Beyond the Bedside: How SOM’s Emergency Medicine Fellows Transform Healthcare Systems
Each year, a resident at Yale School of Medicine joins Yale SOM’s MBA for Executives program for the Emergency Medicine Fellowship. As the fellowship marks its 10th anniversary, students and graduates reflect on how the program has impacted their career and equipped them to advocate for patients.
Why should an emergency physician consider an MBA?
Monisha Dilip ’24
Assistant director of quality and patient safety, department of emergency medicine, Columbia University Medical Center; Assistant professor, Columbia University Medical Center
An MBA offers a structured framework for understanding how healthcare systems function beyond the bedside. Emergency departments sit at the intersection of operations, finance, policy, and clinical care. Many of the challenges we face—crowding, staffing, resource allocation—are operational and strategic in nature. Business training provides tools to analyze these issues rigorously and design durable solutions.
The program also expands how you think. You learn to approach problems from multiple perspectives—organizational behavior, finance, strategy, systems design—and to engage with colleagues outside of medicine who bring different expertise to the table. For an emergency physician, that broader lens can translate into better decision-making, stronger leadership, and more effective advocacy for patients and staff.
Mitchell Blenden ’26
In my experience, physicians are rarely taught the business side of medicine. We learn how to take care of patients, but not how hospitals make decisions, manage resources, or think strategically. In emergency medicine especially, we work in the middle of operations, staffing, reimbursement, and patient flow issues every day without formal training in any of it. An MBA helps fill that gap. It helps physicians better understand the system they practice in, and have a voice in shaping it.
Andrew Oh ’18
Vice chief of clinical operations and medical director, emergency department, Los Angeles General Medical Center; Assistant professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine
An MBA exposes you to frameworks and case studies from entirely different industries that become helpful when you’re working through operational logistics or leading cross-functional teams. As you take on more senior roles, you'll increasingly find yourself in rooms where people are discussing P&L statements, ROI, KPI dashboards, and NPV calculations. An MBA allows you to actively participate in those conversations and cuts down what would otherwise be a steep learning curve.
How have you pursued impact in your career since graduating?
Kwame Tuffuor ’23
Assistant medical director, Yale Emergency Medicine, medical director of culture and climate; Clinical instructor of emergency medicine, Yale School of Medicine
For me, impact is best pursued in three specific areas. First, I aim to provide excellent patient care, with a focus on underserved populations and health equity. Second, I aim to uplift and provide mentorship to medical students, residents, and junior faculty. Third, I aim to engage in scholarly productivity to address health disparities.
Adriana Coleska ’22
Medical director, Grady Marcus Trauma and Emergency Care Center; Assistant professor, department of emergency medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
I strive for efficiency as a clinician and a medical director. That includes using ambient technology for documentation; writing well-structured and not-very-verbose emails to update my team on operational changes; running organized meetings; and using AI for tasks like patient triage in order to free up nursing time.
Andrew Oh
Since graduation, I’ve become vice chief of clinical operations at LA General Medical Center, an academic hospital serving Los Angeles County. Beyond mentoring the many residents who’ve graduated from our program at the center, I’ve tried to stay connected to my MBA training by coordinating a two-week “Business of Medicine” seminar for third-year medical students through the USC Keck School of Medicine. Inspired by what Howie Forman has built, I also took on the role of director of MD/MBA students, where I mentor those pursuing the dual degree.
Wendy Sun ’25
Assistant medical director, emergency department, NYP Allen Hospital; Assistant professor, Columbia University Medical Center
Since graduating, I have approached problems with a more strategic and systems-oriented mindset. This has allowed me to drive more sustainable and scalable improvements in care delivery.
Kito Lord ’16
Senior director of physician advisory services, Regional One Health; CMO liaison for information and technology, Regional One Health; Assistant professor of emergency medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
During COVID, the lessons from my MBA became essential. We implemented rapid-cycle process improvements, strengthened communication structures, and relied on trust across teams. Despite the challenges, our department remained focused on delivering the highest level of care possible. It was the most difficult period of my career—and the most meaningful.
Since then, I have transitioned into broader hospital leadership. I established our physician advisor program, strengthened our informatics infrastructure, and now serve as a principal investigator for a regional biorepository and integrated genomics initiative.
Throughout these roles, the mission has remained consistent: demonstrating what is possible when physicians are empowered to lead, and when emergency medicine is recognized as a driver of value across the healthcare system.
Looking Back, Looking Forward: Fellowship Leaders Reflect
Howard Forman
Professor of radiology and biomedical imaging, economics, public health, and management; Co-founder, Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership, MD/MBA Program, and MBA for Executives Program
Yale has the unique advantage of having an elite medical school, a quaternary care academic medical center, a school of public health, and an amazing business and leadership academy—all on one campus. The Emergency Medicine Administrative fellows bring unique experiences and queries into the classroom, and all of our students benefit. In turn, the school has deeply and positively impacted these fellows and the many trainees, students, and compeers that work with them.
Arjun Venkatesh
Anthony N. Brady Professor of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine; Chief of emergency medicine, Yale New Haven Health; Scientist, Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation
Administrative and leadership training for emergency physician leaders is always changing, and the next decade will be no exception. While the format of classes and the character of physician executive jobs may evolve, the foundation of an MBA alongside a dedicated administration fellowship will be just as important for bright young physicians. The key is to find a program like ours that teaches tomorrow’s management skills—including advanced data analysis and the use of AI—while pairing the classroom with real leadership roles in a busy and comprehensive healthcare system.
What’s one lesson from the EMBA program that you apply in your day-to-day work?
