MBA in Healthcare Management: Salary, Scope, Fees, Benefits, Career, Syllabus & Eligibility

An MBA in Healthcare Management opens up opportunities to find senior positions in the healthcare sector. Students who obtain this degree take up management duties in hospitals, pharmaceutical firms or other healthcare companies. This program has emerged as one of the most popular options among management degrees due to the growth in the healthcare sector, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

What is MBA in Healthcare Management?

MBA in healthcare management deals with the strategies and systems involved in growing and managing the healthcare business. This program teaches students how to improve internal and external cooperative systems. This degree opens up job opportunities for roles in hospital management, hospital administration and even senior positions in hospitals and pharma companies.

In this blog, we will explore various facets of an MBA in healthcare like the scope of the subject, career opportunities, expected salary, admission procedure, project topics, entrance exams and more.

For those keen to know more about MBA degrees, check out the blog below:

MBA Specializations, Eligibility, Fees, Scope, Opportunities & Benefits

MBA in Healthcare Management: Course Highlights

This program equips one with the knowledge to build a steady career in the healthcare sector. The degree equips you with advanced knowledge of the sector and its operations. This is bound to give you an edge. Moreover, an MBA in healthcare can also help you find a footing in the IT aspects of healthcare like data security.

Let us look at the highlights of this course:

• Course Level – Postgraduate
• Course Duration – 2 years
• Course Examination Type – Semesters
• Course Eligibility – Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with 50% aggregate score
• Course Admission Process – Through entrance exams
• Course Major Entrance Exams – CAT, MAT, GMAT, CMAT
• Course Fee – Rs 2-10 lakh in a year
• Course Average Salary – Rs 5-12 lakh p.a.
• Top Hiring Companies – Apollo Life, Cipla, Accenture, Wipro GE Healthcare

MBA in Healthcare Management: Eligibility Criteria

Although the eligibility criteria for MBA in healthcare varies between countries and is fixed by college administrations, the common practice is that students need to clear entrance exams with a cut-off percentile.

The other eligibility criteria are:

• Students need to clear Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds
• Need to obtain 50% aggregate marks in their Bachelors.
• Certain institutes prefer candidates with a degree like BSc, MBBS, Bpharm

MBA in Healthcare Management: Admission Process

The admission process for MBA in healthcare is fairly the same across business schools. However, some institutions have their own set of requirements. Apart from clearing the entrance exams, candidates also have to clear the Personal Interview and Group Discussions rounds.

The steps to secure admission for MBA in healthcare are:

1. Secure 50% aggregate marks in graduation
2. 40% for SC/ST/OBC
3. Clear entrance exams like CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT

MBA in Healthcare Management: Salary in India

An MBA degree can help in securing a well-paying job in top MNCs and pharma companies. The average salary ranges between Rs 5-12 lakh per annum. The high salary bracket is also taking into consideration that these roles may require working at odd hours, considering this involves public health. The average salary for a hospital CEO or CFO can be as high as Rs 30 lakh or Rs 36 lakh per annum.

MBA Entrance Exam

The admission for MBA exams is based on the percentile cut-off for entrance exams. While B-schools set independent cut-offs, it is mostly in the same bracket. Some universities conduct separate entrance exams for finalizing eligible candidates.

Let us look at some of the common entrance exams conducted for the admission process.

• Common Admission Test (CAT)
• Management Aptitude Test (MAT)
• State MBA Healthcare Management Exams

Why Do an MBA in Healthcare Management?

The competitive corporate sector requires one to go prepared with the requisite skills and knowledge. An MBA degree helps one to develop advanced and flexible management skills. This has become an essential and sought-after quality for those in the healthcare sector because of the challenges involved.

• Flourishing industry: The healthcare sector is growing and so are the positions and roles. The pandemic has seen the healthcare industry emerge as one of the top industries.
• Essential skills: The MBA program equips one with leadership and people management skills, essential in the healthcare sector. Management students get trained to manage times of crisis of different kinds, how to work towards building a company’s image and make tough calls.
• Knowledge to run a firm: It provides you with the knowledge to handle both internal and external functions of a healthcare company. These responsibilities come in handy on the job and especially in the healthcare sector now.
• Lucrative job opportunities: This degree opens up job opportunities and senior positions related to hospital management and administration. These candidates are suitable for being hired to senior positions as well.
• Lastly, these positions come with high salary packages.

MBA in Healthcare Management: Required Skills

Candidates with basic knowledge of hospital administration are a good fit for this program. Those with leadership skills and a keen eye for management techniques can easily pursue this course.

Let us look at some of the other key skills required for this course:

1. Team building skills: As you may be aware, a hospital has various departments and each of them has its own set of employees with different challenges and requirements. This is why you need your team to work in coordination so that they can support each other. Hence, a candidate pursuing this course should also possess this skill.

