The Department of Child Health Nursing, Manipal College of Nursing (MCON), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), organized an Alumni Guest Lecture as part of its ongoing Alumni Engagement Guest Lecture Series. The session took place on April 16, 2025, from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM via the Microsoft Teams platform. The guest speaker for the session was Mrs. Smitha Jyothi Saldanha, Diabetes Educator in Nursing Administration at Mediclinic Welcare Hospital, Mediclinic Middle East (MCME), Dubai, U.A.E., and an esteemed alumna of MCON, Manipal (MSc Nursing Batch 2020–2022).

The lecture was titled “Optimizing Healthcare Delivery through Health Economics: A Nursing Management Perspective.” Mrs. Saldanha provided a comprehensive overview of health economics, delving into its foundational principles, key influencing factors, and its relevance in clinical and administrative practice. She elaborated on the three fundamental pillars of health economics: Cost of Care, Access to Care, and Quality of Care, emphasizing their interrelation in achieving efficient healthcare delivery.

A key focus of the session was the increasing significance of nurses’ involvement in healthcare financial management. Mrs. Saldanha highlighted how nurses, by actively participating in complex financial decision-making processes, can strengthen their roles as leaders and administrators. Drawing from her professional experience, she offered valuable insights into practical cost-management strategies in clinical settings and underscored the importance of a strong clinical foundation for effective financial decision-making by nurse administrators.

The session aligned with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being, by promoting efficient and equitable healthcare delivery; SDG 4 – Quality Education, through the dissemination of advanced knowledge in health economics; and SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, by emphasizing cost-effective and resource-conscious healthcare management practices. The session was attended by 19 participants, comprising 15 second-year MSc Nursing students and 4 faculty from MCON. It was highly interactive, insightful, and engaging, significantly enhancing participants’ understanding of health economics within the framework of nursing management.