"Doctors also need management skills" - Hiroaki Aoki　

Ebara Home Care Clinic
Juntendo University Department of Urology
Hiroaki Aoki (Doctor)

PgDip (Certificate Program) Tokyo, September 2016
After graduating from The Jikei University School of Medicine, he worked as a doctor in clinical practice, research, and education.

Doctors also need management skills.

　As a physician, I provide medical services to support people's health. While it is essential for physicians to acquire the latest medical knowledge and skills, once they have built up a certain level of career, they are required to have the ability to manage a medical team and also management skills with regard to hospital operations. If you open a business, you will also become a manager.
　The medical industry has recently entered a difficult phase with M&As among hospitals and the bankruptcy of private clinics. In addition, the medical administration is facing various problems such as the increasing cost of medical care and the disparity between regions, and I feel a strong sense of stagnation. Under these circumstances, I felt that in order to sustain my ideal of medical care, I needed not only to update my medical knowledge as I had been doing, but also to have the ability to adapt to various environments.
　Whether I work at a hospital or open my own business, I have always wanted to do management work, so I have been thinking of studying business at least once.

Why I chose NUCB Business School's PgDip program as my next stage of study

　I am busy with my work, but now that I can finally find the time, I have started to think about getting an MBA. However, my work inevitably requires me to be on duty at night and on holidays, and to deal with sudden changes in patients. For these reasons, I needed an environment where classes could be held on weekends and not interfere with my day job to take care of patients' health.
　Since I am a doctor, obtaining an MBA will not directly affect my income or promotion as long as I practice medicine. I was also concerned about whether I would be able to keep up with the classes and whether I would be able to continue since I had never had any exposure to business before.
　Therefore, I thought that I could adjust my schedule if I could attend 12 classes (*) in a year to learn the essence of MBA from the basics, with each class being completed in two days on weekends. I was also attracted to the fact that the annual curriculum was designed to provide a wide range of business knowledge, and that I would be able to leave behind a "certificate of completion" upon completion. If I find myself wanting to learn more during the course of my studies, I will consider moving on to an MBA.

In the PgDip program, students take 18 courses per year and earn 12 credits to complete the program.

Classes with strong impressions

The first class I took was "Critical Thinking". I thought I had been thinking logically for some time, but when I actually tried to write things down on paper, I realized that I hadn't been thinking about it as much as I thought. The classes are discussion-based, so there is always a sense of tension. I had the impression that the two days of classes on Saturdays and Sundays went by in a flash.
　I thought I had done enough preparation, but when I went to class, I found out that I was lacking in many areas. If you don't prepare for the class, you won't be able to speak at all, and the class won't be half as effective as it could be. I now understand what they mean when they say that preparation is important.

How do you plan to apply what you have learned in the future?

　After studying the PgDip, I felt that some of the tasks and ideas in healthcare are linked to business. Of course, in medicine, the patient is the top priority, so there are a few areas that should not be pursued in a business manner. However, by accepting these differences, I think I was able to broaden my thinking. While taking the class, I am always looking for hints to solve problems in my business the next day.
　I would like to use what I have learned at NUCB Business School to provide new medical services.

Information sessions are held on weekday evenings and weekends at our campuses in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka to introduce the PreMBA program and how to enroll in it. Individual consultations are also available at any time.