A career counselling session was organized by The Sankara Nethralaya Academy (TSNA),a unit of Medical Research Foundation at its Academy campus Vanagaram, Chennai – 600 095 on 16.05.2015, Saturday to facilitate students completing their schooling to discover new and exciting academic options, a large number of young people had an opportunity to discover a whole range of courses in the healthcare sector that could help them build a great career.

Students & Parents at the career counselling session

Welcoming the gathering, Mr. A Mahalingam, Deputy Registrar, explained the service orientation under the visionary leadership of the Living Legend Padma Bhushan Dr. SS Badrinath. He briefed on the educational facilities and collaborations of the academy, for offering a purposeful education to the society, he also highlighted that the healthcare service sector is booming and that there are abundant career opportunities here, which he explained has made many institutions like the Sankara Nethralaya Academy to offer specialized courses in this sector to prepare students aspiring to be a part of this high growth industry

Dr MV Ashok Babu Expert in Clinical Counseling Addressing gathering said the medical sector is able to make up about 40 per cent of the staffing requirement required for paramedical personnel, but there is a need for qualified paramedical support personnel to help augment the growth of the healthcare sector which is evolving very fast. Responding to queries about the scope of these courses, he said, “Students can not only be employed, but also study ahead till the doctorate level and be exposed to the manufacturing sector as well, if they take up the allied health science courses offered.”

Prof. S Ramani, Principal, further added that employability can be enriched only by acquiring knowledge, skills and attitude, over and above the qualifications, reinforcing the uniqueness of this academy which is approved by Healthcare Sector Skill Council (NSDC). He also detailed about the extensive scholarship schemes offered by Sankara Nethralaya for the meritorious and economically weaker students.

Dr Anuja R Singh, Manager – Optometric Education, Sankara Nethralaya Academy at the career counselling session

The Sankara Nethralaya Academy offers several courses like BSc (Medical Laboratory Technology), BSc (Ophthalmic Dispensing), Fellowship of Dispensing Opticians, BBA (Hospital & Healthcare Management) and Diploma in Ophthalmic Nursing Assistant. The details and curriculum of these courses were explained by the concerned faculty heads Dr. Anuja R Singh, Dr. Vandhana, Mr. Senthilkumar and Ms. Renganayaki, who also outlined the career opportunities after course completion.

The program concluded with clarifications and individual counseling and commencement of admission process. Further details and applications for the course can be obtained through the academy website www.thesnacademy.ac.in