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DNB Broad Specialty · Book Guide

Books for DNB Hospital Administration.

The official NBE curriculum list, reproduced exactly, plus the editions residents actually read in 2026 — with recommended journals, a year-wise reading plan, and the references you'll need for your thesis and practical.

51Titles in the NBE list
10Current-edition picks
14Journals listed
3 yearsReading plan included
Official list

Books NBE lists in the DNB Hospital Administration curriculum

These 51 titles are reproduced as they appear in the National Board of Examinations curriculum document for Hospital Administration — spelling and abbreviations included. Treat this as the syllabus anchor.

  1. Paper I - Management: A Global, Innovative and Entrepreneurial Perspective - Harold Koontz
  2. Paper I - Management - JF Stoner
  3. Paper I - Organisational Behaviour - Stephen P Robbins
  4. Paper I - Management of Organisational Behaviour - Paul Hersey
  5. Paper I - Human Behaviour at work - Keith Davis
  6. Paper I - Personnel and Human Resource Management - David Adenzo, Stephen P Robbins
  7. Paper I - Principles of Operations Research - Harvey M Wagner
  8. Paper I - Industrial Engineering and Management - OP Khanna
  9. Paper I - Material Management Inventory Control and Logistics - AK Dutta
  10. Paper I - Financial Management for Hospital Administration - GB Kulkarni
  11. Paper I - Hospital Stores Management: An integrated approach - Dr Shakti Gupta, Dr Sunil Kant
  12. Paper I - Principles of Marketing - P Kotler & Armstrong
  13. Paper I - Essentials of Healthcare Marketing - E Brokovich
  14. Paper I - How to Market your Hospital without Selling your Philosophy - GD Kunders
  15. Paper II - Parks textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine - K Park
  16. Paper II - National Health Programmes in India - Jugal Kishore
  17. Paper II - Understanding health Economics - Paul R Macrone
  18. Paper II - Biostatistics & Research Methodology - Mahajan
  19. Paper II - Epidemiology in Health Services Management - G.E. Alan Dever
  20. Paper II - Epidemiology - Leon Gordis
  21. Paper II - Medical negligence and the Law in India - Tapas Kumar Koley
  22. Paper II - Medico legal aid to hospitals and doctors with consumer protection law - MS Pandit & Shobha Pandit
  23. Paper II - Medical Ethics Challenges and prospects in India - Subrata Sharma
  24. Paper III - Principles of Hospital Administration - JR Mc Gibony
  25. Paper III - Principles of Hospital Administration and Planning - BM Sakharkar
  26. Paper III - Planning and Approach to Health Facilities (5 Volumes) - WHO
  27. Paper III - Hospital Administration Handbook - HS Rowland & BL Rowland
  28. Paper III - Hospital Planning and Administration - R Lewelyn Davies and HMC Macaulay
  29. Paper III - Planning, Designing and Maintaining of Hospitals - GD Kunders
  30. Paper III - Medical and Dental Space Planning - Jain Malkin
  31. Paper III - Hospital Infection Control Guideline: Principles and Practice - Sanjeev Singh, Shakti Kumar Gupta, Sunil Kant
  32. Paper III - Juran's Quality Handbook - Joseph M Juran
  33. Paper III - Handbook of Healthcare quality & patient safety - Gyani G, Thomas A
  34. Paper III - Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare and Patient Safety - Pascale Carayon
  35. Paper III - Quality in Healthcare - Al Alassaf
  36. Paper III - Applying quality management in Healthcare - Diane L Kelly
  37. Paper III - Quality & Accreditation of Healthcare Organisations - WHO
  38. Paper III - Accreditation Manual - NABH
  39. Paper III - American Institute of Architects - Hospital & Healthcare Facilities
  40. Paper III - National Building Code 2016 - Bureau of Indian Standards
  41. Paper III - IPHS guidelines
  42. Paper IV - Hospital Special Care Facilities - Harold Lauffman
  43. Paper IV - Hospital Beds - J Yates
  44. Paper IV - Antibiotic Policies: Controlling Hospital Acquired Infection - Ian M Gould, Jos Van Der Meer
  45. Paper IV - District Healthcare Facilities - WHO
  46. Paper IV - National Ambulance Code - Department of Road Transport and Highways, Govt of India
  47. Paper IV - Health Building Note (01-16) - Department of Health Govt. of UK
  48. Paper IV - Hospital and Health Services Administration: Principles and Practices - Tabish Syed Amin
  49. Paper IV - Leveraging Lean in Hospital ancillary Services - Charles Protzman and Joyce Kerpchar
  50. Paper IV - Handbook of Hospital Security and Safety - James T Turner
  51. Paper IV - Emergency Medical Services & Disaster Management - Dr PK Dave, Dr Shakti Gupta, Dr NK Parmar, Dr Sunil Kant
Read this before you buy. NBE curriculum documents are revised infrequently, so several entries name editions that are now years out of date, and a few titles are out of print. Use this list to know what NBE expects you to have read, then buy the current edition listed in the next section.

