Once at Lonavala in a star facility, courtesy the Company paid tour (obviously), went for lunch in a ground-floor basketball court-sized spread. Stepped in and a bird’s-eye view to acclimatize the location more so for a rustic bumpkin that I am! On one side, I saw a queue of around 20 dishes with a name tag on it. And then a little away from it in the middle, a 3 tier round about with dishes again on it. I didn’t bother to count. But you got the drift.
My million INR question was, Kaha sey shuru hota hai ye activity?! The answer was in my observation. After waiting beside the security for 2/3 minutes, I just casually followed the Urban socialites who showed the way.
Now, after MBBS, you should also reach such a Buffet setting for your career. And you cannot be like me.
One way is traditional food, and the other is non-traditional food. I mean ways.
In today's scenario, quite a few non-clinical roles offer careers that leverage your medical knowledge, which can be applied in multiple fields. We will try to delve into few such options.
Research. Now we spend on R&D overall around .64% of our GDP compared to China at 2.4%, the USA at 3.5%, and Israel at about 5.4%. More people are required in the research field.
Medical Research is one way to go. Young Turks like you are required to contribute to advancing the healthcare domain. Your studies, clinical tests, and experiments will pave the way for a better future from a Health POV.
Institutions like ICMR, CCMB, TIFR, NIMHANS, JNCASR, and many likewise are working towards the goal for the betterment of humankind.
A Stethoscope owner can go for his or her MD or PhD programs in areas like genetics, pharmacology, public health, et al.
Content. This is again if you have a flair for writing. Journals, health-related publications, forums, research papers, and so on. Openings in pharmaceutical companies, healthcare organizations, or even media companies, where your content can be disseminated as medical information. This is like building a bridge between the medical jargon, the complex data, and its results, put forward to the common people in a way they understand.
MBA (like haldi ya namak, sab jaga hai!). He or she may consider doing an MBA and then dive into the world of hospitals, Nursing home-like units as Medical Administrators and/or Consultants. There are plethora of Management schools that offer this degree, so according to your budget and preference, you may go for it. Dropping a hint, IIMs, FMS.
Teaching. Oho! Well, in our country, that is quite a place to work. If there is no Teacher, there is no learned Student. If stones are not pelted, then may share a thought. The problem is that all think, or rather, believe that he or she is a Teacher. So, who teaches a Teacher? (like in the Corporate world, whichever department you may be, all knows everything, so who needs a Trainer? Cost-cutting scissor is first sharpened in the L&D domain).
Having said that. Yes, if you are passionate about education, about sharing your knowledge and learning at the same time, then Academia is a platform where you can mentor the future Stetho’ owners.
Informatics. Very crucial, very critical, the integration of healthcare with information technology. Analyzing health records and implementing IT solutions with it, as it is a fast-growing field due to the advent of digitization and AI.
Entrepreneurship. Aspirations of doing something may lead to developing solutions that transform healthcare delivery. Innovations in telemedicine, mobile health applications, medical devices, and such other value-additions. I see my friend in the morning just holding a pen like stuff on his fingertip and shoots. The droplet of blood then moved on to a plate with a touch and then plug it in the small machine. Well, it tells how sweet his blood is! Voila! Very common now, unheard of in my days.
So dear, talk to your parents, friends, and well-wishers, and explore the non-clinical career path after you gain your foothold in the medical world, well-deserved with your MBBS.
And on hindsight, it seems out of around 100 doctors, 74 are in the urban zone where only around 28% of the population resides. Humanitarian thoughts start with “I”.
Concluding with my take:
“…I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of Humanity under any circumstances, and I will always speak respecting the other person as a Homo Sapiens just like me…”
Time for your round? Ok. Ever grateful for saving lives!