Docs, babus take to MBA at Indian School of Business

HYDERABAD: If this years��� profile of students at the Indian School of Business (ISB) is anything to go by, doctors and government servants are increasingly opting to become professional managers.

Of the 442 students in the batch, 17 are from the public sector and another 17 are doctors. A doctor���s role is changing from a health care service provider to a manager, thanks to the boom in the health care sector.

This has led to a surge in the number of corporate hospitals and entry of pharma MNCs. Public sector employees, on the other hand, are in search of new challenges, higher remuneration and a faster career growth path. Some of them rate the private sector as better employers.

���Doctors need to understand the commercial aspects of health care business. Corporate hospitals are expanding and health insurance is penetrating into rural India. So a doctors��� role now is not confined to just providing medicines. They need to understand different aspects of the business including the nuances in the insurance sector,��� said Dr Radhika Vasanthakumar.

A 50 year-old gynaecologist with two decades of experience in healthcare and the oldest student at ISB, Radhika is not looking at any big corporate offer with an MBA. ���Management studies will provide me with a global perspective as I am planning to join a multi-lateral organisation such as the WHO or Unicef,��� she said.

Shankabrata Bagchi, another student, is a doctor who joined the Indian Police Service. ���There are not enough government hospitals to cater to the healthcare needs of the country and corporate hospitals are trying to fill the gap. Most of these hospitals expect doctors to play the dual role of being a manager and healthcare services provider. They, in fact, give preference to MBA doctors as they will be able to deal with patients in a better way,��� he said.

Echoing a similar view is Prashanth Harihar, a mechanical engineer who worked with ISRO for four years. He feels opportunities for career growth are abundant even in the government sector.

���ISRO gives unique opportunities to a person to prove his talent. I am here to learn management lessons. My goal is to start a music school and a corporate job will help me find capital for that,��� said Prashant who has performed in over 100 Carnatic music concerts.

However, Devesh Dhar Dwivedi, who worked as a scientist with DRDL for four years, reckons that government jobs do not provide opportunities for career growth. ���Many people are joining the corporate world due to the restrictions in this field which does not recognise an individual���s talent,��� he said.