W. P. Carey School, Mayo Clinic team up to offer dual degree

Mayo Clinic is known as a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education. Now, a select number of students from the Mayo Medical School are participating in a cutting-edge program that allows them to get both their M.D. degree from Mayo Medical School, and an MBA from the highly-ranked W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

“This program is helping to educate some of the brightest medical minds of our future in such a way that they will be more aware of the business side of medicine, the patient experience and the costs for us, the taxpayers,” says Amy Hillman, W. P. Carey School dean.

Michele Halyard, vice dean of the Mayo Medical School – Arizona Campus, says, “The collaboration between Mayo Medical School and the W. P. Carey School of Business brings valuable synergies to the education of both future physicians and business leaders. The dual-degree program provides Mayo Clinic physicians in training with complementary competencies in business management, payer systems and accounting practices. This, along with a superb clinical education at Mayo Medical School, will prepare them to be leaders in the complex world of medicine in the 21st century.”

ASU began a strong collaborative relationship with Mayo Clinic in 2002. This particular joint degree program was launched in 2009 and has turned into a highly desirable choice for just a handful of select students from the Mayo Medical School.

Yingying Kumar was one of the first to graduate from the joint M.D./MBA program. She was looking for a way to supplement her strong medical education with a business background to help her stand out in the job market.

“I realized that the business and leadership skills I would learn in the MBA program could help me advance to a higher position in a clinic, or even run my own practice in the future,” says Kumar. “I got a better understanding of roles and how hospitals run. I also got the perspective of non-medical students from my business classmates. I think the MBA will help me keep the patients’ voice in consideration at all times.”

Students who take the dual-degree program spend two years at the Mayo Medical School. Then they spend one or two years in the W. P. Carey School’s MBA program, currently ranked top 30 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. They return to medical school afterward to finish up their studies. The whole experience is facilitated by both schools to be virtually seamless for the Mayo students who qualify.

“I first began considering this program after volunteering in Honduras on a medical service trip and learning that the villagers we helped had little or no access to health care,” says Mayo M.D./W. P. Carey MBA student Jack Jeng. “We visited an empty rural medical clinic abandoned by its staff because it did not have a sustainable business model. That helped me realize that a successful health care organization needs more than a great medical facility, dedicated professionals and good intentions. Proper planning and smart business principles are also required to ensure patients continue to benefit from high-quality care, something I personally experienced at the Mayo Clinic.”

Jeng, who has already completed the MBA portion of the joint program, adds, “I was blown away by the opportunities and support at the W. P. Carey School of Business. They offered me valuable knowledge and experience I hope to use throughout my career. As a future physician with business understanding, I aspire not only to help people directly, but also to make meaningful contributions to improve the lives of countless patients who aren’t actually sitting in front of me.”