I signed up for the Masters of Business Administration in Healthcare Management (MBAHC) at IMU in March 2020. At that time, I was at a crossroads in my life where I needed to decide what I wanted to do with my career moving forwards.
Back then, there were not many Universities that offered the MBA in Healthcare Management. I found out that IMU was one of the universities offering such a programme. So, I contacted the Admissions Office and was put in touch with the Programme Coordinator at that time, Prof To’ Puan Safurah. We then spoke on the phone at length regarding the programme.
One of the things that she told me in that conversation really stuck with me. She said, “I promise you that even before you complete your MBA, you will experience career progression and will be promoted at work. Just wait and see”. She said it with such conviction. At that time, I was quite amused by what she said, and I was intrigued to find out if it would be true.
Fast forward to three years later, I can safely say that what To’ Puan told me was indeed true. During the course of my studies, I was promoted at my workplace. In addition to that, I was approached with an offer to go and work elsewhere at another leading private hospital.
Looking back at the time of my studies, I chose to do the part-time programme which gave me the flexibility that I needed to juggle family, work and studies at the same time even though the the MBAHC is offered as a full-time and part-time programme.
Very soon after I started the MBAHC, Malaysia went into nationwide lockdown due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. I must commend IMU for seamlessly transforming the teaching modules from a hybrid model to a full online model. We were all in uncharted territory, but the programme was not affected in any way.
Coming from a purely medical background, venturing into the MBAHC opened my eyes as to how healthcare is viewed from a business perspective. I found myself working and thinking differently at the workplace even from very early on in the course. It was no longer about me solely delivering healthcare to the patient.
