A Healthy, Healthcare… Career coming your way
One of the most charming service industries being Hospital, it becomes the pre-requisite for any hospital including private, public and corporate to give prime importance to quality healthcare. At hospitals, quality gains importance in every sphere of service.
QUALITY healthcare is the crying need of the Quality Council of India, which has formed certain guidelines essential for providing quality healthcare by hospitals- be it Corporate or Government. Standards have been laid down for Healthcare providers too.
A Hospital is said to be healthy, if it has fulfilled the necessary National Accreditation for Hospital and Healthcare Providers (NABH) standards. NABH is a constituent board for Quality Council of India, set up to establish and operate accreditation programme for healthcare providers. The process of NABH accreditation is to ensure quality in all aspects of Healthcare. The urgent need and growing demand for providing quality healthcare by all streams of hospitals has brought forth the need for better Hospital Management.
Most of the medical professionals are more clinical in nature and are unaware of the concept of Hospital management and quality healthcare. With hospitals being standardised, the need for hospital management is a rising demand, and thus the scope of careers in hospital management.
Let’s know the growing need for Hospital Management as a career from the Director of IHMR, Dr. Kishore Murthy.
TCG: Tell us about yourself?
Prof.K.Murthy: I am a Medical Graduate from St.Johns Medical College, Bangalore with Post Graduate qualifications in Hospitals and Health Management from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and Tulane University /BITS, PILANI. I have 2-and-half decades of experience in the field of Hospital and healthcare administration in teaching, research and consultancy. I have taught Operations Management and Strategic Management at various Hospital management institutes.
TCG: About Hospital Management and its thrust areas? How is it going to be useful to those wishing to take up a career in Hospital management?
Prof.K.Murthy: Hospital management is the discipline, where healthcare administration takes place in hospitals in terms of leadership, management and administration of running the hospital. With more and more hospitals coming up, there is a need for people with knowledge of hospital management. Usually, the medical staff and doctors working in the hospitals are unaware of the non-medical day-to-day administrative affairs.
Keeping this point in mind, it is essential to have a special person handling this job to ensure quality. A hospital administrator is overall in-charge of administrative affairs of the hospital. He takes charge of various aspects of health administration and hospital administration vis-a-vis patients and health care. It envisages professional responsibility in various aspects - planning and control, management of the medical staff, demography and bio-statistics, management and research in healthcare, epidemiology and community health and strategic management.
Major thrust areas in Hospital Management are Public Health Management, Primary Healthcare
Population and Reproductive and Child Health, Health Economics and Finance, NGO Management and HIV / AIDS Programme Management & Evaluation
TCG: Why do you think there is a growing demand in Hospital Management as a career?
Prof.K.Murthy: Healthcare industry in India has made tremendous growth in recent years. The demand for quality healthcare has been increasing day by day. As NABH / NABL Accreditation has been made compulsory for hospitals, it becomes mandatory for all hospitals, both government and private to employ healthcare or hospital executives for Hospital management in hospitals. Healthcare services has increased 30% from 2007 and will account for 3:1 million new jobs, which is the largest increase in any industry. Moreover, India needs more than 15,000 Hospital and healthcare managers.Make a Difference! Discover a career in Hospital Management.
TCG: What is the role of Healthcare Executives in Hospital Management?
Prof.K.Murthy: While medical personnel are the frontline of any healthcare organisation, there are other healthcare professionals in whom patients invest their trust and hope even though they’re not always aware of who these people are, or the roles they play. (These professionals are Hospital/healthcare executives – also called hospital or healthcare administrators and hospital or healthcare managers). They are the men and women who manage today’s hospital and healthcare organisations.
Healthcare Executives have to ensure that their organisations have strong medical, operational, and financial footing to serve the needs of patients, their families, and the communities. They are skilled, trained professionals, who care deeply about the quality care of patients and work closely with physicians, nurses, and other professionals to achieve it.
Healthcare executives help in educating community members about important health issues and ensure that hospitals and other healthcare organisations serve as “safety nets” in their communities by providing emergency and ongoing care, as well as accurate, timely information about public threats in times of crisis.
Healthcare Executives… Include specialists and generalists:
Specialists are in charge of specific medical departments or services
Generalists manage or help to manage an entire healthcare organisation or system
TCG: Where are healthcare or hospital executives placed and what is their nature of job?
