| | 8 November 2017HIGHERReviewIN MY VIEWWHY DENTISTS, PHYSIOTHERAPISTS AND NURSES CAN MAKE GOOD HEALTHCARE MANAGERS?By Dr. Usha Manjunath, Director, IIHMR-BangaloreHealthcare never fails to be in the news, be it for being perceived as expensive or for being seen as a lucrative industry, which is recession-proof. It's no lie that healthcare has been taking giant strides without being much affected by the business cycles unlike other sectors of economy, has been generating demand for healthcare professionals more than ever which has been witnessing steep growth.The booming industry has been appealing for many wanting to pursue a career in the industry for all of its perks that make it a high-earning sector and appealing to everyone's social conscience. This thriving industry has a lot of opportunities other than as a medical doctor and even pharmacists, lab technicians, dentists, physiotherapists, nuclear medicine technologists.Healthcare in IndiaHealthcare in India, just like in any other developing countries, is growing rapidly and has become one of the largest sectors in terms of revenue generation and employment. Yet, the recent tragedies like that in a Gorakhpur hospital (UP) when many children died for want of oxygen had brought to the fore the state of India's healthcare, and also there have been other areas of concern like the closing down of nursing colleges in Kerala. However, taking into consideration the current challenges, which the healthcare sector is confronted in relation to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which aim to achieve Universal Health Coverage and provide access to safe and affordable medicines and vaccines for all by 2030.Supporting R&D for vaccines is an essential part of this process as well where R&D spend on complex drugs were about Rs 8,500 crore in 2015-16. Many other programmes for achieving Universal Health Coverage provide a golden opportunity for careers for trained health managers. The Real TroubleThere has been significant growth in the overall healthcare sector in the country, with the growth expected to sustain a CAGR of 16.5 per cent over 2008-2020, thus growing from about $170 billion to $280 billion by 2020. But, the growth has not been uniform as the division of the healthcare sector into urban and rural sectors has brought to the fore the challenges facing the healthcare industry. The big­money tag industry is not universally applicable to everyone. The images of a few high-flying surgeons are held in awe by all, while The ailing healthcare sector in India definitely needs a structural approach from the government to tackle the issues, but the professionals can do their bit to upgrade their career to escape the rut and frustration
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