Understanding the underlying interests driving the decision to pursue a master’s degree in health administration is the first step to transition into a career in health service management. There are certainly plenty of economic reasons why people choose careers in healthcare administration that include competitive salaries and above average job growth averaging about 22% through 2022. Additionally, the career field offers enough variety to accommodate different skill sets and strengths of its members. However, great economic prospects and strong skills alone are not enough to help one sustain a career in the long term. Instead, one must have a passion for the work that is based upon definite interests and values. Here are examples of some of the interests and values of those pursuing graduate degrees in health administration.
Public Service Leadership
Those within the health service career field are ideal examples of servant leaders. These are the people who work behind the scenes at hospitals and other healthcare facilities to make sure that patients have access to quality health services. They are trained to manage the financial aspects of hospital administration which include creating and managing budgets, conducting financial forecasting exercises to project future growth and expenditures and overseeing the day to day tracking of accounting data. Some of these healthcare business professionals are involved in public service but at a more strategic level as they work to guide policy making decisions for both government agencies and private healthcare service providers. Students pursuing graduate degrees in healthcare administration usually are interested in promoting quality healthcare to everyone and are satisfied to work in a lower profile position than the ever popular clinical staff.
Applied Research and Analytical Problem Solving
Skilled administration is only part of the job description owned by those working in healthcare services. These professionals also utilize comprehensive research skills that are applied to strategic decision making. Consequently, graduate level health administration degree programs are usually filled with courses pertaining to quantitative analysis, probability and statistics and hypotheses testing. Students who have interests in learning how to correctly design research studies, applying statistical models using the latest healthcare software tools and interpreting data to contribute to improved healthcare services do well in graduate level health administration coursework.
International Health Policy
Many ambitious healthcare service professionals have interests in promoting healthcare beyond the borders of the United States. Often, countries in developing economic regions require the skills of trained healthcare service specialists the most. Some health administration graduate students pursue concentrations in international healthcare policy for just this reason. Students with interests in particular regions other than their home market or who desire to work with the World Health Organization often choose to participate in the international health policy specialization within the graduate health administration degree program.
Conclusion
Healthcare administrators are not only accountable for contributing to policy making through skilled research and analysis, but they are also called upon to make sure that they provide value to both patients and shareholders in some cases. The master’s degree in health administration prepares graduates for what appears to be an exciting career path for those who want to use creative problem solving skills to promote improved public health for their communities and beyond.
