Posted on Dec 4, 2017
CPT Physical Therapist
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I'm in the process of creating a broad professional development program for the next 10 years or so and I'm considering pursuing an Executive MBA with an emphasis in Healthcare in 5 years or so, as it can aid in my transition to the managerial side of healthcare when the time comes. A lot of the more well regarded programs are pretty pricy so I have to make the decision quickly whether to continue funding my wife's grad school through my post 9/11 or if I should save it for my own schooling. Has anyone attended an Executive MBA program mid career? Was it worth the monetary and time investment? I'm especially interested to hear from folks in the healthcare field.
Edited 7 y ago
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LTC Eugene Chu
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Edited 7 y ago
BLUF, good ranked programs can definitely help. The ROTC professor at my alma mater, Texas Christian University, earned an executive MBA. He transitioned into operations management with Amazon.com after his graduation and military retirement. There are also good health care MBA programs too.

I do recommend that you heavily research potential programs. Unranked for-profit schools will probably milk you for GI Bill money with a weak degree or network after graduation. Find good programs through reputable magazine rankings (e.g. US News and World Report, Bloomberg Businessweek, etc.) and talk to your wife about it.
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LT Brad McInnis
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I did an Executive Master's (Global Leadership/MBA lite) mid career. My 2 cents... Most of the benefit of the course is networking. If you are mid career, and have years before you get out, you won't get the benefit of rolling that course into a new job. Business changes so fast, that you have to weigh how much things will change before you work on moving into a new career. It is great to tell a recruiter you have knowledge of Project Management, but haven't used it at all in X # of years as you were finishing your military career. You can overcome this by continuing your education in the military, but how effective will that be? Best of luck!
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LTC Kevin B.
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By "Executive", do you mean an executive format (nights/weekends, hybrid, etc.) or do you mean a program for executives? Those are two completely different things. Also, what role will accreditation play in your decision? Are you only concerned about school-level accreditation such as AACSB, ACBSP, etc., or are also wanting a program that has specialized accreditation (CAHME)?
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CPT Physical Therapist
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Sir, I'm talking about the executive format. I've haven't really looked too much into the accreditation aspect. At this point I'm just trying to get a general lay of the land. Initially I was thinking about the Army-Baylor MHA/MBA program, but I know that would mean an extra ADSO. By the time I am even eligible to apply have a feeling the wife and I will be ready to settle down and finally plant roots.
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CPT Physical Therapist
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Right now I basically trying to decide whether we should keep funding my wife's Master's degree with my post 9/11 GI Bill or whether we save it for my future graduate studies and use loans for her degree (which is much less expensive). If we choose the latter option there is always the risk that I don't even end up going back to school of course.
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LTC Kevin B.
LTC Kevin B.
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CPT (Join to see) - Specialized accreditation (CAHME) will be important if you plan on moving into more of an operational role, especially within hospital or health system settings. If your plans are more aligned with focusing primarily on being a PT, while managing your own clinic(s), then specialized accreditation may not provide much added benefit. If you're somewhere in between those two possibilities, then it might fall into somewhat of a gray zone. If you go the CAHME route, let me know if you need some assistance with finding the right program. I work closely with the accrediting body, and I know many people in the field. Happy to assist as needed.

Regarding the GI Bill vs. loans, not sure I can assist with that decision. You can transfer the GI Bill, but if your wife is finished with school and you don't yet have any children, your transfer options will be minimal (or even non-existent). You might want to check into the rules on transferring before making any final decisions.
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