Looking beyond medicine for a career

There are several other courses you can opt for and keep your tryst with medicine.

From working as a pharmacist to stem cell banking to an MBA in hospital management, career options in the healthcare sector have reached a new high. Stem cell banking, which involves collection, processing and storage of stem cells, has opened up new avenues in the generation of employment opportunities. Its market in India is estimated at Rs 100 crore plus and growing at over 40% per year. The industry has attracted entrepreneurs, doctors, stem cell biologists, biotechnologists, laboratory technologists, quality assurance and related personnel, directly or indirectly, and a new breed of marketing and sales personnel.

“Stem cell biologists and bio technologists should hold a Master’s in any bio science related subjects, bio technology with PhD in a related discipline, and can hold the posts of technical director or assistant to that post. Laboratory technologists are required to hold a Bachelor’s degree in bio science related subjects, a Diploma or Bachelor’s in Medical Laboratory Technology from a recognised university and can become Processing Technologists, Technical Supervisors and Laboratory Managers,” explains Dr Prosanto Chowdhury, medical director, Cordlife India.

Likewise, Indegene Lifesystems is a company that is a scientific partner to global pharmaceutical and life sciences companies delivering a spectrum of medical, marketing, training, intelligence, and analytics services. A host of medical services are now off-shored to India and medical writing is an important part. Medical writing includes regulatory writing and medical communication content writing. An important reason why pharma companies consider India a lucrative option is the availability of medical graduates with English as a primary language. The work is interesting and challenging in equal measures. A scientific/ medical writer should have a scientific or medical degree (eg., MBBS, MD, MPharm, PhD), with work experience in academia, research, clinics or pharmaceutical companies, with a flair for written communications and/ or analytical thinking. For fresh graduates/ postgraduates with a scientific or medical degree and a flair for communication, this could be a great start to their career. Medical writing offers medical graduates an avenue to enter the corporate world, bringing in lucrative growth paths.

Courses

PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) is a relatively new course which is highly accepted in western countries. Graduates of this stream go on to work as qualified clinical pharmacists with great scope. PharmD is now an integrated six-year course, while earlier, BPharm students had to take up separate examinations get trained under a PharmD programme to qualify for the practice of pharmacy in the western countries.
“With the introduction of PharmD programme in India, qualified candidates are better equipped to take on specialised roles in the emerging healthcare and pharmaceutical industry which is growing rapidly to match up to international standards. The response is very encouraging and in just a few years of rolling out this course, we have seen immense response from students who are pursuing an alternate yet very serious career in the healthcare segment. Also, we see a good response from BPharm graduates seeking clinical practice as their career option. This is a 3-year course after BPharm and is called Post Baccalaureate PharmD programme,” says Prof Dr S Mohan, principal & director, PES College of Pharmacy.

Qualified PharmD professionals have the opportunity to work as qualified clinical pharmacists in hospitals and nursing homes. A separate pharmacy practice department, catering to the needs of the hospital, can function to add value to the services available in the hospital. Candidates can work in clinical research organisations, managing and analysing clinical data. They can be employed in drug design and development, in Pharmacovigilance and other related offshoot emerging branches in this area. In several western countries, a qualified professional is entitled to a professional consultation fee, just like doctors, while playing a role that is almost equally important. Students are trained in a hospital environment and the knowledge gained is unique so that the services can match the requirements of doctors and patients.

Adds Sonia Sarihan, general manager — human resources, Guardian Lifecare Pvt Ltd, “There are enormous employment opportunities in pharma. One can pursue a career in hospital or retail pharmacy as dispensing pharmacists. There is a career opportunity in purchase/ supply chain and logistics. One can also opt for sales and marketing. One can pursue Master’s in Pharmacy and PhD and opt for research and development or academics. Also, one can run his own retail or wholesale business.”
Opines Dr Chethana H S, Agm — Operations, Vikram Hospital Bengaluru Pvt Ltd, “Over the last one-and-a-half decades, hospital management has become a major specialty both for doctors and graduates interested in management. Trained hospital administrators and leaders are the need of the hour.”

The T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal, offers an MBA in healthcare management, a programme that focuses on the administration of hospitals and its resources, and the management of healthcare products, service delivery operations, technology, patients, community and public health systems.

This 2-year programme approved by AICTE is suited mainly for graduates in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, allied health, nursing as well as biomedical and biotechnology engineering graduates. Aspirants of this programme are selected through their performance in CAT/ GMAT or an exclusive TAPMI Admission Test (TAT) conducted by the institute. This test will be conducted in February 2011 for students who have not appeared for CAT/ GMAT.

In the first year, the course modules will let students have an overview of management in general, while in the second year, the focus will be on application of such knowledge in the healthcare sector.