Physician MBA Business of Medicine Curriculum

Our healthcare-specific courses teach you how the industry operates now, how it should operate in the future and how you can play a role in shaping this evolution.

Expert Kelley professors deliver the most relevant healthcare material available, which is constantly updated based on industry trends and feedback from our diverse cohorts of physicians and alumni. First, you’ll learn theory, and next, we show you how to apply these lessons to improve your daily work and your organization as a whole.

“Every last one of us wants to fix medicine, and the Kelley Physician MBA gives us the tools to do it.”

Celanie Christensen, MD, MBA’24Neurodevelopmental pediatrician at Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis

Read Dr. Christensen's story

Focus on the physician

All aspects of this program were created with you in mind. Our flexible delivery model is based on the physician learning style to increase long-term retention of knowledge. Our business administration medical courses translate best business practices into healthcare application, equipping you with the critical principles you will need to direct the future of healthcare. Your education is constantly reinforced in a variety of experiential learning opportunities, including:

Peer learning alongside other physicians from various backgrounds
Organizational projects to drive change
Consulting projects to test theory in a safe space
Lean Six Sigma projects to achieve process improvement
Class discussions to reveal a variety of physician perspectives
Study trips to local organizations to demonstrate various business theories in practice
Ongoing leadership coaching to address executive career needs and questions as they arise in real time

Year one

You’ll begin the program by learning core Kelley MBA curriculum, building a foundation of business knowledge and skills. Using examples from other industries—such as finance, marketing, leadership, strategy and operations—the core courses will provide a platform for translating proven business concepts into game-changing healthcare practices. This includes gaining an understanding of the link between healthcare decisions and financial outcomes; how to manage leadership communications, such as crisis communications, communicating change, and presentation skills; and how to use strategic analysis to evaluate and change organizational capabilities. They are the same skills used by top management teams of today's leading organizations.

Year two

In your second year in the program, you’ll apply this business foundation to the healthcare industry through courses specifically designed at the intersection of business and medicine—courses you will not find in any other MBA program. From specialized courses on healthcare delivery models, Lean Six Sigma and understanding consumer healthcare to traveling to Washington, D.C. midway through the program to better understand healthcare policy or experiencing global healthcare settings firsthand in India or Germany, these business of medicine courses will introduce you to new approaches, tools and ways of thinking that you can incorporate into your organization immediately.

Hear from our graduates about the transformative power of the Physician MBA curriculum

We host information sessions online for prospective Physician MBA students so they can hear our graduates discuss how the program launched or amplified their careers and helped them evolve as physician leaders.

Four people sit in a cozy office lounge, engaged in conversation. They hold coffee cups, sitting on brown leather chairs. A map is framed on the wall.

Leadership coaching

Solidify your leadership training with hands-on leadership coaching throughout the entire 21 months of your Physician MBA. A specialized course and ongoing sessions with your leadership coach integrate everything you’ve learned to take your career to the next level. Develop a leadership plan, learn how to navigate the politics of your organization, get to know your own leadership style and work one-on-one with a coach to put your goals into motion.

Applied learning

The theory that you will gain from your professors and peers in the classroom is made real and applied in several real-world, consulting settings.

Leading and Managing Healthcare

Leadership is a unique and central component of the Kelley MBA. We kick off your MBA experience with a weeklong leadership immersion week where you dive into your current leadership style and gain the tools to improve your executive presence and ability to improve team dynamics and introduce change. This is where you will begin one-on-one work with your personal leadership coach.

Integrative Experiences

See a problem you'd like to solve at your organization? You'll have an opportunity to integrate business and clinical knowledge using a real-world challenge from the healthcare industry. You'll analyze the issue or opportunity and prepare and present a business plan or solution to industry and academic experts.

Global Healthcare

Immerse yourself in a global healthcare experience outside of the United States. This elective course offers you the opportunity to examine best practices from other countries as well as learn about their healthcare models such as clinical trials, medical tourism and operations in India or medical technology and device manufacturing in China.

Healthcare Reform

Travel to Washington D.C. to learn first-hand about healthcare reform and public policy through coursework at the Washington Campus, a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization educating business students and business leaders on the practices and realities of public policy.