Dr Kathy Teahon
Executive MBA (Healthcare), Class of 2008

I was appointed consultant in Gastroenterology & Clinical Nutrition in Nottingham in 1996. During the following 12 years I was responsible for the case of need for, setting up and subsequently leading our integrated medical surgical directorate. I was clinical lead for the pan-Trust' ICT & Nutrition programmes and for our successful bid to build a new £4 million endoscopy unit. In these roles I gained a wide experience in Business planning, People, Operations, Strategic and Budget management. Despite this experience however, I was continually frustrated by my need to "Learn as I went" when it came to the business management aspects of my roles. Business and management skills are not well taught in medical school. This would not be good enough for my clinical practice and it certainly was not good enough for management roles. I found myself constantly trying to make my Health Service problems fit the solutions described in commercial business models. The fit was often poor. I needed a better foundation and theoretical understanding of business management as a speciality in its own right and not just an "add on".

In January 2008 I began my Executive MBA in Healthcare, which offers exactly this. I hope to graduate in 2010. Combining this with my busy clinical practice has been a challenge. However the Business School has been extremely flexible allowing me to access both the executive programme which is run in week long modules and the full time programme for evening classes where applicable. My first year was especially exciting when I won a Scholarship from the School to cover my fees. I am having such a wonderful time. My head is bursting with ideas and plans and I just can't wait to complete my studies and get started on my next project .