Monisha Dilip
One of the most practical lessons from the core course Operations and from Professor Pinker’s class Healthcare Operations was how to think systematically about flow in complex systems. Professor Pinker’s course made these concepts tangible in the healthcare setting. We examined how process design, variability, capacity, and incentives shape outcomes. In emergency medicine, nearly every challenge can be reframed as a flow problem. Rather than reacting to surface-level problems, I now ask: where is the constraint in this system? Which step in the process is the true bottleneck? What data do we need to confirm that, and what levers can we realistically pull to address it?
Andrew Oh
I find myself thinking back to Daylian Cain’s course Negotiations all the time. One thing that really stuck with me was the idea of growing the pie: looking for things that matter a lot to the other party but cost you relatively little. I use this constantly as an emergency department leader when I’m negotiating workflows or consultation policies with specialty services. In a hospital, you’re dealing with the same stakeholders repeatedly and building relationships you’ll rely on long-term—so finding solutions where everyone wins matters.
Mitchell Blenden
Many of the “soft skills” I learned during my EMBA journey are easily applied to my day-to-day work. One of the biggest lessons is the importance of team dynamics. The program reinforced that outcomes are rarely about individual talent; they depend on how well a team communicates, aligns on goals, and executes under pressure. In the emergency department, that shows up constantly. Clear roles, shared priorities, and direct communication make the difference between chaos and flow. I’m much more intentional now about how I structure conversations, manage conflict, and keep everyone focused on the same objective.
Kito Lord
Art Swersey’s work on queuing theory reshaped how I think about emergency department flow and boarding. Howard Forman’s lectures on healthcare delivery deepened my understanding of the structural and financial complexities of our system. The course Business and Society reinforced that organizations can simultaneously advance financial performance, patient care, and societal well-being.
The most enduring lessons have come from Jim Baron’s work on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which has fundamentally changed how I lead. Intrinsic motivation is the most powerful force in medicine. It powers years of training, long hours of patient care, and continuous self-improvement, often in the absence of immediate external rewards. It drives physicians to show up each day, even within a strained and imperfect system.
Rohit Sangal ’21
Associate medical director, adult emergency department, Yale New Haven Hospital; Director, administration fellowship, department of emergency medicine, Yale School of Medicine
One enduring lesson is that good ideas fail without attention to incentives, workflow, and governance. Early in my career, I believed that strong data and clinical logic would be enough. The EMBA program taught me that implementation is its own discipline and that understanding stakeholders, incentives, and operational reality is just as important as being “right.” That lesson shows up daily in my work now, whether I’m designing clinical pathways, deploying analytics, or evaluating new technologies. It also informs how I coach fellows as the current director of the Emergency Medicine Fellowship.
Are there any opportunities, relationships, or successes that wouldn’t have been possible without your fellowship at SOM?
Wendy Sun
The most unexpected benefit has been the enduring community. The relationships and network continue to provide support, collaboration, and inspiration long after graduation. The Yale degree is valuable—but the Yale community is what truly stays with you.
Adriana Coleska
I became medical director of two large academic emergency departments within three years of graduation. I had the opportunity to attend a CEO summit and build relationships with executives from the top U.S. companies. And I have remained close friends with my first-year group. We come from a variety of industries, and they keep me knowledgeable and motivated to strive for more.
Rohit Sangal
The program completely reshaped the way I think about motivation. Learning from Jim Baron fundamentally changed my assumptions about what drives people at work. I went in thinking compensation was the primary lever; I came out understanding that autonomy, creativity, purpose, and the quality of colleagues often matter more. That perspective now directly informs how I approach workforce engagement, change management, and implementation in the emergency room. Another surprise was how much the program gave me confidence to step into ambiguity. Whether taking on leadership roles without a clear job description or navigating emerging areas like AI in medicine, the EMBA provided both the frameworks and the self-assurance to move forward thoughtfully.
One of the most valuable parts of the fellowship was having a built-in partner for problem-solving, reflection, and growth. For me, that was my co-fellow, Jean Scofi ’20. She was a year ahead and already exploring the informatics space, which influenced how I started thinking about data and operations early on. We went through the fellowship during COVID, so we were in the operational trenches together—building workflows, adapting to constant change, and troubleshooting in real time. Some of the dashboards and tools we worked on together are still in use today, and she also encouraged me to get involved nationally, which opened important opportunities in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Shashank Ravi ’19
Medical director of heath plans and value based care, Stanford Health Care; Director of quality and associate professor, department of emergency medicine, Stanford University
Having moved to the West Coast, I was unsure how strong the SOM network would extend. However, I continue to tap into the expertise of formative mentors and classmates from my time at SOM—I know I can bounce ideas off them, or bring them to speak to my current teams.
Kito Lord
The most unexpected benefit was meeting my wife. Despite taking similar classes and sharing many of the same circles at Yale SOM, we had never met. It was not until a chance encounter one evening at a restaurant in New Haven that our paths finally crossed. What began as a conversation became a partnership that now spans our personal and professional lives, including raising a family together.
Looking back, are there any opportunities or successes that wouldn’t have been possible for you without a business education?
Shashank Ravi
Running a health plan would not have been possible without a business education. While I had gained the medical knowledge previously, the skills obtained from my MBA degree allowed me to be considered for a role just a few years later at a new organization that required blending the medical knowledge with the operational realities of the business world.
Kwame Tuffuor
Business education has provided access to a network of leaders in their respective fields. These relationships strengthen my knowledge and growth in senior level management.
Andrew Oh
A lot of the leadership roles I’ve held and educational initiatives I’ve participated in wouldn’t have been accessible without the fellowship. Yale SOM gave me the tools and credibility to make the most of them.
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program and the Emergency Medicine Administration Fellowship. Prospective students can register for a pre-assessment to get personalized feedback from a member of the admissions team.
