Mastering management after MBBS - Vibha Iyer

In the current scenario, where running an organisation along with wielding a scalpel becomes a requisite, a Masters in Hospital Administration or an MBA is proving to be the antidote to problems faced by doctors. What are the reasons for this? Why do doctors pursue an MBA? Read on…

In an age where professionalism is the operative term, the need for a basic understanding of management concepts has left no field untouched. The medical profession too has been influenced by this need for better understanding of management and business administration. Private participation in health services, and the mushrooming of corporate and private hospitals, has increased the demand for professionals to run these set ups. Now that the importance of an MBA programme is evident, the two options open to all medical professionals are to either pursue an MBA in Hospital Administration or an MBA in General Management.

It is obvious that a Master’s or MBA in Hospital Administration is the ideal course for all medical professionals seeking management expertise. When quizzed on the reasons for pursuing the Masters degree in Hospital Administration at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Dr. Sudhir Ajja, an MBBS, was very candid, “I always wanted to be a part of the administrative set up in a hospital. In my second year, I felt that there are a lot of loopholes in the organisational structure of hospitals, where professionalism was lacking though clinical knowledge was good.” After medical school and three years of practice,out of which he served at a Public Health Centre (PHC) , then a year at a corporate hospital and as a Medical Officer at ONGC in the third year he arrived at this premise. He recollects, “ During my stint at the PHC, I was the only gazetted officer within a distance of 25 kilometres, the only doctor for a population of around 50,000 people and ran a clinical set-up with a staff of 24 people. I found the whole experience challenging and decided to opt for a formal course in hospital administration, instead of specialising in dermatology.”

Dr. Sumita Bhattacharya, a surgeon by profession, too enrolled for an MHA at TISS after three years of practice. She says, “ I felt that an MHA would broaden my prospects and give me wider access to a hospital. If you are interested in administration, then you should definitely get professionally qualified as well.” She adds that an MHA opens up options in hospital administration as well as health administration. This could even help one enter organisations like the World Health Organisation. She adds, “ In the case of health administration, an MD in Preventive and Social Medicine coupled with an MHA would be an ideal combination. Apart from that, there are also increasing opportunities in sectors like Information Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Third Party Administrators (TPA), Banking, etc.”

This does not mean that MHA only trains doctors to administer hospitals. As Dr. Sudhir Ajja makes it clear, “…hospital administration prepares a doctor in the fields of marketing and finance as well. He adds, “Hospital marketing is very different from corporate marketing. In the end, the marketing head has to turn to the doctor to understand the medical requirements of a marketing strategy.”

Dr. Ajeetav Nayak, is currently pursuing an MBA in Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi. He says, “ I made the decision to take up an MBA during my internship. I realised that when you are a doctor on the field, time management and people management are the two most important aspects, which an MBA would help you with. It makes a lot of sense for doctors to do an MBA, as they can couple their technical know-how with managerial skills across sectors like Insurance, Pharmaceuticals and health care.” Dr. Nayak’s decision is reinforced by the fact that he has recently completed his summer placement at Ranbaxy and has already bagged an offer to join them after his MBA. Dr. Nayak is also of the opinion that doctors make for good MBA students. “ We have good people skills already, so this course just polishes our communication and inter personal skills.” So does he regret that he may have to give up practising medicine? “ Not really,” he quips, adding, “Opportunities for rising get amplified with an MBA.”

So now, which course should I pursue? – MBA in Hospital management or a general MBA? Dr. Nayak justifies, “ I had earlier chosen to take up a Masters in hospital administration, but I felt that it would be too narrow. An MBA would give me an edge in more diverse fields as opposed to an MHA.” But Dr. CAK Yesudian, HOD, Department of Health Services Studies, TISS, the institute that pioneered the Masters in Hospital Administration and Masters in Health Administration courses in India in 1993 begs to differ. He asserts, “The first semester is based on general management, after which a number of specialised courses pertinent to hospital administration like management of clinical services, management of supportive services, management of super speciality departments, project management, hospital planning, quality management, information management, etc. are spread through the remaining period.” Dr. Alexander Kuruvilla, CEO of Apollo Hospitals, Ahmedabad, MD in Hospital Administration from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal feels, “A full-time course in Hospital Administration where the institute is attached to a hospital is definitely superior to a general MBA. The content of this course is very similar to the MBA course, but the difference lies in the practical sessions where each of us is deputed to a different department of the hospital and is expected to learn, what goes on behind the scenes of health-care delivery.

It helps one understand every aspect of healthcare delivery from the grassroots level, from the simple functioning of Primary Health Care Centres to the more complex Corporate Hospitals.” Putting it in perspective he clarifies, “It all depends on what you want to pursue, If you wish to remain in the health sector then the MHA is more meaningful and otherwise,its MBA."

It goes without saying that the demand for doctors with management education will only increase in the near future. Dr. Ajja believes that hospital administration in the country is still at its budding stage and has tremendous scope in the next ten years. Dr. Yesudian, says, “ Since we pioneered the programme in 1993, the acceptance has improved both qualitatively and quantitatively. An increasing number of applicants are doctors these days.” Dr. Yesudian attributes this to the increasing relevance of the course in today’s context as well as the number of newer avenues it opens up to doctors. He says, “ An MD after MBBS takes three years, after which super specialisation takes another two years, which makes it a total of five years, whereas MHA takes two years and the job prospects look good with campus recruitments.”

“This potential has been also recognised by the Ministry of Health, which plans to start an MBA in Hospital Administration in IIM- A, International Institute of Population Studies, National Institute for Health and Family Welfare and TISS, all in the process of making recommendations that will be reviewed in November. Although the government invests in health infrastructure,there is a lack of efficiency in this area. So this course will help create a cadre of eficient hospital administrators in the public sector, “ concludes Yesudian.

If you are a doctor who thinks there is a long way to go and lots of capital investment towards specialisation and practice, take heart; you can now do an MBA or an MHA to better your prospects and climb the corporate ladder. It’s not too far-fetched for a doctor, anymore.