2018 Best Online MBAs: Peter Demas Bravos, M.D., Massachusetts-Amherst (Isenberg)

Peter Demas Bravos, M.D.

University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management

An enthusiastic and dedicated physician, father, and husband; always working to provide a better tomorrow.”

Age: 52

Hometown: Yuba City, California

Fun fact about yourself: Kona coffee lover, private pilot, aspiring ukulele player, 100% Greek.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Southern California – BS Gerontology; St. George’s University School of Medicine – MD; LA County-USC Internship and Residency Anesthesiology

Where are you currently working? Sutter North Medical Group – Anesthesiologist, Chief Safety and Quality Officer, Associate Medical Director of Anesthesiology and GI, ASC Medical Director

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Having the opportunity to make a difference in the well-being of my local patient population through the collaborative development, maintenance, and delivery of a value based quality health care model.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? The alliance between the American Association of Physician Leadership and UMass Isenberg School of Management provided a synergy of academic focus with real world experience that ultimately made this program my best fit.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? The online process bestows upon everyone a virtual voice promoting exchange between classmates and professors alike without constraint. Additionally, class projects, built upon knowledge gained throughout the MBA program, challenged me to consider matters beyond the confines of a virtual classroom environment, particularly when coupled with direct application of my daily work experience.  

What was the most surprising thing about an online learning environment? It was the ability to have broad intellectual interactions, shaped within my own virtual work-life balance, that provided an individual lens of perspective and promoted an extraordinary online academic experience.

How did your online experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student? While the classroom provides a four wall learning experience with face-to-face interaction, a virtual learning environment provides a portable, convenient, and nonpartisan opportunity of participation, through a multitude of communication choices, from which one can openly address the academic community.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? Pace yourself, engage early and often, and finally, enjoy the pursuit.

How has your online education helped you in your current job? My MBA has provided a foundation of understanding, across multiple disciplines, that I would never have imagined possible as a physician in a large health care system.

If you had to do it all over again, would you? Why? Yes. I have no doubt that completing my MBA at UMass has been instrumental in providing me the infrastructure necessary to make a substantive difference in my career trajectory.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? To be the transformative physician leader that both health care and business professionals seek out in order to affect and inspire positive change in the pursuit of an exceptional and sustainable health care system.

DON’T MISS: THE COMPLETE 2018 LIST OF THE BEST & BRIGHTEST ONLINE MBAS or OUR DEBUT 2018 RANKING OF THE BEST ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS IN THE U.S.