By Mr. Sunil Sood, Chief Business Officer, Executive Education, Times Professional Learning
India’s healthcare system was stretched to its limits in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the dire demand for trained health management professionals. Executive education aims to meet this need by equipping executives with the skills needed to properly manage resources and talent in the health care system.
COVID-19 exposed loopholes in the armor of health care systems around the world, and it has not spared India. The pandemic exposed the picture-perfect front of a healthcare system that, on paper, seemed to flourish, exposing the struggling system below. Cracked, conflict and collapse were the main adjectives used to refer to the overly cumbersome health system at a time when the second Covid-19 wave engulfed the country. Access to healthcare has always been an important issue for the country. However, as the pandemic gripped the world, it exposed a shortage of trained management personnel within the health system. The devastation of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that the Indian health care system has faced years of neglect. At the same time, the pandemic provided an opportunity to fill gaps within the system and understand how it could be strengthened.
Apart from doctors and nurses, trained health care management professionals are the need of the hour. Even remote areas, which had adequate access to health centres, faced poor management. From 2017-2018, India spent only 1.28% of its GDP on healthcare. So, even before the pandemic, India had only 0.55 beds per 1000 people. Clearly, the management of resources within the health care system is a necessity. Unfortunately, India is struggling to produce not only doctors and nurses, but also health management professionals. Thus, it is important for health care management professionals to invest in training programs. These programs ensure that individuals are equipped with the necessary skill sets to properly manage resources and talent in the health care system.
Skills Required for Health Care Management Roles
Professionals skilled in health care management are essential to ensure the smooth functioning of health facilities. Even routine check-ups require careful management; Therefore, it is no surprise that the need to invest in health care management professionals is increasing. Management skills in the healthcare industry are quite different to running a business. Before diving into what a health care management curriculum should cover, it’s important to understand what skills employers look for. Candidates need a combination of soft skills and technical skills to help them stand out to employers and advance their careers in the field. Budgeting, staff management, quality assurance and control, project management and strategic planning are some of the technical skills that health care management professionals must possess.
Apart from these, they need to have soft skills including effective communication, collaboration and teamwork, problem-solving and critical thinking that will allow them to easily traverse through any difficulties they face in the process. To ensure adequate cohesion among doctors, nurses and support staff to reduce medical errors, health care management professionals need to build strong relationships and act as the thread connecting everyone together. They also need to be empathetic and emotionally intelligent as their environment is full of human emotions which they must respect.
Executive education to bridge the skill gap
The lack of adequate specialized management programs in India for healthcare professionals is worrying, especially considering what the country had to deal with during the pandemic. Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta aims to address the existing problem through a Post Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management. The program offered in collaboration with TimesTSW is designed to equip management professionals with the specialized skill sets they need to efficiently manage organizational health systems. The TimesTSW Healthcare Management Program offers state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary course modules that are sure to prepare management professionals for the future of healthcare delivery.
In an era where skill requirements are changing faster than the workforce, executive education acts as a catalyst enabling the upskilling process. Through the best certifications in health care management, the workforce can be adequately equipped to deal with any future crisis that may lead the Indian healthcare system to a brighter future. Access to quality healthcare is a universal human right, and health care managers are as essential as doctors to protect this right.
Disclaimer: Content Produced by Times Professional Learning (TPL)
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