Beyond Just A Course - MHA At TISS Mumbai

It has been almost a two month since i joined  Master in Hospital Administration (MHA) in TISS, Mumbai. Whatever I expected before applying or even before joining this course, it seems like I am getting more than that in almost every aspect.

Coming to TISS campus, it is full of lush green trees and beautiful plants. Here starting from staff member to animals (Yes, we have dogs, monkeys, cats, squirrels, etc in our campus), we all live as a family. Although, it has only been two months, TISS has brought a lot of changes on my thoughts, perspectives and how I see the world and its various issues of all hues and colours. The FOUNDATION COURSE which is a compulsory 6 Credit Course for every student who joins TISS irrespective of course taught me a lot about gender inequality and casteism prevalent even in 21st century India. Poor conditions of Dalits and Tribals in India which is a stark reality in socio-economic perspective has somehow  impacted the way I look at our society. This Foundation Course differentiates TISS from other social sciences institutions of the country. TISS is a place where there is no discrimination against LGBTs. This itself is a big lesson that TISS and its students can take back to our society.

For me becoming a part of TISS can be defined as a journey which will fulfil my dream. During my graduation, I had  only a faint idea about TISS and when my senior joined TISS then I started following TISS and its activities, projects, field actions, etc.  and over the course of time I came to know about Master of Hospital Administration. Coming from a semi-urban area, I have seen the rickety condition of healthcare facilities which has undergone negligible improvement. I always wanted to do something in this field but the reality is that I did not know what to or how to do it. Also, like all other Indians, I felt helpless in this regard. That helplessness many a time also made me ignorant about these issues. But, now I can see a silver lining and am hopeful of doing something at least, I don’t know what, but definitely something.

Coming to our batch of MHA, we have small batch size of around 50 people, which makes it easy for us to develop personal bonds among the whole batch. Here we have people coming from different regions of the country, different socio-economic backgrounds, diverse educational qualifications which make the whole batch so interesting and exposes one to an altogether different culture. In just a few days, I came across many seniors and teachers, and I found them very warm and humble. The bond between juniors and seniors is too good here. Apart from this all juniors are assigned a mentor (who is a senior) for personal guidance.

Talking about the MHA course, it aims to develop a continuous pool of managers for rapidly growing health sector. As hospitals are becoming more and more  complex and technical environment to deal with, employing people with divergent and required skills is going to be needed to manage the hospital efficiently without compromising the quality and services.

As far as course curriculum is concerned, here courses like  Organizational Behaviour, Economics, Financial and Management  Accounting, Hospital Planning, Project Management, Human Resources Management and Labour Legislation, Principles of Management in Hospitals, etc. These subject are  thought by the leading experts in the field in the country. These subjects provide strong foundations of  knowledge to enable them to to effectively contribute to not only the organization they work for but also towards the healthcare sector of the country by different means.

To support and reinforce the learning from the subjects in the class, TISS has a unique concept of 3 Internships in 2 Years. IT gives students a strong exposure to the real-time working of the industry before starting to work full-time after the completion of the course. The best thing about these internships is that first internship is in a Government Hospital, the second one in a corporate hospital, and the third one in a Trust Hospital.  This gives a very diverse experience in of functioning of different types of hospitals.

We have different committees as well.  First, one is Alumni Committee (popularly known as Alcom), second is Clairvoyance ana annual fest of the Health School at TISS), and the third is Placement Committee which of course is the most crucial one !s . In Clairvoyance, various stalwarts in the healthcare sector come to the campus and share their stories, ideas, thoughts and vision.

Now, coming to the most important aspect of the course i.e. Placements. Average salary is around  7-8 Lakhs. The nice thing is that it is a very good investment in education as ROI is very high (Fees at TISS is around 2-2.5 Lakhs for the entire course). More than 100 companies related to health sector including International organizations like WHO and UNICEF participate in the process for their talent hunt. Research organizations like BAIF Development and  Research Foundation, Government and Non Government Organizations like MOHFW, NPSU, CARE INDIA, Aga Khan Foundation,etc , Corporate Hospitals like Max hospitals, Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Hospitals, etc. have been hiring students of MHA course year after year.  IT and Consulting players like IBM, Accenture, Infosys,Deloitte, etc.,Insurance firms like ICICI Lombard, Reliance General insurance ,etc and wellness and pharma major like Johnson and Johnson also are our regular recruiters.

So, at the end I can say that MHA is a course which is not only about studying about hospitals and getting a good job. It is much more than that. It is an experience, an experience of healthcare, an experience of TISS because “All labour that uplifts  humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence”said by Martin luther king”.