The India Field Seminar

Post by:

Meg Meyer
MBA/MPH, 2012

The whole class at the Taj Mahal

From January 1^st through 14^th, 20 MBA students traveled through India with Professor Mark Allen, Director of the Health Sector Management Program, and Diane Reimer, Director of Graduate Counseling in the Feld Career Center. We visited three cities: Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, learning about the Indian healthcare system. From government hospitals to private for-profit hospitals to super-specialty care, we saw it all.

Visiting a mobile clinic run by one of the largest government hospitals, AIIMS

Visiting the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a Government Hospital in Delhi

A very different experience visiting Max Healthcare, a private, for-profit hospital

We also traveled to rural areas to observe primary care facilities and meet with community health workers.

Ashas (Community Health Workers who focus on women and children) working in a rural village outside Delhi

Students waiting to tour the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Narayana near Bangalore

Part of the Narayana Hrudayalaya Super Specialty Hospital Center

It was truly incredible to see how healthcare was provided in a country of over 1 Billion people. The potential for economies of scale, mass efficiency, alternative financing schemes, and low-cost technology are exciting. At the same time, challenges such as poverty and lack of infrastructure are widespread. Throughout our visits, we had the opportunity to hear what leaders in the field think of these issues. We also got the chance to sit down with executives over dinner and get a first hand account of what it is like to run a business in India.

Throughout our time in India and for a week after, the students participating in the field seminar kept a blog. If you're interested in hearing more perspectives about our experience, you can check it out here: http://smgindianfieldseminar.blogspot.com/

Meg is a second year MBA/MPH student studying Global Health Management. She is also the President of the new Global Health and Development Association. You may find her running around Boston with a backpack on or challenging people to dance-offs.