Ayurveda courses gained prominence post Covid-19; Know Career options after BAMS

Medical Experts have revealed that after the Covid-19 pandemic, Ayurveda courses have gained popularity, and even engineering and dental students are opting for Ayurveda courses in some cases, read here to know the insights.

If we go back a few years ago, especially before the Covid-19 pandemic, the traditional medicine systems comprising Ayurveda were not being taken very seriously by the general public. Ayurveda medicines were mostly looked at as supplements but not as a cure for serious diseases. Now, the acceptance of Ayurveda medicines have increased not only in India but all over the world and with this increased awareness, demand and various initiatives by the government, the field is growing and offering more career opportunities than before.

When we spoke to experts and educators in this field, they all agreed that now the demand is high for BAMS courses and the future only looks bright for Ayurveda students. There are so many career options available after completing the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS). One can join the private sector's jobs, Central and state government sectors' jobs as well. One can also become an Ayurvedic pharmacist and academician.

When we asked Dr Bhavna Singh, Principal of GS Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital about how things have changed after the pandemic in terms of demand for Ayurveda courses, she said, “When Covid came, we saw that definitely, modern medicine has a role but its effect was limited during the pandemic. We couldn't manage the situation through modern medicine, not only in India but also in many developed countries which were devastated by the pandemic's effect. However, when it comes to India and Pakistan where we follow traditional medicines, people remained safer comparatively.”

“Even in a large country like India where the medical facility is not that good, we could overcome Covid in a better way because Ayurveda had a significant role. So, common people realised the value of traditional medicines especially those which we were using two to three generations before. Today we all know about common allopathic medicines like Crocin which we take without consulting anyone but we do not know about Ayurved which also includes our kitchen medicines and medicines from our herbal garden. Herb like Giloy which we can plant anywhere even in jungles, people saw the medicinal benefits of Giloy, Turmeric, Ginger, Black pepper, Tulsi, then they realised the importance of Ayurveda,” added Singh.

“People from all over the world are now more inclined towards the Ayurvedic medicinal system. So, now the demand for Ayurveda has increased, people are ready to pay and want to take these medicines. Earlier, people were not even counting Ayurvedic medicines or maybe they also had an opinion that it will only help in non-treatable diseases but now today people know that if they take Ayurvedic medicines at early stages, many of their illnesses can be prevented from becoming chronic. Even in cancer cases, Ayurvedic medicines are showing good results in preventing people from radiotherapy,” she added.

Govt increased Ayurveda vacancies

After noticing these changes, even the government have increased its vacancies in Ayurveda and given more funds to research in Ayurveda. So, when funds are coming in opportunities are more in this field, added Dr Singh.

There are a lot of career options available in Ayurveda today, even a graduate student in Ayurveda who completed BAMS can apply for the vacancies of Medical Officers released by state governments. Besides, at the national level, Medical Officers vacancies come through UPSC, and even Medical Officer vacancies come in ESI. Also, one can do many other courses after BAMS like hospital management, which is quite popular among the youth of today, and after doing this course one can join big companies. Private practice options have always been there but as the demand has increased, private practitioners are able to get good income now. People are once again demanding Ayurvedic experts who could detect problems through the traditional way of examining the Nadis, she said.

Also, like in modern medicines, there are PG options available to study after BAMS like Kaya Chikitsa (Medicine), Balrog (Paediatrics), Prasuti tantra (Gynae), Manas rog (Psychiatric), and there are also non-clinical branches like 'Dravya gun', where students study about herbs or its manufacturing.

"Also, the basic subjects like Anatomy, and microbiology, so we offer PG courses in these and after doing these courses one can join as faculty in Ayurvedic colleges," added Dr Singh.

As the demand for Ayurveda increases, more new Ayurvedic colleges are coming up - both government institutes as well as private colleges. In these colleges, one can join as a lecturer or professor based on their experiences. Growth opportunities and salary packages are good for teaching profiles. Now, also students can go abroad unlike before, she added further.

On the starting salary packages and growth opportunities, Dr Singh said,” For a fresh graduate, the salary packages start from a minimum of INR 25, 000 to INR 30,000 for Medical Officers in private organisations. In a government job, if one joins as a Medical Officer, the person gets the Grade A salary from starting.”

“Also, in private colleges, for faculty posts, it starts at more than INR 60, 000 and in government colleges it is higher than the private colleges. Also, some students join modern hospitals, so their salary depends on the hospital, but normally it starts from INR 50,000 to INR 60,000. In government hospitals, the salary is at par with the allopathic doctors. Also, one can join as Research Officer,” she added.

Engineering and Dental students joining Ayurveda courses

Prof Rama Kanta Sharma, Principal of Government Ayurvedic College & Hospital, Guwahati said, "After the pandemics, the Ayurvedic courses are in great demand and we have an experience in Assam also, earlier the engineering students who were admitted in engineering colleges, they are coming to opt for Ayurvedic courses. Nowadays, medical people are also opting for Ayurveda courses like dental students. Last time we had 15 students who were earlier admitted to dental colleges and they came to Ayurvedic colleges for admission later on. This is in great demand and after the pandemic, the market value and the acceptability of Ayurvedic treatment have increased.”

On career options available for someone who completed BAMS, he said, “One can go for the healthcare industry, pharmaceutical industry, education, lifestyle, medical tourism also gaining popularity, insurance sector, nursing sector, these are the common areas after BAMS. In the government sector, there are a lot of scopes especially the Government of India wants to develop some 12500 health and wellness centres (HWC) across the country and in Assam also, they are planning to develop 500 centres. Earlier it was restricted to allopathic doctors only but now it is also for Ayurvedic doctors.”

“Generally, the package is what we observed is between INR 4 lakh to INR 12 lakh per annum for BAMS doctors depending on their sector and in the government sector they get 40,000 to 50,000 per month. Growth opportunities are very good, especially for the person who after BAMS qualify with PG or go for management degree with BAMS, they have more opportunities,” added Sharma.

Read more:

• Students have multiple opportunities after BAMS: GS Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital Principal
• Career options are growing for BAMS, Ayurvedic Doctors: Principal Govt Ayurvedic College, Assam