Confessions of an MBA grad: life in the real world.

Opinions I t's a feeling we all remember: crossing the stage on graduation day. You were a somebody, and a new chapter of your life was about to begin. Your degree in hand, you headed to the real world to make your mark. For us, time has moved at warp speed since our MBA convocation in 2010, and this felt like an appropriate " anniversary " to reflect on our first two years as young MBAs working in healthcare. Once you've secured your first job, Corporate Orientation marks your initiation into the world of your new employer. It is like taking a warm bath before being thrown into the ocean – the messaging is inspirational, you feel rosy cheeked and bright eyed, you get your name badge and computer login – it's all painless. Then you realize that being employed in health-care means living in an alphabet soup, where everything (and everyone) has an acronym. You get called to your first meeting on 3T with an RN, an RT and a PCM, and you realize you haven't a clue where the meeting room is, you can't remember anyone's name and you don't know who " Suzanne " is to get the briefing materials from. Thankfully, those three magic letters M-B-A after your name will carry you through, won't they? At some point, your presence will be discovered, followed by the statement, " How could you understand? You're not a clini-cian. " Even if you're only at the meeting to observe, some may think you're there with a certain agenda: A spy for administration perhaps? Or maybe even for the College of Physicians and Surgeons! But you soldier on – working toward deliverables that will help improve patient care and building relationships to help guide you on the journey. In time you begin proving your worth, and opportunity knocks – you are asked to join a corporate committee. You salivate with excitement. This is your big break. You're ready to facilitate important discussion and help make the big decisions. And then you realize your role is in a support capacity – assisting with the agenda setting, taking notes at the meeting and being the resource. Not as high flying as expected, but you enjoy the perks of being a fly on the wall. In no time, you are watching new programs take shape, seeing strategy translated into action, listening in on …