Healthcare Administration Careers
Does the world of medicine excite you? Do you think you possess the skills and leadership qualities it takes to become a healthcare administrator? Jobs in this field are available in a variety of settings - including hospitals, physician offices, insurance companies, nursing facilities, and government agencies - and include a variety of titles, including nursing home administrator, medical office manager, and hospital administrator.
This field is also growing faster than the national average. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical and health services managers are expected to experience a 20% job growth from 2016-2026, and those with a master's degree in healthcare administration and/or knowledge of health information technology and operating systems will have the best job opportunities.
Let's explore the many job options in the field of healthcare administration as well as the duties and requirements of a healthcare administrator to see if this career is right for you.
Healthcare Administration Career Path
The journey to a healthcare administration career typically begins by obtaining a bachelor's degree. For some careers, this may be all the education you need, however, many advanced positions in healthcare administration require a master's degree as well as work experience. Employers will accept a range of college majors, but some of the most common degrees include:
- Healthcare administration
- Health information management
- Nursing administration
- Business administration
While deciding on a school and program, you may want to look for programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), as this ensures accountability and quality standards within the program.
Also, keep in mind job function and location can dictate career requirements. For example, if working as a healthcare administrator in a nursing facility sounds exciting, a bachelor's degree in nursing may be good choice for your undergraduate education. Other careers, such as a hospital administrator, require several years of experience as well as a master's degree. To prepare for this position, you would most likely start in an entry-level job (such as a health information technicians or medical administrative assistant) and work your way up the ladder as you gain experience.
Types of Healthcare Administration Jobs
The field of healthcare administration includes a wide range of job options at different career stages. Those interested in becoming healthcare administrators can consider positions ranging from healthcare administrative assistants and billing managers to nursing home directors and healthcare practice administrators. A small snapshot on the range of career options are presented below.
Nursing Home Administrators
A nursing home administrator is responsible for the overall care and management of residents in a nursing home or long-term care facility. Their duties may include:
- managing facility systems
- overseeing budget and business operations
- coordinating resident nutritional programs and recreational activities
- supervising the work of all departments (especially nursing services)
- ensuring patient care standards are being met and implemented
Most nursing home administrators have at least a bachelor's degree in nursing in addition to clinical nursing experience and state licensure.
Practice Administrators
Preparing, managing, and overseeing budgets one of the key duties of a practice administrator. Strong time management, interpersonal, and communication skills are needed, as medical practice administrators often deal with customer service issues and work under tight deadlines while simultaneously improving the practice's overall performance. A bachelor's degree is typically required for this position.
Medical Office Managers
The average work day as a medical office manager includes:
- overseeing operations
- verifying health insurance reimbursement policies and coding guidelines
- planning budgets and managing organizational procedures
Medical office managers can work for a medical company, clinic, or hospital with multiple locations, though most work for a single practice or hospital. Most medical office managers will have a bachelor's degree and a few years of supervisory experience in the medical or medical-related field.
Entry Level Healthcare Administration Job Description
Entry-level careers in the healthcare administrator field involve working closely with doctors, nurses, lab techs, and other healthcare workers to create, direct, and organize seamless health and medical services and workflows. Some of these positions may only require a high school diploma and on-the-job training; however, employers may prefer candidates who have completed a relevant associate's degree or certificate program.
Most entry-level healthcare administration jobs require the following skills:
- Excellent supervisory and interpersonal skills
- General computer knowledge and data entry skills
- Strong organizational and communication abilities
To get you started on your journey, here's two popular entry-level healthcare positions.
Medical Records Technician - Medical records technicians, also referred to as health information technicians, organize health information data, including medical coding data and patient information. They ensure quality and security standards of all medical information by utilizing different kinds of classification systems to organize patient information for insurance records and to protect patients' medical information.
Healthcare Assistants - Healthcare assistants, also referred to as medical office assistants, support doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers in an administrative capacity. Processing insurance information, booking appointments, and managing other clerical work are some of their main duties. Those with additional training or certifications may also perform basic medical procedures, such as taking a patient's blood pressure or temperature.
What Does a Healthcare Administrator Do?
