Laura Dicker

In looking at graduate schools, I actually applied to both public health schools and business schools. Though I was admitted to other programs, including some dual MBA-MPH degree programs, I ultimately decided that the most pressing issues facing the U.S. health care system are really business and operational issues that require the skills of an MBA education. As I began asking people who work in hospital administration, I heard time and time again that pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School would, by far, be the best preparation I could get towards this end. Looking back on these last two years, I am incredibly pleased with the decision. My interest in hospital administration has been long-standing. As a non-pre-med biology major at Georgetown University, I had long held an interest in science and health, but never desired to practice medicine. As a result, I peppered my education with a range of elective courses, including accounting and finance, in order to obtain a more well-rounded education for future jobs that would likely fall outside the biology field. I enjoyed my business coursework, but believed there must be some way to pursue a career in business off Wall Street. It was not until my senior year, when I took a course on health care delivery systems, that I discovered the perfect fit for my interests: hospital administration. After graduation, I will be an HBS Leadership Fellow at the Hospital for Special Surgery, an orthopedic hospital located in New York City. This one-year fellowship program, sponsored in part by HBS, encourages graduating HBS students to seek career opportunities in not-for-profit and public sector organizations. My role at the Hospital for Special Surgery will include working on various strategic planning projects with the hospital's executive team. In the long-term, I hope to continue working in hospital administration, but will likely transition into a more operational role as the administrative director over an inpatient clinical unit for three to five years. Taking on a direct operational role would allow me to further develop both my strategy and implementation skills to tackle the complex problems faced in academic medicine and enable continued interaction with administrative leadership. Moreover, the experience would provide a strong practical foundation to transition to a more senior position as vice president or director of planning and operations.