“Covid has provided\u00a0a\u00a0great opportunity to enhance\u00a0and strengthen the country\u2019s\u00a0healthcare\u00a0infrastructure.\u00a0We must ensure quality and timely healthcare, and\u00a0prepare ourselves for\u00a0similar\u00a0challenges in\u00a0the\u00a0future,\u201d says\u00a0Dr.\u00a0Sujata Das,\u00a0Medical Director,\u00a0Drushti\u00a0Daan Eye Bank,\u00a0L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Bhubaneswar\u00a0and alumna of the AMPH Founding Class.<\/p>\n
Becoming a doctor was a natural choice for Sujata whose parents also cheered for this profession. After completing her MBBS and MD from\u00a0Behrampur\u00a0in\u00a0Odisha, she completed a\u00a0long-term cornea fellowship\u00a0from\u00a0LVPEI Hyderabad.\u00a0This was followed by two more international fellowships from Germany and Australia. An ophthalmologist par excellence, Sujata was recently awarded the prestigious K R Dutta Award (2021). The award by the\u00a0All India\u00a0Ophthalmological Society\u00a0was bestowed upon her for her\u00a0pioneering\u00a0work\u00a0in\u00a0community eye banking.<\/p>\n
After two decades of clinical practice, Sujata took the dive into management. She explains why. \u201cLVPEI\u00a0is a doctor-driven organisation.\u00a0So,\u00a0despite being doctors, we were always involved in\u00a0day-to-day decision-making\u00a0where we needed to apply administrative skills. In 2012, when I became the director\u00a0of the\u00a0Drushti\u00a0Daan Eye Bank at\u00a0LVPEI\u00a0Bhubaneswar, I decided that I needed to learn\u00a0principles of\u00a0management\u00a0in order to\u00a0devise and implement\u00a0appropriate strategies and target\u00a0resources\u00a0for the institute\u2019s\u00a0overall growth. That\u2019s when I took the plunge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The AMPH is a modular healthcare-focused management programme at ISB which suited Sujata\u2019s needs well. \u201cI wanted to learn the C-suite skills but without taking a break from practice. AMPH\u2019s modular format did the trick for me. I could both work and learn at the same time,\u201d says Sujata.\u00a0Talking about the learnings at AMPH, she says, \u201cISB\u00a0mentors are excellent!\u00a0They helped me focus and understand how to drive\u00a0organisational growth to the next level. The ability to think and plan strategically\u00a0and understand how\u00a0technology\u00a0can impact an organisation\u2019s\u00a0performance and growth\u00a0were very useful learnings. However, the most critical takeaway for me was the knowledge of how to build and lead teams successfully.\u201d<\/p>\n
Explaining how she was able to implement the learnings from ISB at LVPEI, Sujata says, \u201cWhen the pandemic struck, we had two clear objectives: a) Safety of our staff with continued care delivery, and b) Avoiding overcrowding at our institute. For the same, we\u00a0continued\u00a0process improvement and laid down\u00a0protocols\u00a0for\u00a0each process,\u00a0ranging\u00a0from the reception\u00a0to manpower distribution to patient coordination and surgeries. We kept on changing the strategies to suit our needs. This agility and dynamism\u00a0are\u00a0an outcome of the teachings at AMPH.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the occasion of\u00a0Doctor\u2019s Day, she says, \u201cWe all have witnessed how the adoption of telehealth\u00a0has become the new normal in care delivery over the past year and a half. The\u00a0doctors should make every effort to continue patient care using new\u00a0and\u00a0innovative methods.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Covid has provided\u00a0a\u00a0great opportunity to enhance\u00a0and strengthen the country\u2019s\u00a0healthcare\u00a0infrastructure.\u00a0We must ensure quality and timely healthcare, and\u00a0prepare ourselves for\u00a0similar\u00a0challenges in\u00a0the\u00a0future,\u201d says\u00a0Dr.\u00a0Sujata Das,\u00a0Medical Director,\u00a0Drushti\u00a0Daan Eye Bank,\u00a0L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Bhubaneswar\u00a0and alumna of the AMPH Founding Class. Becoming a doctor was a natural choice for Sujata whose parents also cheered for this profession. After completing her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[24,25,29],"yoast_head":"\n