Source: NBE DNB Hospital Administration curriculum

What residents actually use

Current editions, and what each one is for

The books most residents actually buy. These are the editions in circulation now, with a note on whether each is something you read cover to cover, keep as a reference, or open only for the viva.

  1. Principles of Hospital Administration and PlanningB.M. Sakharkar · 3rd edition · core referenceThe single most-used Indian text; forms the backbone of answers on hospital organisation, planning norms and departmental management.
  2. Hospital and Health Services Administration: Principles and PracticeSyed Amin Tabish · core referenceComprehensive Indian text used for clinical and support services management across Papers III and IV.
  3. Hospital Administration and Management / Modern Trends in Planning and Designing of HospitalsShakti Kumar Gupta, Sunil Kant · core referenceAIIMS-derived series residents rely on for stores, equipment, planning and departmental case studies.
  4. Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social MedicineK. Park · 28th edition · core referenceStandard source for Paper II - epidemiology, national health programmes, health economics and health systems.
  5. NABH Accreditation Standards for HospitalsNABH · latest edition · guideline/standardChapter-wise standards are directly examined and residents are expected to run mock internal audits against them.
  6. Planning, Designing and Maintaining of HospitalsG.D. Kunders · planning referenceGo-to text for space norms, departmental layouts and functional-design questions in the planning paper.
  7. Handbook of Healthcare Quality & Patient SafetyGirdhar J. Gyani, Alexander Thomas · 2nd edition · quality/safetyIndian quality-and-safety reference aligned with NABH; used for quality-indicator and patient-safety viva.
  8. Organizational BehaviorStephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge · management foundationUnderpins Paper I answers on leadership, motivation, conflict and change management.
  9. Methods in BiostatisticsB.K. Mahajan · 9th edition · research methodsUsed for hospital statistics, indicators and the biostatistics needed for the thesis.
  10. Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) and National Building Code of IndiaMoHFW / Bureau of Indian Standards · latest edition · statutory referenceNorm-setting documents quoted for facility planning, staffing and statutory compliance questions.
Journals

Journals NBE lists for Hospital Administration

Journal club and the “recent advances” parts of the theory paper come from here. You do not need to read all of them — pick the two Indian journals and one international one and follow them properly.

Health Policy and PlanningHospital and Health NetworkHealth Service Management & ResearchExpress HealthcareJAHA: Journal of Academy of Hospital AdministrationPhysician Executive JournalHealth Service Management ReviewWorld Hospitals and Health ServicesJournal of Healthcare Management (ACHE)Harvard Business ReviewJournal on Hospital InfectionInternational Journal for evidence based healthcareHospital Design ManualInternational Journal of Research Foundation of Hospital and Healthcare Administration
Reading plan

What to read, and when

Three years is less time than it sounds. The order below is what works for most DNB Hospital Administration residents — broad and readable first, reference-level later, revision and drilling last.

