As a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician, Mohamad Halabi, Executive MBA ’22 candidate, has seen firsthand the way a sudden injury can take a child’s life off course.

Anything from a car accident to a broken bone, a stabbing or an ATV mishap can lead to months of surgeries and recovery, putting a persistent strain on the mental health of patients and their families.

Halabi knew from his work in the ER that pediatric trauma and injury prevention was an area he wanted to become a leader in, to help stop the cycle of trauma. He figured an Executive MBA would be the best way to put himself in a position to bring about that change.

“Injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in children, this is why I have decided to dedicate my career to this major public health issue,” says Halabi, who specializes in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s Hospital in London, Ont.

“I want to make the biggest difference I can. I’ve always tried to challenge myself in my medical career, and now the challenge is to influence systemic change not only on a local level but on a national stage. I felt an EMBA would provide the skills needed to help improve the healthcare system at various levels and vantage points.”

Halabi opted for Ivey’s Executive MBA over one targeted at medical professionals in order to learn from business experts, and because he knew the program would bring together students from varying fields.

“Healthcare can learn a lot from the corporate world; if you’re always thinking inside the healthcare box, then you’ll miss some of the great innovations seen in different industries,” he says.

“With the Executive MBA, the key is that you have such a broad spectrum of highly accomplished individuals in your class. I felt that my colleagues were going to enhance my learning significantly and allow me to learn so much more compared to a program with a sole focus on healthcare.”

To Halabi, Ivey’s faculty also stood out as supportive, knowledgeable and approachable, which he found encouraging.

“They care about your learning, they want to make you the best that they can, which pushes you to want to become even better,” he says.

“When someone is investing all this effort into you, then you also want to invest effort back.”

And while leadership and business acumen were his key focus, Halabi found there were takeaways from all his courses, even ones he hadn’t expected to directly translate.

“When you start learning about key marketing and finance principles, you start to see how you can optimize local and national healthcare strategies in many different ways,” he says.

“You pick up things in every class. Everything is applicable in some way.”

As part of the Ivey community, Halabi has also discovered that there are many Ivey grads in top-level positions in healthcare, who are always happy to speak with him or answer queries, something which unexpectedly opened new doors as well.

“My hope in completing the Executive MBA Program is to use it to improve the healthcare experience – for patients, for families, and for healthcare workers,” he says.

“Ivey gives you that platform, an alumni network that’s available to you and knowledge that you can quickly implement to achieve your goals. That’s very fulfilling.”