Patient care administrators are typically registered nurses and work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation clinics, and hospices. They are in charge of overseeing patient care and services, staff, regulatory compliance, quality of care, and cost containment. Patient care administrators often have duties supervising medical care, overseeing personnel and implementing procedures and regulations.
| Required Education | An associate's degree or bachelor's degree in nursing |
| Job Duties | Include supervising medical care, overseeing personnel, implementing procedures and regulations; must possess strong communication skills |
| Median Salary (2021)* | $77,600 (all registered nurses) |
| Job Outlook (2021-2031)* | 6% growth (all registered nurses) |
Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Required Education
Most patient care administrators are registered nurses (RNs). To become a registered nurse, you'll need a high school diploma and to complete a two-year associate's or four-year bachelor's degree program in nursing. In addition, you'll need to pass the NCLEX-RN exam, a national licensing exam for RNs. Some positions may require patient care administrators to have a master's in nursing or a field like medical administration, health care administration, or business. Patient care administrators typically have experience or education both in nursing and in business or management.
Skills Required
Patient care administrators must oversee both patients and staff and maintain systems that are often very demanding and complex. To be effective, they should be excellent multitaskers, pay careful attention to detail, work well with others, and have strong communications skills.
Employment and Economic Outlook
While the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) doesn't have specific data on patient care administrators, the outlook for the larger field of registered nurses (RNs) is very good. The BLS reports that employment for RNs may grow as much as 6% from 2021-2031, which is much faster than average. Median earnings in May 2021 for registered nurses were $77,600, per the BLS.
Alternate Career Options
Here are some examples of alternative career options:
Social and Community Service Manager
Having at least a bachelor's degree in public health, social work or business administration, these managers supervise social service programs and staff members who offer services to the public. Much faster than average employment growth of 12% was anticipated by the BLS for social and community service managers from 2021-2031, who earned an annual median salary of $74,000 in 2021.
Physician Assistant
These professionals are supervised by surgeons and physicians and provide patient examinations, diagnoses and treatment. Physician assistants (PAs) usually have a master's degree, on top of an undergraduate degree in a healthcare field, and often have experience as an EMT, paramedic or registered nurse. Licensing is required in all states. The median annual wage for PAs was $121,530 in 2021, and a much faster than average employment increase of 28% was forecast by the BLS for the 2021-2031 decade.
