I am stupid. No, I really am! I seem to enjoy making myself suffer. There I was during the end of 2013, and my life was pretty good. I was an implant dentist, working at my own practice in addition to being a visiting implant dentist (this is a good thing) to another London-based practice. I worked in continuous alternation, with four days one week and six days the next. I made enough money to pursue all my hobbies and interests, whilst being able to save some for what would be an early(ish) retirement.
So why did I decide to do a two-year part-time Executive MBA? Others have continuously questioned my decision… Why are you doing it? What’s the benefit? My answer is simply… Why not? And here’s why, ask yourself:
- Do you believe you know all you need to know about business?
- Do you feel you have the necessary skills to run, manage and understand a business?
I know I don’t! I can do teeth, and I’ve spent almost half my life dedicated to these silly little white things people have in their mouths. However, this hasn’t prepared me for running one, two or even a hundred dental practices. It hasn’t prepared me to understand balance sheets, marketing or accounting. I believe that this is a huge flaw in the current dental undergraduate programme and it’s something which completing an MBA will help me become more knowledgeable in.
I’m no stranger to post-graduate education. After dental school, I completed two Master’s degrees and then did a one-year programme at Warwick University. BUT, the difference is, and I think this applies to a lot of people who choose to do MBAs, that I have no formal training in business or economics.
My main intention for this blog is to provide readers with a first-hand account of the MBA experience at a leading London University from my perspective. If there is a lot of interest I will update this as often as I can, and will even include a few hints and tips in order to survive the MBA process!
Week 1
We meet on two Fridays a month with the odd few days here and there. My aim is to take every Friday off and work on my MBA with the necessary evenings and weekends dedicated to it as required. I will not be reducing my clinical workload as of yet.
When it eventually kicked off, we had a week-long induction into the core topics of the MBA process. So far these have been:
- Managerial Economics
- Financial Management and Accounting
- Marketing Management
- Organisational Behaviour
What I must say, is that the organisation and the structure of the programme has so far been great. There are 37 of us in the group and we are all slowly beginning to bond (with a few characters starting to stand out), and I think it will be an enjoyable two years.
So what did we do in the first week? Well, we started early and finished late; attending numerous lectures. No handouts were required as we followed it all on our University-issued iPad Airs (fancy)! We were provided with an effective combination of group work and individual projects, and I particularly benefited from a great team building exercise where we all contributed to designing, developing and shooting an advert for a fictional app. It was like being on The Apprentice.
My impressions so far is that out of all the studying I have ever done, I think the MBA will be the hardest. I say this as we are not solely just students, we all have full time jobs, careers, friends and families (in a lot of cases, new born babies and young children)! So ultimately, it will be a challenge.
But what a challenge! I have a feeling that it’s already making waves and influencing the way I now think and do things in practice. This can only be a good thing… right?
I will keep you posted!
Dr Nilesh R. Parmar BDS (Lond) MSc (ProsthDent) MSc (ImpDent) Cert.Ortho was voted Best Young Dentist in the East of England in 2009 and runner up in 2010. He was shortlisted at the Private Dentistry Awards in the category of Outstanding Individual 2011 and received Highly Commended for Best Dentist South at the 2013 Dental Awards.
Nilesh has a master’s degree in Prosthetic Dentistry from the Eastman Dental Institute and a master’s degree in Clinical Implantology from King’s College London. He is one of the few dentists in the UK to have a degree from all three London Dental Schools and has recently obtained his Certificate in Orthodontics from Warwick University. His main area of interest is in dental implants and CEREC CAD/CAM technology.
Currently studying for his MBA at Imperial College, London, Nilesh runs a successful seven-surgery practice close to London and is a visiting implant dentist to two central London practices. Nilesh has a never-ending passion for his work and is famed for his attention to detail and his belief that every patient he sees should become a patient for life. He offers training and mentoring to dentists starting out in implant dentistry, more information can be found on his website www.drnileshparmar.com.
