Dr. Aniel Majjhoo returns to Wayne State's Mike Ilitch School of Business to fulfill his dream of earning an M.B.A.
Aniel Majjhoo has many feathers in his cap. During his career in medicine, he became certified in neurology, vascular neurology, neurocritical care, interventional neurology and endovascular surgicalneuroradiology. In addition, he is one of only 28 doctors in the country who is certified in interventional neurology by the United Council of Neurologic Subspecialties.
His list of peers grows shorter with each qualification, and with two classes remaining he will soon add an MBA from The Mike Ilitch School of Business.
Majjhoo comes from a Wayne State family. He is the fourth of five brothers, who all attended Wayne State for medical or business education. Majjhoo completed an undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in business administration from Wayne State in 1999 and went on to medical school.
“I had aspirations to get my MBA, and then I got into medical school, and I figured I would do my MBA while I was in medical school, and that never worked out,” explains Majjhoo. “Then residency, and fellowship after fellowship after fellowship, it never worked out.”
Driven by a fascination with the brain, Majjhoo’s medical career began to take him to new places. After residency and participating in fellowships, Majjhoo landed at McLaren Health Care, where he currently serves as the Medical Director of Neuroscience. In 2015, he founded the McLaren Stroke Network which became one of the highest volume telestroke networks in the country.
“I have a passion for neurology and the brain, I like doing procedures and this kind of married both of them,” explained Majjhoo. “Someone comes in, they can’t move one side of their body or talk, and we pull out a clot from their brain and they’re having a conversation with us. It’s amazing work, it’s really high stakes patients. Many of our patients are able to make a full recovery or recover enough function they can return to their homes and communities with minimal assistance. Without surgery patients can have severe morbidity or death.
“I have patients flown out to me from Sault St. Marie, Mackinaw Island, Petoskey, Cheboygan all the time. We have two Comprehensive Stroke Centers which gives us the ability to do these procedures.”
Serving as a medical director of a health system involves business training just as much as it does medicine. As Majjhoo climbed the ladder at McLaren and advanced his career, managing supply chains, labor and staffing, and hospital logistics became more important.
“I often meet with hospital administrators and discuss the financial aspect of medicine,” says Majjhoo. “I thought having an MBA would give me an edge in those situations. Having at least an understanding of the lingo and business aspects of medicine as well. Supply chain management, the finances, accounting, everything it’s a big aspect of what we do as physicians, but unfortunately a lot of physicians have no experience in it.”
This brought Majjhoo back to Wayne State's Mike Ilitch School of Business where he will soon realize his aspiration of completing an MBA. Although he doesn’t yet have the diploma, the material he is learning in class is already proving useful.
“I use it daily. says Majjhoo. “So, it’s nice, I think it gives me a different view of business and medicine as a business as well. Having a business background helps me understand the logistics of medicine.”
Majjhoo hopes that his day-to-day work of directing his department will get smoother after graduation.
“A lot of people who do medicine, myself included, get their undergrad in biology and they work really hard and learn math, science and organic chemistry that they never use,” explains Majjhoo. “The classes at the business school are practical lessons and experience that can help you throughout your life.”
-Patrick Bernas
Medical students with an interest in the business side of medicine can enroll in the dual degree four-year M.D./M.B.A. and finish with an M.B.A. along with their medical degree. For more information and to enroll in the program, head to the program website and get the training and education you need for your next career move today.
