IIMB training 20 govt docs in 1-year hospital management programme

Bengaluru: Dr Savita Kamath, 52, has all it takes to be a straight-A student. The administrative medical officer at the taluk hospital in Bhatkal is one of the 20 doctors and administrators taking part in a specially curated one-year hospital management programme developed by IIMBx, IIM Bangalore's digital learning initiative, for the health department of Karnataka.

The programme seeks to enable doctors and administrators to acquire crucial skills in conflict management, finance and operations, besides governing hospitals more efficiently.Dr Kamath stays focused during the online classes that began last week and takes down notes without fail. "I bought a 200-page notebook the day I got selected for the course," she told TOI. She also studies regularly to avoid cramming for tests at the eleventh hour.

If all goes well, she'll get a certificate in hospital management from IIMBx."The health department has acknowledged that hospital administrators require advanced management skills over and above medical skills. Twenty medical superintendents of hospitals will be trained first in this programme. The format provides flexibility for doctors," said D Randeep, commissioner, health and family welfare.

"Next year onwards, the department proposes to nominate more doctors for this programme as it will equip them to become able administrators of hospitals."On the mode of instruction, Usha Ganeshan, manager, IIMBx Digital Learning Initiative, said, "The courses are offered asynchronously, using recorded videos, and additional reading material is provided to learners along with ungraded practice activities to help them internalise the concepts at their pace. There are synchronous live sessions with faculty who are subject matter experts and special guest lectures by practitioners and pioneers."

There are also group projects with scope for peer interaction and proctored assessments with multiple-choice and subjective questions. The programme was curated with the support of Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman of Narayana Health and chairperson, board of governors, IIMB.