While not a requirement, an MBA after a medical degree can be a good move for doctors who want to expand their career beyond clinical practice, believes Suneeta Reddy, the president of the All India Management Association. In an interview with FE’s Vikram Chaudhary, Reddy – who is also the MD of Apollo Hospitals – talks about a healthcare-focused MBA as well. Excerpts:
Do doctors and healthcare professionals need short, reskilling courses in management (or a short MBA)?
Doctors and healthcare professionals would benefit greatly from focused courses in healthcare management. Specialised, short courses tailored for managing the diverse facets of the healthcare business – such as hospital administration, patient care, insurance services, compliance, etc – would be a big help to the healthcare industry. Doctors can use structured, certified education to acquire the management knowhow to undertake administrative and entrepreneurial roles. Trained managers will improve the content and delivery of patient services. Ultimately, the healthcare enterprise will gain from increased efficiency and productivity.
And at what stage of a career should such an MBA be pursued? How different can it be from the regular MBA?
Courses in healthcare management (not necessarily an MBA) can be pursued when doctors are planning to move to leadership roles within their departments or in a particular administrative function. A formal, structured training will shorten the learning curve for them, and certify them for their new responsibility (with confidence and authority). A healthcare-focused MBA could use more case studies from the healthcare industry and practical exposure, in addition to the essential management concepts and functions.
So, do you want to start an MBA focused on medtech or healthcare?
I would like to expand the AIMA’s portfolio of courses – and focus on ones that prepare executives to manage transition to technology-enabled and sustainability-oriented businesses. There are diploma and certificate courses for managing contemporary specialisations, including BFSI, cybersecurity, family business, and aviation services. While I foresee the AIMA’s education, training and leadership development portfolio growing during my tenure, there are no plans for an immediate introduction of a healthcare MBA.
As a corporate personality, what do you think is the significance of the AIMA within the Indian management profession landscape?
The AIMA is India’s apex management body with national presence through 70 local affiliates, and it orchestrates management capacity and quality development across the country. For a corporate leader, the AIMA is the go-to resource for management talent, executive training, leadership development, research, consulting, conferences, international exposure, and recruitment. It adds more than a thousand qualified managers every year to India’s management talent pool, and polishes and upskills the executives with high-quality training in new management areas. The AIMA creates opportunities for India’s corporate leaders to brainstorm with each other, domain experts, and the government leadership, and facilitates visits to the world’s top business and technology innovation centres in the US, Japan, Israel, China, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, and the EU. The AIMA’s education, testing, training, and thought leadership are vital assets for India’s corporate leaders.
(We interviewed Suneeta Reddy in her capacity as the president of the AIMA, and not as the MD of Apollo Hospitals.)