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.
