Career in Ayurveda: Scope, eligibility and colleges offering courses in Ayurveda

Ayurveda, an ancient method of wellness focuses on maintaining an intricate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. The essence of Ayurveda is to maintain health however it offers treatment for various diseases by maintaining balance and harmony between Dosha, Dhatu, Mala, mind, and environment. In recent times Ayurveda has gained a lot of importance in the country and among foreign tourists as well. Ayurveda is an excellent career choice today, as complementary medicine courses and treatments are a much talked about topic. The masses are eager to keep away from strong chemical drugs as much as possible. The latter is an obvious reason why there is a rise in demand for doctors in this sector. 

In a conversation with Republic World, Dr.Partap Chauhan, Director of Jiva Ayurveda talked about diverse and ever-growing career prospects in Ayurveda. Read on to know more about the scope of a career in Ayurveda, the benefits of becoming an Ayurveda Physician, the required eligibility, and a list of colleges offering this course. 

What is the scope of a career in Ayurveda?

• One can opt for various career options in the field.   
• An Ayurvedic practitioner can get employment as a medical officer or doctor with any government and private Ayurvedic hospital 
• There is always the choice of venturing on your own and practicing in your private clinics.  
• Working as a professor in Ayurvedic colleges or institutions 
• A retail shop of ayurvedic medicines  
• Manufacturing of Ayurvedic drugs and FMCG products 
• Working in an Ayurvedic research and development centre, as both the government and private investors are funding various projects 
• Management and marketing roles at Ayurveda medical centres 
• Working at or opening up a Panchakarma centre 

What are the benefits of being an Ayurvedic physician?

While an individual is on a journey studying Ayurveda there are a plethora of benefits that one discovers and also fathoms the deep-rooted knowledge about the human body in a more subtle manner. It further aids you to connect the body with the universe and your natural surroundings. Ayurveda boosts one's spiritual growth and helps comprehend that Ayurveda is not only restricted to treatment purposes but it is a way of life pushing you to be a better person with good habits. On completing your course in Ayurveda, you will understand exactly what it means to live in harmony with nature which the generation of today needs to understand more than ever. 

What educational qualifications are needed to enroll in the course?

To be eligible for admission in Ayurveda a student must have cleared the 12th examination in the science stream with PCB (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) subjects. In most cases, the minimum percentage of students require in Class XII to be eligible for BAMS course admissions is 50% to 60%. However, the minimum percentage criteria change depending on a college/ university policy. Candidates who fulfill the above eligibility criteria have to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and qualify for it. Admission to the BAMS course is through centralized counseling based on the NEET merit list. 

Can you list some of the colleges offering course in Ayurveda?

Both private and government institutions offer this course. Some of the best Institutions for BAMS in India are  

1. Institute of Medical Sciences (Varanasi),  
2. Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (Faridkot),  
3. Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (Nashik),  
4. North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Homeopathy (NEIAH), Shillong. 
5. Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (Wardha) and  
6. Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (Bangalore)

(Disclaimer: Views expressed by Dr.Partap Chauhan, Director of Jiva Ayurveda are personal. Republic World does not take any responsibility for it.)