Hospital administration is a field of management related to leadership and management of public health systems, hospitals, and healthcare systems across all sectors in society. Health systems management ensures that the hospital’s objectives are met and all departments of the health facility are running smoothly. In short, hospital administration oversees the organizational part of the health services. Since a hospital involves many dynamic activities, an effective coordination mechanism is required to run the system efficiently. Their duties include serving as liaisons among staffs and department heads, recruiting doctors and nurses, organizing and coordinating services set by the board, ensuring that programs and policies for patient services are implemented properly, public outreach is effectively done and facilitate expanding programs and services for research. Hospital administrators should also be updated regarding any legal changes that may affect the medical industry as well as medical research. 

The course provides the student with managerial techniques pertaining to the health sector. The curriculum is designed in such a way that the students inculcate leadership skills necessary to lead an organization, develop critical think and enhance their problem-solving skills. In addition to theoretical skills, students will also be given training in practical skills required in the industry. In addition to basic management subjects, other important subjects included in the course syllabus are health services delivery system, health management, public administration, fieldwork in hospital management and soft skills development. Students will also be doing a summer internship if it is a 2-year course. The internship can impart the students with much-needed industry exposure thus giving the students the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge in real-life scenario. 

Diploma in Hospital Administration can be pursued by any students who possess an undergraduate degree in any domain. Many business schools in India offer specialisation in healthcare management. The basic eligibility required for the candidates 10th, 12th and an undergraduate degree with an aggregate percentage of at least 50%. Reservations are applicable for some institutes, hence a 5% relaxation in the required percentage will be given to the students falling in the reserved category. Candidates will have to appear for entrance examinations such as Common Aptitude Test (CAT), Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT), Management Aptitude Test (MAT). Most institutes will prefer CAT scores for shortlisting the candidates. There are also institutes that accept XAT and MAT scores as well. Candidates will be shortlisted for the interview process based on the score obtained in the tests. Final admission will be based on the cumulative score achieved in the test and interview. Students completing the course will be placed in diverse job roles such as health administrator, clinical research manager, etc. Some top institutes offering the course are Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Goa Institute of Management (GIM), All India Institute of Medical Research, etc. It should be noted that for candidates who wish to get admission at TISS should attend their own entrance examination which is TISSNET. Applicants will be shortlisted for the interview based on their TISSNET score. The average salary of students getting placed in this profile can range between Rs 2 lakh - Rs 10 lakh per annum.