Maitry Patel (GEMBA ’23) is no stranger to working in healthcare.
Maitry Patel
Patel began her career as a Physician Assistant in radiation oncology at Toronto’s University Health Network (UHN), and then became a manager of the radiation program’s research analytics and development team. But as she gained more experience, she realized she wanted to spend her time solving patient-based needs.
“I noticed that the biggest problem with healthcare was that it was often inefficient. I wanted to learn how to help fix that,” Patel says. “I was experiencing day-to-day operational struggles firsthand, and began to realize my mission: to create solutions that not only address these issues, but also prevent them in the future.”
As she was exploring career advancement options, Patel’s husband applied to do an executive MBA. She says that as a financial services professional, he gained value from the MBA degree. She considered doing the same, but with her background in academic healthcare, she realized that she needed to get more specific in her learning.
“His experience was different from mine,” she explains. “Healthcare today faces uniquely complex challenges. We’re not just battling inefficiencies in resource allocation or labour shortages. It's about how effectively we're leveraging technology. Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. There's a critical need to better harness tech solutions to streamline operations, improve patient outcomes, and ensure our systems can do more with less.”
Patel decided to enroll in Rotman’s Global Executive MBA for Healthcare and the Life Sciences (GEMBA-HLS).
Rotman’s 18-month GEMBA-HLS program is designed to help students develop the expertise they need to be leaders and changemakers in healthcare. They have the opportunity to draw on best practices from across the globe, participating in healthcare modules in Toronto, London, Singapore and San Francisco. Curriculum topics vary from strategy and leadership, to operations and business development, to digital health. Students can also bring their own workplace challenges into the classroom and discuss with their peers and professors - which can become part of the learning.
Patel currently works in the United States at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, as manager of clinical operations in radiation oncology. She manages the day-to-day processes of the hospital network across six locations. Her day is made up of process improvement, quality assurance, and strategic discussions to improve care. She also develops learning materials for patients so they can receive clear information about their treatment.
“The program encouraged me to turn challenges into opportunities for improvement and innovation."
—Maitry Patel
Patel credits her time at Rotman as pivotal for her career, and emphasizes the value of her data analytics coursework in particular. "Data Analytics at Rotman transformed my approach to management. It taught me to ground every decision I make in data - whether I’m reallocating staff, scheduling machine usage, coordinating construction efforts, streamlining communications, or making procedural changes," she explains.
She says the leadership courses and discussions at Rotman were crucial to her work in management. "Rotman's leadership courses instilled a profound confidence in me,” she explains. “The program encouraged me to turn challenges into opportunities for improvement and innovation. “Now, when a colleague approaches me with a challenge, my immediate response is, 'Let’s figure it out together.'”
Patel shared another story about learning about leadership during her time at Rotman. “I attended a coffee chat with a female leader of a hospital setting. And she said, ‘if there's one thing you learn from Rotman or an MBA, it's that you might not always be invited to the table, but you can always ask to bring your own chair.’ Now, I always ask to join meetings that I’m interested in.”
“I have the confidence to bring my own chair.”
Written by Meaghan MacSween | More Student Stories »