I receive a fairly large number of request from career
aspirants for seeking advice on taking ‘healthcare management’ as a career
choice. On Quora, where I try to regularly answer queries of students who are
confused about ‘healthcare management’, I found that most questions are very rudimentary
in nature, which is suggestive of a gross lack of awareness about this field
amongst career aspirants. The questions also indicate that there are certain misconceptions
about this field which results in confusion and apprehension amongst
prospective students. As career choice could be one of the most important
decision of anybody’s life, I am writing this post which is exclusively meant
for those who are considering for taking admission in a masters level programme
in healthcare and hospital management. The contents of this post are basic and I
request my colleagues from industry to add on their advice/opinion in comments.
What is healthcare management?
Healthcare management is a field of management that has
application in healthcare and related function. A healthcare manager will
typically use his/her management knowledge and expertise in an organization
that operates within the healthcare sphere. Now, healthcare is an umbrella term that can
encompass a variety of things. It can include Medical care, public health, pharmaceuticals,
medical devices, healthcare insurance, healthcare IT/consulting, etc. A large
number of healthcare managers work in hospitals and public health organizations
but the proportion in other associated sectors such as healthcare IT,
consulting, health insurance etc. is rapidly increasing.
