With the growing importance of hospital industry in providing health care
to people across the country, Hospital Management courses are becoming very
popular. An individual from a medical or a non-medical background, can pursue
a career in Hospital Administration/ Management. The pre-requisite is a graduation
(medical/ non-medical)or a degree/ diploma in Hospital Administration.
The main professional courses available in this field are Bachelor of Hospital
Management/ Administration, Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital Management/
Administration, Master of Hospital Administration, MBA in Hospital Administration
and M.D/ M Phil in Hospital Administration. Apart from these programmes, there
are about 70 accredited programs in healthcare administration.
Eligibility for Bachelor’s degree in Hospital Management /Administration (BHA)
is 10+2 with Biology attaining minimum 50% marks. One can do Post Graduate
Degree/ Diploma courses and MBA in Hospital Administration, after graduation
in any subject. But the eligibility criteria for post graduate courses may
vary according to the course and the institute concerned. For institutes like
All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Armed Forces Medical College,
Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Symbiosis Centre of Health Care (SCHC) etc, the
minimum qualification for PG courses is M.B.B.S. MHA is required for doing
M.Phil in Hospital administration.
Several institutes are offering short term, certificate, diploma and correspondence
courses in Hospital management through distance learning. The Indian Society
of Health Administrators (ISHA) offers 1 year Distance Learning Programme
in Hospital Administration. Tamil Nadu Open University also offers 2-year
distance learning in MBA Hospital Administration whereas Indian Institute
Of Pharmaceutical Marketing offers Executive MBA In Hospital Management (EMBA),
Advanced Diploma In Hospital Management (ADHM) and so on.
Selection - Selection to the Bachelor of Hospital Administration
(BHA) courses is generally made on the basis of the marks obtained in +2 and
through general entrance test, followed by a Group Discussion and / or Personal
Interview. In the Institute of Health Management Research (IHMR) Bangalore,
the candidates are selected for admission to PGPHM / PGPPHM only on the basis
of personal interviews conducted by the Faculty of the Institute at Bangalore
and other cities of Delhi , Mumbai, Chennai & Hyderabad. The selection
criterion will also take into account the candidates command over English
Language, skill in communicating, Computer handling and overall managerial
ability.
Duration - BBM/ Bachelor of Hospital Administration (BHA)
is of 3 years. Diploma/ MBA/ Masters in Hospital Administration (MHA)/ Management is
of two years (4 semesters). Post Graduate Professional Program in Hospital
Management (PGPHM) is for 11 months. EMBA, PGDHM and ADHM is of 1 year
(2 semesters) duration.
Personal skill:
Tact, diplomacy, flexibility, communication & organising skills are the
most essential qualities needed for Hospital Managers because they spend much
of their time in interacting with others. An outgoing, friendly personality;
ability to handle people and pressure, ability to handle deadlines, excellent leadership
skills are necessary to be an effective hospital manager. He/ she should have
quick decision-making capability based on up-to-date management principles
and techniques; analytical and logical reasoning skill, patience, excellent
verbal and written communication skills to maintain functional relationships
with the hospital staff, physicians and the community. As they are responsible
for the overall organization and management of the hospital, they should possess
good health, energy and stamina for working long and irregular hours.
