Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU), a medical school with campuses in St. Louis and Puerto Rico, has launched a unique continuing education pipeline with the University of Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS) in Cambridge, England.
This arrangement will provide PHSU’s administrators who are accepted into CJBS’ Executive MBA program with new abilities to help them enhance the school’s student experience and academic offerings. It will also allow the administrators to develop international awareness and relationships that will support PHSU’s efforts to address global issues in medical education.
The relationship between PHSU and CJBS represents the first and only such higher education collaboration of its kind in the U.S. and the U.K.
“To meet the expanding wellness needs of the world’s populations, medical schools must increase the scope of, quality of, and access to the healthcare education they offer,” says Dr. David Lenihan, President of PHSU. “To achieve this, our administrators and executives from medical backgrounds are diversifying their outlooks and amplifying their skill sets with CJBS’ MBA degree.
“The MBA education will give them essential entrepreneurship and business knowledge to make the best outcomes possible for our programs and students. It will also help to amplify PHSU’s delivery of top-tier, forward-thinking medical education in the United States.”
Dr. Kenira Thompson, who is the President and Director of Research at Ponce Research Institute and a Professor at PHSU, is a 2023 graduate of the CJBS MBA program. She saw the immediate relevance of her CJBS coursework to her work.
“Very quickly, I was able to develop business expertise that made me more confident with the day-to-day operations of my current role,” says Dr. Thompson. “As the CJBS program progressed, I was introduced to business ideas, study areas, and topics that have improved the way I lead our teams in St. Louis and Ponce, Puerto Rico.”
Dr. Thompson believes that MBAs can help administrators at medical schools across the U.S. and around the world - almost all of whom come from science or social science backgrounds - to attain essential business administration skills that will dramatically sharpen their execution.
“Cambridge’s MBA program accentuates entrepreneurship, and this helps med school leaders to think creatively, adapt to change, and understand the importance of balancing top academic program quality with expansion and growth opportunities”, says Dr. Thompson. “It’s a combination that ensures an exciting and promising future for our students, faculty, and programs.”
Two PHSU administrators, including Dr. Thompson, have earned their MBAs from CJBS. Two additional administrators are completing the program, and two more will begin in August.
PHSU will send a total of ten of its team members to CJBS for the school’s MBA program.
Ponce Health Sciences University has over 45 years of experience in providing world-class medical education to students across the programs offered in our academic portfolio. We have produced over 4,000 graduates in Medicine, Clinical Psychology, Biomedical Sciences, Public Health, Nursing, and soon, Dental Medicine.
PHSU is widely recognized in Puerto Rico and globally for its strong focus on health sciences. We incorporate a robust scientific research component that addresses health disparities within the Latino community and other minority groups.
With the opening of our St. Louis campus in 2018, we are proud to bring our world-class educational and healthcare initiatives to an even wider audience, furthering our mission to meet the international demand for qualified and talented healthcare professionals.