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These courses are aimed at providing basic knowledge and skills that FPM students
require for their role as researchers. For this role, the student must be familiar
with conducting serious research in emerging issues of management of health care
organizations and programmes, using the latest methodologies. To accomplish this,
each student is required to take a set of core courses consisting of Research Methodology and Quantitative Techniques. In addition, the set will include courses on basic
Epidemiology, Demography, Health System, and Principles of Management. The student
is also required to attend a course in Scholarly Writing, in order to develop competencies
in reading and writing scholarly literature, such as research proposals, dissertations,
research papers, etc.
Optional courses
Fellow Programme Level optional courses are designed to give students an in-depth
exposure to contemporary issues in their knowledge-domain of specialization as well
as in related areas. FPM students are required to take three such optional courses
– out of a set of six. Two of them will be from the knowledge-domain of their specialization
and one from other knowledge- domains. The optional courses include Health Economics,
Financial Management in Health Care, Human Resource Management, Organizational Behaviour,
Health Communications, and Quality Improvement.
Case writing
Case writing provides skills in writing a management case for the purpose of using
it as a learning tool in management education. Starting with a workshop on case
writing, the student will select a health care organization or an intervention programme,
study it under the supervision of a faculty member, and develop a management case
based on one or more organizational issues.
Independent studies
Students are also required to take a 'Course of Independent Study' (CIS) on any
topic of their research interest within their knowledge-domain. The CIS would be
aimed at developing sound research propositions on chosen issues or problems of
health or hospital management and testing them through a pilot research project.
Comprehensive examination
On completion of all requirements of course work, students would need to go through
a comprehensive assessment based on the FPM core and optional courses studied by
them, through a written and oral examination. This is to ensure the student's appreciation
of the multi-disciplinary issues in health / hospital management and his/her readiness
to undertake original research in the chosen field of management. The student will
have to pass this examination to be eligible for admission to the next phase (Thesis
work).
Thesis proposal
The student's research work starts with the identification of a Thesis topic (usually
based on guidance / advice from faculty members), and getting a Thesis Committee
constituted for supervision of this research. The Thesis Committee would consist
of a Thesis Supervisor (or, Guide) and two other members, based on the relevance
of their expertise in the Thesis topic. The student will work with his / her supervisor
to develop a research design, leading to the development of a Thesis proposal. He/she
then will deliver an open seminar on the Thesis proposal to the IIHMR academic community.
In case any modifications are suggested to the proposal, a revised proposal will
be presented based on required modifications. Once the proposal is approved, the
student will proceed with the research work towards this Thesis.
Thesis writing
Work on the Thesis represents the last phase of the Fellow Programme. The Thesis
work of the student, in consultation with the Supervisor and the Thesis Committee,
is expected to provide a distinct contribution to know-how in the subject, and should
provide evidence of discovery of new facts by the exercise of rigorous research
skill. Before submitting the Thesis for final examination, the student would give
an open pre-submission seminar to the IIHMR academic community for comments and
suggestions. After incorporating any suggestions given during the seminar, the student
would seek approval of the Thesis from the Thesis Committee.
Thesis examination
Upon receiving the approval of the Thesis Committee, the FPM Chairperson will appoint
a Thesis Examination Committee, consisting of the Thesis Supervisor and two external
examiners from prestigious institutions from India or abroad. This Committee will
examine the Thesis and will invite the candidate to an exhaustive oral examination
based on the Thesis. Based on the comments of the examiners and the oral examination,
the Thesis could be accepted as it is, accepted after modifications, or rejected.
Publication requirement
The research undertaken by an FPM student is expected to provide sufficient basis
for writing papers in refereed academic journals. One of the objectives of the Fellow
programme is to prepare students for such academic work. Hence the final requirement
for qualifying for the title of Fellow is to have at least one paper accepted for
publication in a national / international refereed journal.
Assisting in Research / Teaching
Since one of the key purposes of the FPM programme is to prepare students for outstanding
careers in teaching/research, there is a need to build collaborative research/teaching
skills. Therefore each student is required to work with a faculty member as a 'research
assistant', and document the outcome of this collaborative work as a research paper/report.
Alternatively, a student could also work with a faculty member as a 'teaching assistant'
supporting the faculty in teaching – which could include teaching, lecture/case
material preparation, course design, curriculum design, grading, etc. The minimum
period required for research/teaching assistantship is five semesters, with about
10 hours per week dedicated to this assistantship work.
Award of the title
The student will complete the following requirements before qualifying for the award
of the title of Fellow:
- Successfully complete the FPM course-work
- Successfully complete the Thesis work
- Complete the publication requirement
- Complete the research/teaching assistantship requirement
- Obtain clearance from various functionaries of the Institute as per guidelines
On qualifying for the award of the title, students will receive the title of
“Fellow of the Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur" at
the Institute's Annual Convocation.
Duration of the programme
The programme shall be completed within three years from the date of registration,
which may be extended by another 1 year subject to the merits of the case and favourable
review of work progress by the FPM Committee.
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