Medical Profession

STUDENTS SHOULD FOCUS MORE ON GAINING PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE AT THE WORKPLACE THAN DREAMING OF FAT SALARIES

THE global medical industry is one of the world's fastest growing industries, absorbing over 10% of gross domestic product of most developed nations. It constitutes of broad services offered by various hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, diagnostic laboratories, pharmacies and is ably supported by drugs, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, medical equipment, manufacturers and suppliers.

The medical and healthcare industry provides enormous employment opportunities to choose from. Apart from using the services of medical professionals, this industry also utilises the expert services of public policy workers, medical writers, clinical research lab workers, IT professionals, sales/marketing professionals and health insurance providers.

The Indian healthcare market, according to industry sources, is reported to be growing at over 30% annually. A recent McKinsey study on healthcare says that medical tourism alone can contribute Rs 5,000 - 10,000 crore additional revenue for upmarket tertiary hospitals by 2012, and will account for 3-5% of the total healthcare delivery market.

The Indian pharmaceutical sector is highly fragmented with more than 20,000 registered units. It has expanded drastically in the last two decades. The leading 250 pharmaceutical companies control 70% of the market with market leaders holding nearly 7% of the market share.

As regards laparoscopic surgery, also called minimal access surgery (MAS), it is not only limited to general/gastro intestinal surgery but has wide a scope in other fields of surgery as well like gynaecology, neurosurgery, ENT and thoracic surgery.

INDIAN SCENARIO

The pharmaceutical industry in India meets around 70% of the country's demand for bulk drugs, drug intermediates, pharmaceutical formulations, chemicals, tablets, capsules, orals and injectibles. There are about 250 large units and about 8,000 smallscale units, which form the core of the pharmaceutical industry in India (including five central public sector units). These units produce the complete range of pharmaceutical formulations, ie, medicines ready for consumption by patients and about 350 bulk drugs, ie, chemicals having therapeutic value and used for production of pharmaceutical formulations.

Following the de-licensing of the pharmaceutical industry, industrial licensing for most of the drugs and pharmaceutical products has been done away with. Manufacturers are free to produce any drug duly approved by the Drug Control Authority. Technologically strong and totally self-reliant, the pharmaceutical industry in India has low costs of production, low R&D costs, innovative scientific manpower, strength of national laboratories and an increasing balance of trade. The pharmaceutical industry, with its rich scientific talents and research capabilities, supported by Intellectual Property Protection regime is well set to take on the international market.

CAREER WISE

Planning for a career in any field of medical profession is an excellent investment for your future. As the fastest growing industry in the world, new job opportunities are being created every day.

Each department in a medical profession has a number of positions that one can go for. With the growth of the industry, the demand for well-trained professionals in this field has shot up.

Good training in this field is a must and there are some good training centers available in the country today. A postgraduate degree (MS/DNB/Mch) in the speciality is a must to practice the art of MAS.

REMUNERATION

A whole lot of specialised avenues such as lifestyle clinics, emergency medicine units, pharmaceutical firms, hospital information systems, e-health ventures, credit rating firms, NGOs and health insurance now require trained manpower specialised in hospital administration.

A management level graduate earns anywhere between Rs 2.5-3 lakh per-annum, while middle and lower-level can earn between Rs 2-2.5 lakh. Freshers should focus more on gaining practical knowledge at the workplace than dreaming of fat salary packages.

Managers with a medical background command higher price in the market, even though the industry has a preference for such people, non-medicos are putting a brave face on it. Having a medical background definitely helps but even non-medicos can excel as what matters ultimately is how good are your managerial skills.

In times to come most of the surgical procedures will be done laparoscopically thus requiring more and more well trained surgeons.

Sunil Sharma

Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group