Prof.K.Murthy: Positions for healthcare executives can be in Hospitals, Nursing homes, Healthcare Consulting firms, and Public health departments i.e. Government Hospitals under NRHM, Health insurance, Information Technology organisations and NGOs.
Coming to the nature of work or say different areas in a hospital where a healthcare or hospital executive could be is Patient care services – Hospital operations, Finance , Material management, Government Hospitals, Human resources, Information systems, Nursing administration, Marketing and Public relations, Medical staff coordination, Hospital Planning and development.
TCG: Tell us about IHMR?
Prof.K.Murthy: Institute of Health Management & Research (IHMR), Bangalore, is a premier institution in the area of Hospital Management, Health Management, Research and Training in South India. Located in the southern campus of the society, IHMR prepares professionals to take up middle and senior level managerial positions in Corporate Hospitals, International Healthcare organisations, non-profit organisations, IT companies developing healthcare solutions, Health Insurance companies and third party Administrators. IHMR, Bangalore has made significant strides in setting up high professional teaching & training standards for better management of hospitals and healthcare programmes. Our Mission is to make a difference in the future healthcare scenario by meeting the unmet needs of the hospital and healthcare industry.
Main Activities at IHMR
1. Post Graduate Programme in Hospital Management and Public health Management
2. Management Development Programmes
3. Research Projects and consultancy
TCG: IHMR capabilities ……
Prof.K.Murthy: To begin with, we have Management Research, Education and Training, Training Needs Assessment & Designing, Training Programmes and Training of Trainers for Health Professionals, Project Planning, Operations Research and Evaluation Studies, Institutional Capacity Development through Technical Assistance and Networking, Economic and Financial Analysis, Survey Research, Social Assessment, Quality Assurance / NABH / NABL, Health Sector Reforms, Programme Management & Evaluation.
TCG: What courses are offered in IHMR?
Prof.K.Murthy: IHMR offers two PG programmes, one is Post Graduate programme in Hospital Management (PGPHM) and other is Post Graduate programme in public Health Management (PGPPHM).
PGPHM course is a unique Management course which is designed for the medical professionals to make them understand about the hospital and its inclination towards management which would help in better management of the hospital sector, with an intention of understanding the requirements of the hospital in depth and to run hospitals in more effective and efficient manner.
The thrust of the programme is on learning basic management skills and strengthening communications skills through student presentations, group discussion and role-plays.
PGPPHM course is designed for medical professionals and science graduates with understanding of the Healthcare system and with an inclination towards management which would help in better management of the healthcare sector / NGO with intention of understanding the requirements of the healthcare sector.
Both PGPHM & PGPPHM courses are fast track courses intended to nurture the managerial skills and leadership qualities among the professionals in a year with intention of gaining sound knowledge in all facets of management.
We take utmost care to encourage the professionals to go beyond the classroom and learn more research and application based art of management. We also facilitate their advanced learning to predict future events and their consequential effect on the healthcare industry by honing their skills in data analysis undertaken in live projects.
Students in these courses are given advanced exposure by organising guest lectures by the best practitioners in the healthcare and associated IT industries to make them achieve highest levels of learning.
TCG: What is the duration of course and model of teaching?
Prof.K.Murthy: PGPHM course is a fast track 11-month course designed on modular pattern. Nineteen theoretical subjects are taught by a modular system, where each module lasts for a minimum of a week to a maximum of eight weeks. An examination is held at the end of each module. The examination comprises of written test, student’s presentation, submission of write up and viva-voice.
During the first part of the programme, the modules are designed to develop strong knowledge base of the students on various aspects of Management related to Hospitals. This is done through classroom teaching and group exercise. The students are taken on field visits to various corporate hospitals for understanding the intricacies of hospital systems. In the second part of the programme, the modules are designed to develop multi-disciplinary skills in the respective specialty of students through rigorous assignments, case studies twice in an academic year; the first exposure lasts for four weeks, and second exposure lasts for about 10-12weeks, both these projects are conducted under the guidance of faculty members.
PGPPHM Course is also an 11-month course where-in 22 theoretical subjects are taught by a modular system, where each module lasts for a minimum of a week to a maximum of eight weeks in duration. The practical exposure is provided to students twice in an academic year, the first exposure lasts for four weeks, and second exposure lasts for about 10-12 weeks, both these projects are conducted under the guidance of faculty members
TCG: What is the selection procedure for the course?
