MBA in Health Care Administration: Finding the Right MBA Degree for a Future Pharmacist

I'm just starting Pharmacy School but I look forward to maybe using my MBA to, move into management in pharmacoeconomics.

When I first started looking around, I wanted an MBA that would complement my future Doctor of Pharmacy degree. And I looked around a lot of state schools, but I was mostly interested in South University because I could get my master's in business in half the time with a great educational background from a variety of professors and in the convenience of my own home.

World Wide Learn chatted with Ryan about his experiences getting his MBA in Health Care Administration online so that he could best prepare himself for pharmacy school.

World Wide Learn:	Lots of people put off graduate degrees because there never seems to be a convenient time. Where did your motivation to get your MBA come from?
Ryan Homeschild	I was out of school and tutoring, and the job market was really tough. I knew that a master's in business was going to be essential, especially because I knew I was going to pharmacy school. I knew the Master of Business degree was a good choice because so much of health care is business now. When I found the MBA with a health care concentration at South University, I knew then that it was a good time to come back to school to fortify my future career.
World Wide Learn:	Tell us a bit about South University online's MBA in Health Care curriculum. What were its strengths?
Ryan Homeschild	I think the strong points of the curriculum were a lot of faculty interaction and a lot of student interaction. I had a lot of experienced students in my class who had been working in corporate jobs for years and decided it was important to come back and get their master's of business. And they brought strength to the class discussions--making different points and offering different perspectives. I think that collaborative effect together with a strong curriculum proved to be effective.
World Wide Learn:	South University really stresses the importance of student support. What support did you receive as an South University online MBA student?
Ryan Homeschild	I received my main support from the faculty. They were always there to help. If I wasn’t clear on an assignment or I wasn’t clear on a certain strategy that was used in the real world, they’d help clarify through email, and they were always available through phone calls. And my academic advisor was also very helpful. He was always just a phone call away and helped mediate any problems I had.
World Wide Learn:	You mentioned that you considered several schools, including campus-based state schools. How did you decide that an online degree program was the right choice for you?
Ryan Homeschild	For me, online learning is really not much different than the typical classroom. I attended a huge undergraduate university, and I found that I had more faculty interaction through my online classes. The future of communication is through email anyway and a lot of my discussion posts were even stronger because people were more willing to discuss their opinions and not be so reserved. Because online classes are smaller, I could always get in touch with people. Learning online is really at your own convenience and it really works to your benefit.
World Wide Learn:	So the online format actually made classroom discussions with classmates more interactive and beneficial for you as a student? Can you give us an example?
Ryan Homeschild	For example, I had a classmate who was a pharmacy manager and after hearing his opinions, I always came with a different perspective. I tried to utilize what minimal health care background I had, and he always expanded upon that. His experience specifically was in the management of drugs, and I came from more of an academic background where I would look at the supply chain management. He would say, you know what, that’s a good theory but sometimes in the real world you can’t exactly adapt that theory. He always gave me advice that I’m going to use in my future practice.
World Wide Learn:	Everyone is busy. How did South University online programs contribute to your ability to balance your work/life commitments?
Ryan Homeschild	The faculty was really encouraging because it is demanding taking a master's of business program online. The important part is time management. When I’m at my job every day it is difficult, but I needed to learn to manage my time and bein the classroom portal every day, too. The faculty will encourage you. The online classroom is to be used daily but at your own convenience. And I think that the convenience part is perfect because it allowed me to work at the same time and go to school. I got my assignments in on time and learned strong principles.
World Wide Learn:	Was there any specific part about your online learning experience at South University that you'd like to share with others who might be hesitant about enrolling in an online degree program?
Ryan Homeschild	To me South University’s portal was an online classroom but more interactive. You had an opportunity to request transcripts, to see current grades, to even talk to your professor--you can go ahead and email them. You could post a question, and you had an area where you could just post regular conversation. It was very interactive, and you could discuss many subjects at one time.