What Is Healthcare Administration: Education, Careers, & More
When we think of healthcare, we think of doctors and nurses first, often forgetting the behind-the-scenes work that healthcare managers or administrators do. A large and complex sector such as healthcare cannot successfully function without the people in charge of healthcare management systems, therefore it is a role that should definitely not be overlooked. You can read more about healthcare administration, the duties and responsibilities that are expected in this field, and how to land roles as administrators and managers.
What is Healthcare Administration?
Healthcare administration and management are important fields in healthcare involving leadership, management, and administration of healthcare systems, hospitals, and non-clinical functions in a healthcare facility. Therefore, depending on credentials and their responsibilities, healthcare administrators can either be specialists in charge of a single clinical department or generalists who manage the whole facility or a system.
Their duties, however, do not involve the hands-on tasks of a doctor or nurse, but rather the business component of the delivery of healthcare services. The responsibilities in healthcare administration can range from the analysis of policies to budgeting, accounting, handling human resources, and even marketing.
Healthcare Administration Job Description
The successful administration of departments within a healthcare facility is an indispensable part of overall effective management, as such, healthcare administrators play important roles in the industry. While it may sound self-explanatory, there is often confusion as to exactly what is healthcare management and what it entails when it comes to duties and responsibilities.
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The job description of healthcare administrators and managers includes ensuring that the department is running smoothly in terms of personnel and their duties, resource planning and spending, and that departmental goals and objectives are being met. Some of their responsibilities and duties involve the following:
Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of healthcare services,
Setting goals and objectives for the department,
Keeping up to date with laws and regulations pertaining to the healthcare industry and ensuring that the staff are compliant with them,
Recruiting, training, or supervising staff members,
Developing work schedules for the staff,
Preparing and monitoring budgets and ensuring that departmental spending is within budget,
Representing the facility at investor meetings or managing boards,
Organizing and keeping records of the department’s or facility’s services.
Careers in Healthcare Administration
The healthcare industry is an evergrowing and changing industry, with an increasing demand for workforce and specialists in various fields. Healthcare administration is one among these fields that welcomes new generations of workforce. The growing demand is a result of the population growing older, which consequently increases the demand for healthcare services and nursing facilities. In order to quickly adapt to changes in different structures within the industry, healthcare administration offers numerous career paths and opportunities that are shaped by industry needs. Some of them include:
Hospital Managers and CEOs
Nursing Home Managers
Diagnostics and Laboratory Managers
Health Policy and Management Administrators
Healthcare Marketing and Public Affairs Managers
Health Informatics Specialists
Materials and Equipment Managers
Wellness Program Administrators.
Job Prospects
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BSL) medical and health services managers held 422,300 jobs in 2019. Moreover, they project a number of 555,500 employed health services managers by 2029, a 32 percent growth rate from 2019 to 2029, which is a significantly faster rate than in other occupations.
This growth rate comes as a result of the aging baby boomers, the improvement of medical technologies, and the need for management and administration as medical team practices grow and become more complex. These circumstances indicate favorable job prospects in healthcare administration, together with the possibility of various career paths and the opportunity to advance in this career.
Education and Requirements
In order to be prepared with the competencies and skills required for the responsibilities that come with the roles of an administrator or manager, careers in this field of healthcare typically require a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration as a minimum requirement before entering the field. This type of degree program prepares students with comprehensive knowledge of the healthcare system, the use of technology and technological equipment in the healthcare industry, the business and management aspect of this field, and the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Apart from bachelor’s degrees, in competitive working environments, it is fairly common for employees to choose candidates with master’s degrees in similar fields. However, these requirements can always vary by the facility and duties of the healthcare administrator or manager.
Skills for Healthcare Administrators
Apart from the theoretical and practical knowledge that one gains through education and training, healthcare administrators must also focus on the development of some of the core skills that are required in the field of healthcare administration. Some of them include the following:
Communication
An essential skill in most industries, communication is also equally important in the healthcare management field. Regardless of the communication channels—in-person, emails, or phone calls—healthcare administrators should be able to clearly and concisely communicate their intentions, plans, and goals to the department or facility’s staff members.
Teamwork
Managing an entire department or facility comes with great responsibility and a number of duties, but these cannot be done without working effectively as a team. A healthcare administrator should be a team player in the sense that they should build morale, be someone that the staff can rely on, and give support to others whenever it is needed.
Leadership
Leadership and administration go hand in hand; it is a skill that is absolutely necessary for a role where you have to set regulations, goals, and come up with strategies that contribute to reaching those goals. A good healthcare administrator or manager should have a clear vision, they should be good delegators, and recognize and foster potential, be it in staff or in solutions and strategies.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Making large-scale decisions in the name of a department or entire facility means that you should be able to identify areas for improvement and come up with problem-solving strategies for them. Innovative and creative thinking, initiative, and analytical thinking are some of the skills that make a good problem-solving manager or administrator.
Data analysis
Gathering and analyzing current and historical healthcare data is often crucial in order for healthcare administrators to determine the best solution to a problem and to make the most informed decisions. Data such as health surveys, billing records, administrative enrollment, and medical records of patients, can all serve as very valuable information. Therefore, knowing how to interpret and put them to good use is an important skill to have in healthcare administration.
Budgeting
In order to make conscious and informed decisions regarding the facility’s expenses, budgeting is a key skill to have in healthcare administration. New equipment, additional hires, and other operating expenses should all be monitored and evaluated so that everything is within budget.
Work Environment and Conditions
Since many healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes operate around the clock, healthcare administrators typically work a 40 hour week, with the possibility of being called in cases of emergencies. According to BSL data, medical and health service managers usually work within hospitals (33%), in physicians’ offices (12%), nursing and residential care facilities (10%), government (8%), and outpatient care centers (7%). This job may also involve travelling in order to attend meetings, or inspect modular or satellite facilities.
Salary
Healthcare management is a field of work with plenty of responsibilities, but salary-wise, it makes for quite the lucrative career path. According to BSL, in May 2020, the median annual wage for this field was $104,280. The lower-earning percentage of workers made less than $59,980, whereas the highest-earning made more than $195,630 annually.
Healthcare administration is a growing field and a rewarding career both personally and professionally. With the right preparation and credentials and by honing the skills needed to succeed in this industry, there will be plenty of opportunities to land jobs as healthcare administrators.