Final Thoughts

After a grueling 1^st year of medical school, sitting in a classroom 6 hours a day, Monday thru Thursday, was the absolute last way I imagined myself enjoying my summer break. However, I did just that, and I am proud of it. I strongly believe the business Bootcamp has given me a new insight on my career, one I probably wouldn’t have gained for years, if ever at all. I used to believe, “Ok, I am going to become a doctor, make money, live in a nice house, and enjoy life. End of Story.” Oh how naïve.

            Now, post-bootcamp, I firmly believe every budding physician should be required to have some sort of business training, formal or informal. I feel as though many of the problems the healthcare industry is facing today have direct correlations to the lack thereof with current physicians.  Physicians were never required to learn about economics, finance, marketing, or IT systems; rather many learned by trial and error and were self-taught. Therefore, arising problems were swept under the mat, and ignored until the mat couldn’t lay flat. In a sense, the healthcare industry was placing Band-Aids on infected wounds, turning their backs, and allowing the patient to become septic. I feel as though my business background, though confined to an 8-week period during the summer of medical school, will allow me to become a more competent doctor in the healthcare industry today. I now know enough about the healthcare industry to not only identify potential healthcare problems during my career, but to implement a plan of action to fix the problems right away.   

            Furthermore, not only was the material of the bootcamp necessary, but the sheer volume of the material presented and the time requirements was, in my opinion, absolutely critical. It was a love-hate relationship, the bootcamp and I had. Waking up, morning after morning, going to the same classroom, thinking to myself “Hey! This is my summer! I deserve a break!.” But then again, I did sign myself up to do this.  I committed to class 6 hours a day, 4 days a week; to working on multiple projects at the same time; to staying up until midnight collaborating with teams to finish those projects with class the next morning. And you know what? I don’t regret any of it. As hard as it was at times to “keep on keepin’ on”, it was that much more beneficial to me in the end. The business skills I learned were crucial and the discipline, invaluable.

Weeks 1 & 2 Review

Alright, so the first two weeks of bootcamp are done; Economics, Sustainability, and Healthcare Economics can be checked off the summer to-do list. I want to give a review of each class.

Economics: Mr. Thomas was such a great teacher! Every now in then in school we get a teacher who really makes a course interesting and exciting. In my opinion, there was no other course better than economics for this to happen. A strong base in business principles is absolutely essential to move on in the upcoming boot camp classes. Mr. Thomas not only took the time in class to patiently and clearly explain the topics of the course, but didn't hesitate to stay after to answer individual questions. the best part of the class was the debate on the last day. I can confidently say that all of the topics I learned during the course were called upon during the debate and I better understood the economics of a market as a whole.

Sustainability:
 Ok so one word: wow. After this course I realized two main things: first, I need to change the way I live my life, and two, this course should be absolutely mandatory for everyone. Mrs. Hanna-West made me question the way I lived, my views on the environment, and why I am not currently practicing the triple bottom line. Hands down, this was one of the most useful courses, though short, I have ever taken.

Healthcare Economics:
This course was rather bittersweet for me. Mr. Pracht was very patient and was willing to explain the topics to us, but the material was rather complex, too complex for my liking. It is not that I am lazy, however, I feel as though the intensity of the material was not useful for me given this small amount of time we have in the boot camp. Learning about healthcare models and insurance on the first and last day, respectively, we the most useful topics for me and my colleagues. I am extremely grateful for the work dedicated to this course to help us understand the topic, however, I feel as though I would have benefited from this class so much more if there was less material.

Respect

I am realizing so many things about business and myself during this second week of bootcamp. First of all, my confidence in wanting to become a doctor has been solidified by these business courses. I miss science classes! I keep finding myself wandering onto BBC health and science, reading the newest articles about science and healthcare, and being genuinely more interested than I was during the medical school year. Basically, I miss science.

Also, I am realizing how challenging it is for doctors to open up their own practices, not to mention becoming successful; and how much harder it is going to be in the future. There is so much work demanded to have a successful private practice! I definitely have a new found respect for those entrepreneurial doctors.

Just a note, this blog was originally written May 25th.

A Well Deserved Name

The first week of Business Bootcamp is over and it was just that, BOOTCAMP.
Just a word of caution before I start 'blogging': I want to keep this blog as informal and real as possible, no sugar-coating or stretching the truth. I plan to pour my true feelings about my journey through the Bootcamp, good or bad, onto this site, so my words of advice for whomever is reading: sit back, relax, enjoy the ride. And if the first week is any taste of what the rest of the summer will be like, buckle up tight, because it's going to be a crazy ride!

Alright, first of all let me start by giving you my background. I have relatively no formal training in anything related to business at all. Aside from microeconomics, my very first class in college, all of the knowledge (using the word "all" sounds like an overstatement here) of the world of business was picked up here and there during my science-directed life. Let me try to make my knowledge, or lack thereof, clearer. Up to a week ago, I would have defined the stock market as an entity similar to the "force". It is there, everyone knows it is, many are using it (Jedi), but only a few people truly understand what it is (Jedi masters). Whether or not these stock market gurus are Sith Lords or Jedi Masters is a can of worms I am not ready to open; maybe next week after my finance class.

Ok, let's get serious. All in all I feel as though participating in the Business Bootcamp  is the second best decision of the graduate career, the first being going to medical school. We have had two classes so far, Managerial Economics and Sustainability. I feel as though we learned in 4 days what would normally be taught in 4 weeks. Whoever said medical school was like trying to drink from a fire hydrant with a straw, they forgot to mention Business Bootcamp was like fighting a Klingon blindfolded and armless all the while still drinking from that firehydrant through a straw. Great Times.

Ok, I may be exaggerating some, but in all seriousness I was busier these first 4 days than 4 of my hardest, longest days in my first year of medschool. However, I cannot begin to say how much I have learned from our distinguished professors. I would sit in the economics class constantly thinking! Some might say "Thinking? What's wrong with you? You're in Medschool, that's all you do!" But actually no, you are very wrong. Med school is about memorizing and finding a way to make whatever material you memorized individualized to your style of information recall. What we learned in both economics and sustainability really made me contemplate. I was curious to learn more. I needed to learn more.
What we are learning in this course are life skills; skills I feel are necessary to not only be a successful doctor, but an accountable member of society. I feel like I am using a different part of my brain in these classes and I love it.

Forgive me for my non-specific ramble, but I have exhausted my writing chops for now (and a big wasp keeps flying around me). I will post more later this weekend.