Year 1

Build the base

Ground yourself in Sakharkar and Tabish for hospital organisation and services, and Park for the public-health paper; simultaneously learn hospital statistics and materials-management calculations. Register the thesis protocol.

Year 2

Go deep, collect thesis data

Work through Paper I management theory (Robbins, Koontz) and Paper III planning and quality (Kunders, NABH standards, Gyani & Thomas); do departmental postings actively, writing up each department as a mini case study.

Year 3

Revise, drill, submit

Revise paper-wise from past DNB question papers, memorise NABH chapters and statutory acts, practise planning and statistics numericals, prepare departmental presentations for viva, and complete thesis submission.

Thesis

References for your thesis

Protocol, methodology and reporting standards examiners expect you to have followed.

  • ICMR National Ethical Guidelines (2017)
  • NBEMS Thesis Protocol Submission Guidelines
  • NABH Accreditation Standards and chapter-wise objective elements
  • Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) guidelines, MoHFW
  • WHO Health Systems Framework and SARA assessment tools
  • SERVQUAL and patient-satisfaction instruments; Donabedian structure-process-outcome framework
  • STROBE and SQUIRE (quality improvement reporting) statements
  • Methods in Biostatistics - B.K. Mahajan; Research Methodology - C.R. Kothari
Practical & viva

What the practical actually tests

Books and material specifically useful for the clinical, spotter and viva stations.

  • Hospital planning exercise: bed-strength calculation, departmental space norms, functional layout
  • Statutory and licensing: Clinical Establishments Act, Bio-Medical Waste Rules, AERB, PC-PNDT, Fire NOC, Drugs & Cosmetics Act
  • Quality: NABH chapter-wise standards, quality indicators, root cause analysis, FMEA, clinical audit
  • Hospital statistics: bed occupancy rate, ALOS, bed turnover, turnover interval, gross/net death rate
  • Materials management: ABC/VED analysis, EOQ, lead time, inventory control problems
  • Support services: CSSD, laundry, dietary, biomedical waste, housekeeping, engineering, security
  • Infection control: HAI surveillance, antibiotic policy, isolation, hand hygiene audits
  • Disaster management and emergency preparedness plan; ambulance and EMS standards
  • Financial management: budgeting, costing, break-even analysis, capital vs revenue expenditure
  • Human resource management: staffing norms, duty rosters, disciplinary procedure, appraisal
Frequently asked

DNB Hospital Administration books — questions

Which books should I read for DNB Hospital Administration?

The titles on this page are the ones residents and departments actually use, each with the edition in circulation now. Start with the first one listed and add the references as your reading deepens.

Which single book should I start with in first year of DNB Hospital Administration?

Principles of Hospital Administration and Planning by B.M. Sakharkar is the usual anchor. The single most-used Indian text; forms the backbone of answers on hospital organisation, planning norms and departmental management.

Are the editions listed here current?

Yes — we list the edition in circulation now for each title. Editions move quickly, so confirm the current one before you buy or print.

Do I need to buy every book on the list?

No. Most residents own three or four and use the department or library copy for the rest. That is exactly why printing selected chapters from a PDF works out cheaper than buying volumes you will open twice.

Can you print these books for me?

We print from the PDF you send us. Send the file on WhatsApp with your page count and whether you want colour, black and white or mixed, and we print, bind and deliver anywhere in India. We do not supply copyrighted book files.

How much does it cost to print a set of notes?

Black and white is 50 paise per page, colour is Rs 1 per page, and binding is Rs 40 per copy. A 400-page mixed set with binding usually works out around Rs 300 plus delivery.

Printing your DNB Hospital Administration reading?

Send the PDF on WhatsApp — colour Rs 1/page, B&W 50p/page, binding Rs 40. Printed, bound and delivered anywhere in India.

Other specialties

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