Best EMBA Programs for Healthcare Professionals

Like it or not, healthcare is a business—and a global one at that.

For healthcare workers looking to become administrative and executive leaders in their industry, medical know-how may not be enough: having the lens of a businessperson can be vital when trying to advance one’s career beyond the day-to-day dealings with patients. Conversely, a healthcare executive with a business background instead of a medical one may also be looking to gain a greater understanding of the deep complexities of his or her industry.

Several EMBA programs offer specialties in healthcare to best address this unique and growing industry. Often, cohorts in these programs are made up of a range of people in the industry from both the medical side as well as the corporate side. Below are several of the most notable and prestigious programs now available:

• The Brown University Executive Master of Healthcare Leadership

For 16-months, senior administrators, executives and practitioners gather for Brown’s program to help them transform the future of the healthcare industry. Participants are expected to be working full time while pursuing this degree which unites some residential courses with other, online learning. Because of the specialized nature of this degree and its accomplished and in-demand cohort, Brown emphasizes peer-to-peer learning in addition to close instruction from renowned faculty.

Brown excels particularly in the fields of public health, the economics of healthcare and evidence-based medicine. By giving its students the opportunity to best understand the drawbacks to our current system, the program is able to challenge them to find the top solutions for tomorrow. 

Also see: The IE-Brown Executive MBA

• The Fuqua School of Business at Duke’s Health Sector Management Program

The largest health industry program in the country, Duke’s Health Sector Management (HSM) Program offers a range of options for prospective students. Working executives can pursue a weekend EMBA and HSM Certificate while they continue their full time jobs—however, participants must reside on Duke’s Durham, North Carolina campus during the brief but vital elective term. The program also offers a global option—but still requires residency during the final of the six terms.

Duke’s HSM program offerings also include one for Fuqua alumni seeking to bolster their industry expertise. There is also an HSM Bootcamp that provides students already pursuing a certificate with an even more intensive one-week course of study.

Also see: The Duke Global Executive MBA

• Yale School of Management’s EMBA: Leadership in Healthcare

Yale’s 22-month long EMBA program mirrors much of the same curriculum as the school’s full-time MBA. Much of the first year is spent on core studies—similar to Yale’s MBAs—with an additional Colloquium on Healthcare Leadership. The Colloquium gives students access to CEOs and other leaders in the healthcare space in a seminar style. The program’s second year is more tailored to healthcare topics. Faculty includes a blend of business school professors as well as others from the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale School of Public Health.

EMBA program participants in Yale’s Leadership in Healthcare course of study can also pursue independent research based on opportunities available to the individual.

Also see: The Yale EMBA for Executives

Bottom Line:

The advantages of pursuing a specialized EMBA can provide a mid-career healthcare worker with the network and insight to compete in an industry undergoing transition. With programs that blend business school acumen with the top minds in the medical field today, participants on both the clinical and the corporate side of the healthcare industry can grow their careers with a focused EMBA.