A day in the life of a healthcare administrator involves wearing many hats in the business and regulatory side of the healthcare industry. Essential duties in this field involve coordinating, directing, and supervising daily activities in their healthcare facility, which could be a private physician office, hospital, or residential care facility to name a few options. They may also:
- plan and oversee budgets
- recruit and train staff
- supervise deliveries
- evaluate personnel
- make policy decisions
- ensure staff comply with current government regulations
- create ways to improve overall administrative flow
Healthcare Administration Job Requirements
Job requirements for healthcare administration professionals, also known as medical and health service managers, begin with a bachelor's degree from an accredited program, though some positions require a master's degree.
Key qualifications for most positions include:
- Supervisory and leadership skills with experience in overseeing, training or hiring staff
- Knowledge of electronic health record (EHR) software, in order to process, code, and store patient data
- Solid organizational, interpersonal, and communication abilities
- Sound analytical and critical thinking skills
The type of position and location, such as working in a hospital setting as a healthcare administrator or a physician's office as a practice manager, will also dictate specific job requirements. Candidates looking to enter executive-level positions may require additional education, experience and certifications from organizations like the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) or the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). States also require licensure (requirements vary by state) to obtain employment as a nursing home administrator.
What Can You Do with a Healthcare Administration Degree?
Healthcare administration programs are offered at both the bachelor's and master's degree level and can lead to careers in many subfields, such as health information management, healthcare business analyst, nursing home administration, medical records administration, insurance management, and public health administration. Professionals can also further their careers by attaining additional experience, education and certifications. For example, managers may advance to executive level positions within an organization, agency or hospital.
Masters in Healthcare Administration Jobs
Below you will find information on some specific healthcare administration careers that typically require a master's degree.
Chief Nursing Officer - Chief nursing officers (CNOs) are responsible for directing clinical nursing activities, assigning schedules, leading educational trainings, creating advanced patient care strategies, managing staff and budgets, and purchasing necessary medical equipment and supplies.
Hospital Administrator - A hospital administrator ensures that the work flow and operations of a hospital are running like a well-oiled machine and oversee staff ranging from a few hundred employees to several thousand. Creating innovative changes or additions to further the future goals of a hospital also plays a large role in the work of a hospital administrator. They also manage financial and human resource responsibilities including payroll and budgeting as well as hiring and providing training for staff members. They may also be the point of contact or 'face' of the hospital and deal with any public relations issues, press events, and the community.
Clinical Director - A clinical director manages and develops an organization's clinical department through a myriad of responsibilities such as conducting evaluations, hiring, scheduling, and supervision of clinical staff and interns. Daily functions of a clinical director include working with the finance department and overseeing budgets for clinical programs, strategizing with other management teams to ensure program growth, success, and effectiveness, and working with graduate school programs to recruit clinical interns.
Bachelors in Healthcare Administration Jobs
Bachelor's degree programs in healthcare administration can provide you with the skills and knowledge to qualify for a variety of careers. Below you will find the job descriptions for some of these positions.
Medical Office Manager - Depending upon where a medical office manager works, such as a clinic, physicians' office, or a hospital, their specific responsibilities may vary. However, their main duties may include leading the daily operations of an office, managing fiscal accounts, planning budgets, overseeing facility operations, and hiring and training office staff. Additional responsibilities often include directing medical billing, coding, and payment services to make sure they conform to current insurance and malpractice regulatory guidelines and policies.
Health Information Management Director - A health information management (HIM) director works in education and healthcare facilities and is the main point of contact for the medical records and coding departments. Main responsibilities of these professionals include ensuring the institution or facility follows and adheres to all health and information compliance laws, implementing innovative technologies (specifically in computerized record management systems) to increase workflow and productivity and reporting on performance in comparison to competitors in the same industry.
Health Data Analyst - The primary focus of a health data analyst is to continually improve the methods, technology, and tools supporting the clinical and financial operations of a company or hospital. Daily operations of a data analyst include using specialized applications and statistical software to enter patient data, conduct data analyses, and eventually report all of this information to providers through presentations, reports, and even testimonies. Operating under strict patient confidentiality laws, health data analysts gather and research copious amounts of information from health records to insurance billing. They analyze all of this research to help provide solutions in all areas of healthcare from social services programs and financial operations to hospital staffing needs and most importantly, improving patient care.
All statistics come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017)
