Chan Pik-kei says her EMBA helps her do her job better.
|
The road to a medical career is long and arduous, but Chan
Pik-kei, a specialist in an intensive care unit at a public
hospital, believes further education is required for those in
the medical field. She was the first person with a medical background
to sign up for an EMBA programme at the Richard Ivey School
of Business, Asia. She explains why an executive management
degree is so important to medical professionals:
Why did you decide to do an EMBA?
I have been trained all my life to be a doctor. But when you
stay long enough in the field, you discover that you need more
to be a good leader, and good team player. The most important
things are leadership skills, people skills and communication
skills. In a medical faculty, little time is spent on training
students for these skills. Ivey trained me to think and act
strategically in order to solve complex real-life problems as
a leader. The other subjects in a typical EMBA course, such
as finance, IT and operations, are important too. No matter
whether it is a business unit or hospital unit, you have to
understand all those aspects.
Has something changed in the medical field that requires more
medical professionals to consider an EMBA?
Yes. Ten or 15 years ago, doctors would look forward to promotions
after working for a certain number of years in public hospitals.
If they weren¡¦t promoted, they would join the private sector.
But society has changed, the medical system has changed and
the way the people think and what they value has changed a lot.
Nowadays, doctors are not merely looking for money or a title.
Instead, they are motivated by intrinsic awards, such as feeling
what they do has a meaningful purpose, being respected and valued.
Frontline doctors participate more and more in the management
of their units, such as decision making or policy development.
An EMBA course would equip the medical professionals for their
leadership and management roles.
Do you think the management practices in the medical
field are different from the commercial sector?
There are similarities and differences. In both you need to
have a clear vision and sound strategies for your organization,
strong leadership and good communication skills. You need to
strive for the highest standards and deliver results. You need
to be proactive to identify treats and opportunities for your
organisation and lead accordingly.
On the other hand, the differences are huge. In the commercial
world, the goal is profit. In a hospital, we are talking about
quality of care, patient safety, work efficiency and effective
resource management. Health care is a far more complex business.
It is a people business. We need strong leadership, compelling
visions, strategies that focus on high standards and best practices,
creative solutions for improving efficiency and leveraging resources
for more effective delivery of care. In the public medical sector,
what you do affects the lives of the public and is in the eyes
of the public. You are spending taxpayers¡¦ money and you are
responsible to the public at large. To a certain extent, an
EMBA course is even more important to medical professionals
than those in the commercial sector.
As a doctor, how has the EMBA helped you so far?
I am able to apply what I have learnt in organizing and managing
my work on a daily basis. I can communicate better with my patients
and colleagues. I have learnt to understand the viewpoints of
others and constructively discuss issues with those around me.
I have gained greater self-confidence in my ability to resolve
complex problems. And I have a better understanding of how a
unit can be run more efficiently. At the end of the day, if
you can utilize the resources better, motivate your staff to
do their jobs more efficiently and collaborate with different
people and teams, the benefits go to the patients.
SCMP
23th May, 2009
