Michael Burgess, Distinguished Alumni 2003
Dr. Michael Burgess enjoyed a successful private practice and served as chief of obstetrics at Lewisville Medical Center. But, as a second-generation physician, he also wanted to create a more efficient medical clinic and find new ways to improve America's healthcare system. Already armed with a bachelor's and a master's degree from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) and his M.D. from The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, the doctor didn't look for the answer to those problems at traditional medical schools. Instead, he turned to The University of Texas at Dallas.
"I was in the Alliance for Medical Management Education (AMME) program from May 1998 to May 2000," Dr. Burgess says. "We met one week every quarter. Every segment of the program was beneficial to my career as a physician."
In fact, it was through that graduate business degree program, designed for physicians and senior healthcare administrators and jointly run by The UTD School of Management and U.T. Southwestern Medical School, that Dr. Burgess found innovative new ways to overhaul his practice. "During the leadership section, I wrote a paper on the cost-benefit analysis of in-office bone-density screenings. My findings were so compelling that I purchased a bone-density machine, the first of its kind in Lewisville, and began offering this service," he says.
"I also took lessons from all of the sections and was able to formulate a business plan that eventually brought to the area a free-standing surgical center, which is still in existence today. Overall, the program provided me with various new methodologies for analyzing the business and management aspects of my medical office."
Dr. Burgess not only appreciates his new skills, he has also found a new arena in which to apply them. Last year, he entered politics and staged an upset in the 26th Congressional District, which includes much of Denton County as well as parts of Collin, Dallas and Tarrant counties. He says the same principles that prompted him to reinvent his medical practice also allowed him to reinvigorate his career goals, and they apply as well to Capitol Hill as they do to the healing arts.
When AMME Director John McCracken, Ph.D., instituted the program, "it was ideally suited for practicing physicians," Dr. Burgess notes. "The goal of the program was to ensure that the physicians, not outside consultants, would continue to manage their medical offices."
As Dr. Burgess delved deeper into the curriculum, he was inspired by the portion of the program that looked beyond the routine of a medical practice.
"The government section provided me with an entirely new line of work," he says, adding that he was able to return the favor somewhat when the most recent AMME class visited Washington, D.C., this past spring.
"I was able to pass along the knowledge I've gained from working on the Hill," he says.
Congressman Burgess is the only Texas Republican to serve on the prestigious Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He also serves on the Committee on Science, which monitors programs to ensure that federal tax dollars are being spent wisely on the pursuit of science and technology.
Even though his career path has been re-directed, Dr. Burgess remains committed to medicine, with the goal of improving America's healthcare system topping his list. He lauds programs such as those provided by UTD, claiming that they will help take physicians to the next needed level of expertise - ultimately improving the quality of care for the public.
By providing management training specifically for physicians, UTD aids medical office efficiency, he says. "Having doctors' offices be more efficient translates to more time with patients."
"In times where medical professionals are being pulled in multiple directions, having these basic management skills provides some method to the madness."
-- Management Vol. 7 No. 1 Autumn 2003, by Paula Felps
