This future doctor means business

Wright State senior Matthew Correll studied management in the Raj Soin College of Business to give him the leadership skills he will need as a doctor. (Photo by Erin Pence)

When Matthew Correll tosses his graduation cap this May at Wright State University, he’ll trade business presentations for patient consultations.

Come July, the management major will begin pursuing a medical degree at Wright State’s Boonshoft School of Medicine — bringing a toolkit many of his classmates won’t possess.

“The typical route for med school is to get a science degree, in chemistry or biology,” said the Englewood native, whose minor is pre-med. “But I saw a need in the medical field for doctors to lead teams. They don’t typically receive that official learning experience as undergraduates. They expect to do medicine, but every doctor has to lead a group of nurses or social workers, everyone who’s involved in medicine, in a hospital or private practice.”

That’s why he enrolled in Wright State’s Raj Soin College of Business as an undergraduate student and majored in management.

“I wanted to get that experience. That gave me a leg up in certain areas,” he said.

Correll reasoned that the more fields that can be combined, the better. He said Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, combined business, arts and technology.

“If I can combine business with medicine, that’ll help me be successful,” he said.

Correll has already enjoyed success as an honors student, developing a research project on how to help medical students become better leaders through self-evaluation.

“I wanted to do something with business and medicine,” Correll said. “I’m passionate about those things.”

He collaborated with Rachel Sturm, Ph.D., the associate dean of the Raj Soin College of Business, on the project.

“As someone who cares deeply about the health care industry, I was very excited to work with Matt — his ideas were brilliant,” Sturm said.

They took a data-driven approach to identify leadership capability in medical students and, for medical students interested in leadership, identify areas for additional training. They worked with a consulting firm in Ohio to administer an assessment predicting the leadership capacity of a select cohort of medical students.

They are now considering the next steps with the data, Sturm said, and are “excited to see what is possible to support this aspect of career development in medical students.”

Correll not only enters medical school with an unconventional degree, but he’s also drawn to psychiatry — a field where his management training could transform patient care. The calling runs in his blood.

His father, Terry Correll, D.O., is a clinical professor of psychiatry and associate training director for academics and evaluations at the Boonshoft School of Medicine. His brother, Andrew Correll, M.D., graduated from Wright State last spring and is currently in the Psychiatry Residency program at the Boonshoft School of Medicine.

Matthew Correll values the Wright State connection. He chose Wright State because he wanted to stay close to home.

“I love my family, community, church, Dayton overall,” he said.

His faith is important to him, and he attends the Christian Life Center in Vandalia.

“I’m open to wherever the Lord leads me,” he said, which could be as a psychiatrist in a hospital or in his own practice or hospital administration.

“Matt was an absolute delight to work with,” Sturm said. “He was not only smart, hard-working and professional but brought a great positive energy and curiosity to the project that enabled its success.”

Correll said he’s driven by two things: “Making the most impact that I can among the most people and following God’s will by taking doors He’s opened.”

He’ll find that next door opens this summer at Wright State’s Boonshoft School of Medicine.