Prof.K.Murthy: The selection criteria for both courses is done on aspects of checking command over English language and communications skills, computer handing skills, aptitude for taking up managerial positions and overall personality of the candidate. The candidates are selected for admission into PGPHM and PGPPHM based on personal interviews conducted by the faculty of the institute.
The candidates who are interested can download the application form from the institute website http://www.ihmr.org/ and submit the form along with a DD for Rs. 1000 drawn in favour of “Institute of Health Management Research, Bangalore” payable at “Bangalore”. The Institute address is The Director, Institute of Health Management Research, 52/1, Koodlu Gate, Hosur Main Road, Bangalore -560068, India. Personal Interviews for admission to PGPHM / PGPPHM will be held at selected places all over India, i.e., New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad. The date, time and venue for personal interview as per the choice of centers of the candidate would be intimated by Post/E-mail/Telephone.
TCG: Who are the eligible candidates?
Prof.K.Murthy: DENTISTS / DOCTORS – MBBS, BHMS, BAMS / Medical Microbiologists / Biochemists / Physiotherapists / Nursing / Biotechnology all are eligible candidates.
TCG: What is the course fee? Are there are any student loan facilities available?
Prof.K.Murthy: The total course fee for each course is Rs 2, 00, 000 (Rupees two lakh only). The hostel charges will be additional. The fees can be paid in installments, a sum of Rs. 20, 000/- on being selected, Rs 80, 000 at the time of admission and Rs. 1, 00,000/- by the end of sixth month of the commencement date. We also help students to get loan facilities from bank.
The charges for hostel accommodation are Rs. 5,500 per month, which includes accommodation plus vegetarian meals.
TCG: What is the intake for each course?
The Post Graduate Programme in Hospital Management (PGPHM) & the Post Graduate Programme in Public Health Management (PGPPHM) will have 30 seats each. For commencement of course please visit: http://www.ihmr.org/. The Institute would conduct two programmes every year commencing in January and July.
TCG: About Infrastructure…
Prof.K.Murthy: IHMR, Bangalore has a very congenial work environment having all basic facilities required to undertake research projects like one conference hall for board meeting and AGM’s etc. Separate office cabins are available for faculties to carry out their activities, training halls with seating capacity of 50 participants in each hall with LCD projector, computers and white board and video conferencing facility are also available.
The institute has a well-equipped library with excellent collection of books and journals on leadership, Health Management, Hospital Management, Management Information Systems, Health Insurance, Quality Assurance, Health Economics and finance, Public health, Management, Population sciences, Research Methodology, Sociology, Computer Sciences, etc. Also we have a good collection of training Materials, Case studies, Manual, Reports and Conference proceedings etc.
We have hostel facility available for both boys and girls separately and are provided on first –come – first serve basis.
Last but not the least, we have a State-of-the art Computer lab facility to cater to the needs of the academic as well as research activities of the institute. The Computer center has 40 Compaq Pentium – IV computers connected to LAN for each student with dedicated broadband Internet facility round the clock.
TCG: Does the internship shape the students for direct placement?
Prof.K.Murthy: Yes, since we have two internships one at the beginning of the course and the other at the end of the course, students have active participation in their projects. The institute has a 100% placement record. Students have been placed in middle and senior level managerial positions in many corporate hospitals where they have done their internships.
TCG: Who are your recruiters?
Prof.K.Murthy: Fortis Hospitals, Max Health Care, Apollo Hospitals, Escorts, Wockhardt Hospitals, Asian Heart Foundation, Columbia Asia Hospitals, BGS Global Hospitals; international healthcare organisations like UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP; IT companies like TCS, Covansys; health insurance companies like ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz, Tata AIG, TTK, etc.
Some of the Institutions offering courses in hospital management are:
*Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Hyderabad
*Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad
*All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
*Symbiosis Center of Healthcare, Pune
*Armed Forces Medical College, Pune
*The Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai
*Indian Institute of Health Jaipur, Rajasthan
*Apollo Hospitals, Across the country
*All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
*Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi
*National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi
*Panjab University, Chandigarh
*Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand
*Symbiosis Centre for Health Care Pune, Maharashtra
*SNDT Women's University, Mumbai
*Indian Institute of Health Care Administration, Chennai
*Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi
*Kasturba Medical College, Manipal