The Harvard MBA Experience:
Integrating the Skills of a Surgeon, Scientist, Business Manager, and Leader
Gilbert Tang
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As one of the ten MDs in a class of 900 brilliant minds in the Harvard Business
School, I studied accounting, finance, marketing, operations, strategy, negotiation
and entrepreneurship. The pedagogy is based on the Case Method; the cases come from
real business situations (http://www.hbs.edu/mba/academics/
insidethecasemethod.html). We studied J&J's Tylenol crisis, the opening
of an eye hospital in India, the market launch of anticoagulant Bivalirudin and
the Enron scandal. The professor serves as a conduit for us to engage in deep discussions
and exchange fresh perspectives to foster our learning. Among my classmates were
a Brazilian business owner, a Disney corporate strategist, a Navy Seal, a White
House personal aide, and a Microsoft graphics engineer.
Similar to medicine, the Case Method taught me to analyze a situation with given
information, make assumptions and derive an action plan. Within the amphitheatre
classroom I hone my skills to listen actively, think laterally and respond thoughtfully.
The pace and learning environment is intense and I work as long hours at HBS as
in residency. HBS has transformed the way I approach a complex problem. This skill
set will be invaluable at the bench, the bedside or the boardroom.
Baker Library, Harvard Business School
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There has also been a constellation of business leaders to learn from: Microsoft
CEO Steve Balmer, US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, FBI Director Robert Mueller
... even Tony Robbins and Al Gore visited us. A team of us created a business plan
to determine if a hospital should open a Bariatric Surgery Centre. I am writing
a strategic plan for HBS on a Physician Business Education Program. In the fall
I will be working with the world famous strategist Professor Michael Porter on novel
solutions to health care delivery. I will also be helping examine quality and outcomes
for the Massachusetts General Hospital Emergency Department under the supervision
of Dr. David Torchiana, Chair & CEO of Massachusetts General Physicians Organization.
Amphitheatre Classroom
This summer I worked at Medtronic in Minneapolis on business and technology development
in heart valve surgery, where I presented my recommendations to the President of
the CardioVascular Unit Scott Ward and Senior Vice-President of Medicine & Technology
Dr. Steve Oesterle. My job function enabled me to combine clinical medicine, basic
research and business knowledge in a seamless fashion. Working in the industry has
given me a mirroring perspective from practicing surgery, and it will help me both
as an emerging academic surgeon and a leader in healthcare.
I am grateful to the financial support from the Department of Surgery Scholarship
in Surgery Program and Harvard Business School McArthur Fellowship, without which
would have been impossible to experience this transformation in my personal and
professional career development. I look forward to returning to Toronto next summer
to complete my cardiac surgery training.
Gilbert Tang, MD, MSc
Resident, Division of Cardiac Surgery
MBA 2008, Harvard Business School
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