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Punjab to send senior medical officers to IIM-A for management training
As many as 30 SMOs will be sent in the first batch, for which a budget of ₹60 lakh has been sanctioned by the health department.
In a first, the Punjab government is set to send its doctors, posted as senior medical officers (SMOs), to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, for a week-long management training programme.
As many as 30 SMOs will be sent in the first batch, for which a budget of ₹60 lakh has been sanctioned by the health department.
“The objective is to address the managerial challenges in the delivery of healthcare services, respond to the needs of different segments of the population efficiently and effectively, build institutions of excellence in the health sector, and influence health policies and wider environments,” the documents regarding this training reveal.
The course, ‘Customised management development programme for SMOs’ replaces an earlier 10-week programme, ‘Professional development course.’ which was discontinued eight years ago. Experts from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and other key institutions will be training the SMOs during the course.
According to information, the government has chosen to send the SMOs to IIM even as there is an option before states to train doctors free-of-cost under the Centre-led National Health Systems Resource Centre,
The Centre for Management of Health Services (CMHS) is one of the oldest centers at IIM, Ahmedabad. It was set up in June 2004 in recognition of IIM-A’s contributions to the health sector in the past and the need to strengthen the management of the health sector in the context of socio-economic developments of our country.
Notably, Punjab has recently sent government teachers for training in Singapore.
In the health sector, senior officials say, it is for the first time that the state government doctors will be given special training at the IIM.
