These days, it is not uncommon to hear complaints from doctors, nurses, and other clinical staff about policies made by “higher-ups.” Stories of physician burnout, frustration with appointment time limits, and dissatisfaction with policy changes are all too familiar. As a medical student, I have often felt this sentiment that “administration is the enemy.”

However, this past summer, I had the unique opportunity to serve as a medical student business intern, where I observed administrative leaders shaping programs for clinics and hospital service lines. On the administrative side, I noticed frequent tension over physicians deviating from treatment protocols and clinics failing to meet quality or resource metrics.

The view from the other side

Overwhelmingly, exposure to the economic side of health care and working on population health projects gave me greater appreciation for the challenges a hospital system faces in ensuring financial viability and optimal patient outcomes. There was great satisfaction in analyzing big data, drawing on my clinical and experiential knowledge as a medical student to decode trends, and translating this data into ideas and models to achieve significant target goals in patient access.

However, returning to medical school, I was once again thrust into the reality of the on-the-ground clinical workforce. Working with clinicians revealed how policies that look neat on paper often falter in practice. In primary care clinics, physicians were frustrated by their shortened appointment times and changes coming from higher-ups that seemed to create extra work. I saw how policies that were logical in the boardroom were met with resistance by physicians, who received them with unenthusiastic arms. Rightly so, at times, as they were often the ones bearing the weight of overlooked details.

For example, primary care physicians are often encouraged to reduce their number of outpatient referrals. However, before purchasing the equipment to pre-emptively stock in clinics, due diligence must be in place to ensure these physicians have the training and feel comfortable performing certain procedures. While better equipping the clinics may feel like a no-brainer from a cost-effectiveness lens, the clinical workforce is left feeling like the administration is out of touch with their investments.

Ultimately, limited input from the clinical workforce in administrative decision-making and poor physician understanding of health care economics creates the “us” versus “them” mentality.

Bridging the divide with education

In light of this, I propose that the way we bridge this conflict is by acting early to educate medical students on health care economics. While more physicians are starting to realize the importance of business savviness in running a successful practice, many more still believe business does not need to be mixed into medicine, a mindset that deepens the divide. Physicians want to act in their patients’ best interest but often believe it to be at direct odds with administrative policies designed to increase operational efficiency.

However, the reality is that we cannot practice medicine if the broader health care system sinks under debt. Yes, health care is a universal right, but economics touch almost every facet of our practice, from hospital equipment to prescription drug costs. Therefore, it should be on us as medical students and clinicians to care about or at least seek to understand health care economics, especially if we’re to complain about the policies that administrative leadership implement. At the very least, we can acknowledge that a better understanding of the financial underpinnings of insurance and billing can better guide us towards cost-effective treatments for our patients.

In fact, the rise in popularity of MD/MBA programs may indicate an appetite for such training. However, the level of training and additional costs that come with an MBA is not suitable or necessary for all students and physicians. For most, lower cost and shorter duration online certificate courses are a great way to gain exposure to health care economics (e.g., Harvard Online has a six-week course for $1,600 and Coursera offers a seven-hour course for free). While the U.S. health care system is unbelievably complex, I believe the imperative still lies on us to seek to gain a basic understanding of the system if we truly want change.

A shared vision

Believe it or not, my summer business internship showed me that patient outcomes and better health truly do show up in the discussions of administration just as frequently as financial figures. Understanding the economics of health care is the first step in cultivating understanding between physicians and administrators. Once we realize we’re on the same team, we can better work together towards a shared goal of better health.

So, let’s start now. As the clinical workforce, we should commit to learning the basics of health care economics, whether through a short online course, a workshop, or even coffee chats with administrative leaders. The more we understand the financial realities shaping our system, the better equipped we are to advocate for our patients and design solutions that work in practice, not just on paper.

Angela Wei is a medical student.