2. Analytical skills: This program requires one to be able to execute projects, take part in industry events and interact with industry leaders. All of these requirements involve analytical skills and problem-solving aptitude.

3. Industry knowledge: Every industry comes with its own set of challenges. Prior knowledge of the functioning of the healthcare industry proves useful in understanding the finer concepts of running hospitals and healthcare centres.

4. Interpersonal skills: Communication through verbal and non-verbal ways is important for several industries but this is of paramount importance for the healthcare sector. A person interested in this field should be able to interact calmly and cordially with patients and their families.

5. Ability to work under pressure: A hospital administration would witness several crisis moments. For instance, the coronavirus pandemic has been a testing time for any hospital administration staff. Therefore, this quality is of utmost importance for an MBA Healthcare aspirant.

MBA in Healthcare Management: Syllabus & Subjects

This program provides deep insights into the functioning of the healthcare industry. Therefore, the topics covered are meant to give the candidate in-depth knowledge about various aspects. Some of the subjects covered in this course are fundamentals of healthcare administration, healthcare economics, operations management, medico-legal issues and concepts of epidemiology.

MBA in Healthcare Management: Career Opportunities

An MBA in healthcare makes you an ideal candidate for top jobs in hospitals and healthcare facilities. This also provides an opportunity to take up positions on a consultant basis that allows one a great deal of flexibility and opportunity to establish connections.

Some of the positions that require candidates with an MBA in healthcare are:

• Hospital Administrator
• Hospital CEO & CFO
• Healthcare Associate
• Hospital Operations Executive
• Medical Practice Manager

MBA in Healthcare Management: Scope of MBA in Healthcare Management

Those who aspire to take up senior executive positions in the healthcare industry must go for an MBA in Healthcare Management. The curriculums in these courses deal with healthcare specialization topics, business management practices and managerial studies. Thus, this program empowers candidates with the necessary skills to climb fast the corporate ladder.

Some of the highlights are:

• Starting salary for professionals with MBA in healthcare is nearly Rs 5 lakh p.a.
• Placement is guaranteed in top pharma companies and hospital groups.
• High demand for expert healthcare managers
• Opportunity for great career growth

Scope of MBA Healthcare Management in Government Sector

This qualification makes you ideal to work in both public and private sector hospitals. The state health department appoints management professionals in various top roles. Apart from positions in the ministry, these candidates are sought after for running government-run hospitals. The government program needs these people to efficiently run healthcare program.

MBA in Healthcare Management: Top Recruiters in India

Pharmaceutical companies and hospital chains are on the lookout for skilled professionals who can efficiently run healthcare institutions. These candidates are hired for managerial positions and executive roles.

Let us look at some of the top companies that hire MBA Healthcare management graduates.

• Cipla
• Fortis
• Apollo
• KPMG
• Unicef
• Practo
• Glenmark
• Pfizer

MBA in Healthcare Management: Top Recruiting Industries

This degree is mainly focused on the healthcare sector. There has been a spike in hiring by healthcare organizations. Every hospital needs at least a half-dozen management professionals at top levels. Each of these positions is crucial to the management and so companies are always on the lookout for appropriate candidates.

MBA in Business Analytics: Related FAQS

Q1. Why Choose Healthcare Management as Specialization in MBA?

With healthcare growing in leaps and bounds, several new hospitals are coming up in various parts of the country. However, running a hospital or any healthcare centre comes with the challenge of running it efficiently as one is dealing with the lives of patients. There is no scope for an error and it is crucial to ensure that the system is free of snags. This is why the healthcare industry needs professionals with a specialized degree like an MBA.

Q2. Is MBA in Healthcare Management Easy?

This program requires candidates to learn a certain number of skills. It can be quite demanding but enriching at the same time. Exams are held every semester and so the students need constant preparation. This is a 2-year course but the syllabus is vast. However, with proper guidance and dedication the goals can be achieved on time.

Q3. Is MBA in Healthcare Management Worth?

This degree is one of the most in-demand courses now. The reason, as discussed earlier, is the exponential growth of this industry. Hence, graduates and those looking for a change in profession or seeking programs that can put them in the bracket of executives should explore this course.

Who should do MBA In Healthcare Management?

Candidates who want to make a strong career in the healthcare sector should explore this program. Those who have studied hospital administration as part of their Bachelor degrees can apply for this course. Professionals who have taken part in hospital projects and want to climb the corporate ladder should take up this program.

Summary

The healthcare sector is flourishing and so are the job opportunities associated with it. While senior executives are needed to run the show there is a dearth of skilled professionals. This brings the spotlight on MBA in healthcare management and its crucial role in churning out candidates who fit these roles well. The timing is thus perfect for graduates and other professionals to enrol on this program.