdous A. Ansari and Deepak Pogade have given excellent inputs. Guess your predicaments are now clear, and it's time for decision-making at your end. I think the key to your decision-making process ought to be what Deepak Pogade mentioned: "if you have some plans, it's great, if you want to do HR just to get a job, then think again!" — essentially corroborating what I mentioned earlier ['in short, what are your reasons?'].

All the best.

Regards,
TS

The Importance of Dual Qualifications in Medicine and Management

It should be borne in mind that earlier management personnel were engineers, etc. Unfortunately, doctors were either sleeping or more engaged in clinical practice, and they recently realized the advantage of a dual course - medical graduate plus management. In reality, individuals are attaining higher positions with only a managerial concept in management. It is indeed true that a person who is technically proficient in a particular field and has also studied management will be ideal. Therefore, doctors should step forward with such qualifications.

Human Resource Management as a Career Path for Doctors

Human resource management is the best option. It is essential for all doctors to understand that they should play a vital role, especially in leadership in the medical field with an added concept of management.

Thanks,

Dr. Dave