. Having studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, she trained in the Mater Hospital in Dublin. She has lectured in UCD, specialising in geriatric medicine, and subsequently trained as a GP.
“It’s not even in terms of making profits,” she says. “It’s that the more efficient your practice is, the more efficient you are at treating your patients. You can limit delays, you can have early access to diagnostics and treatments, and all that comes from skills that you don’t learn in medicine. I felt that the skills I got from the MBA would really assist me with that.”
Eimear opted for the Modular Executive MBA, as it is undertaken part-time over two years, allowing students to work full-time alongside it.“I am learning so many new skills that apply to healthcare such as leadership and management skills to look at ways to streamline processes within our healthcare system, improve patient care and manage resources and staff effectively,” she explains.
“We forget sometimes that healthcare is one of the most complex systems in the world, and applying key concepts from business can help bring about the change that is needed within our healthcare system, from financial planning in order to ensure efficient use of resources, organisational behaviour to understand the effects of people’s behaviour within the workplace, and human resources, addressing issues related to recruitment and retention within our healthcare system.