Introduction
Physicians in leadership are an increasingly necessary component of health system administration, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under evolving socioeconomic conditions, physicians are expected to navigate administrative responsibilities while delivering effective patient care. In response to the growing need for physician leadership and student interest in management skills, the Strategic Management Elective (SME) was launched at the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) in 2020. The course was initially well received but faced dwindling enrollment over time. This study evaluated drivers of enrollment in medical school electives and made recommendations to increase medical student enrollment in this course.
Methods
Course evaluations from 2020 to 2022 were reviewed (n = 29). Interviews were conducted with UMMS leadership program faculty and at peer institutions to identify opportunities for improvement in recruitment and curriculum. Additionally, the UMMS student body was studied quantitatively and qualitatively through an online survey (n = 92) and focus groups (n = 12), respectively, to understand student priorities and craft effective marketing strategies.
Results
Analysis of evaluations revealed high satisfaction (4.86 and 4.77) with the course curriculum. Only 20 percent of respondents had heard of the SME before taking the student body survey. Of those, 50 percent heard of it through word of mouth. In general, mentor recommendation was the single most important determinant in elective course selection. 63 percent of the respondents who had never heard of the SME became interested after reading about it. Focus groups revealed that the business learning objectives of the curriculum should be more apparent in the course title and description to drive enrollment.
Conclusions
Physician-leaders constitute a growing share of executives in the most successful healthcare organizations, so their academic preparation for management roles is paramount. Our findings have implications for integrating business and leadership curricula into medical education. First, openness to feedback and regular review of program performance is essential to a healthy and growing institution. Next, distinctive branding and specific course descriptors create a clear identity to attract enrollees. Finally, a successful elective must graduate alumni who continue to speak highly of the course to future student cohorts.