With the Affordable Care Act in full swing and a shortage of medical personnel, many people are searching for Master’s in Health Administration positions. These jobs don’t usually entail daily patient contact, unless you work for a small clinic or healthcare facility. Health administration jobs are business positions with concentration classes in healthcare with a variety of specialities. The degree enables one to see financial and human resources as they apply to the medical field and understand departmental issues in clinics and hospitals.
What Skills do Health Administrators Bring to the Table?
Health administrators understand business. They have taken courses in marketing and in risk management as well as accounting and other financial areas. They also understand people. They have taken courses in arbitration and in psychology and management. That equips them to step into leadership or executive positions to coordinate and utilize both the people and the money that make healthcare organizations function, and function efficiently. They also have learned good business practices and the legalities of business regulation both domestically and internationally. While they certainly should not attempt to diagnose illness, they are well-suited to run the facility that pays the doctors who practice there.
What are Some Positions Health Administrators Might Have?
Hospitals employ nearly 30 percent of healthcare managers or administrators, according to “All Healthcare Monster. Com.” They could also work in joint practices where there are several doctors with schedules and finances to manage. In a small office, they might manage insurance claims and set appointments as well as monitor the condition of durable medical equipment. In larger facilities they would supervise employees or whole departments that did those tasks. Health administrators also work at companies that manufacture and market medical supplies. They manage the financial and human resource departments of pharmaceutical companies and act as nursing home administrators. Healthcare managers, with their knowledge of business and healthcare savvy can be assets to insurance companies, assessing risk and even managing individual policies. Some healthcare managers work in governmental agencies or in private corporations making and implementing healthcare policies. Public health departments employ healthcare administrators to help them plan for new clinics and to effectively use the facilities and staff they have.
What is the Job Outlook for Health Administration Managers?
“Forbes Magazine” says the mid-career salary for most healthcare administrators is $88,580. Of course, that depends upon where you work. Salaries are higher in some parts of the country, and government jobs often pay more than positions in private hospitals or rehabilitation facilities. You might not make as much working for a small rural clinic as you would if you held a position with a hospital that grossed several million dollars a year. The projected job growth rate for all healthcare administrators is 22 percent, which is higher than average.
People looking for Master’s in Health Administration positions are sometimes daunted by the variety of careers available to them. One thing to keep in mind is that the electives and extra courses you add to your major will help you decide on a career tack. One thing for certain is that there is no shortage of healthcare manager positions.