I have long contended that some sort of business education or degree should be mandatory for every practicing physician.

Skills like running a business and the art of negotiation are just as important as clinical aptitude. The medical profession’s lack of business skills is a major reason why physicians have lost control of their profession, and why doctors have so little influence in the health care debate.

Those who don’t think so are sorely naive and will be in for a harsh wake-up call when faced with post-graduation reality.

I’m happy to see that others agree:

A common fallacy shared by many medical students and pre-meds is that doctors are isolated from business practices such as marketing, management, and finance. A rude awakening is applied to anyone upon graduating residency when he discovers that the laws of economics apply to medicine just as easily as they apply to any other employment field. Many doctors are woefully unprepared for running a hospital or clinic.