What Can I do With My Healthcare Administration Degree

If you’re looking to combine a love of business and the medical field into one promising career, healthcare administration is an excellent option. Healthcare is a secure industry that will always be in demand. And as the baby boomer generation ages, healthcare jobs are needed more than ever. The increase of chronic conditions (1) and advances in medicine are also fueling the rapid growth of healthcare administration careers.

A Rapidly Growing Industry

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2), medical and health services manager jobs will grow by 20 percent from 2016 to 2026, which is much faster than the growth of the average occupation. The job also doesn’t require years of grad school to start earning money back from your degree.

Convinced that healthcare administration is the industry for you? If you’re one of the 72,000 people who decide to join this industry in the next decade, you’ll want to check out the rest of our article to learn more about options when it comes to healthcare administration degree jobs. We’ll cover a wide array of jobs in the industry, so you’re sure to find something that appeals to you.

Examples of Healthcare Administration Degree Jobs

Though a master’s degree is not always required for a healthcare administration job, those with more education and graduated from a university with the best health graduate programs will have an edge on the competition and have more doors open to them when applying for jobs. Those with a Master of Healthcare Administration and a degree in Associate of Science in Nursing Program could enjoy one of many job options, including the following.

Hospital CEO

A hospital CEO (3) is one of the most prestigious jobs in the healthcare administration industry. This person acts as the head of the hospital, taking responsibility for all of the daily operations and making decisions that have a huge impact on patient care. The CEO will have the final say on areas like hospital finances, safety measures, quality of healthcare, recruitment, and much more. This job requires a master’s degree and often requires at least 15 years of experience in healthcare management. In addition, if you are looking for a recruitment agency, you can find more information here.

The CEO can also advice the hospital to use the best healthcare software from companies like Foresee Medical, which is mainly used to to estimate future health care costs for patients.

Long-Term Care Facility Administrator

A long-term care facility administrator takes care of patients who can no longer live on their own due to health issues. Patients in this type of care are often elderly, but others may be younger and in need of 24-hour care due to injury or several medical problems.

Some examples of this type of care include nursing homes, Assisted living homes, or rehabilitation centers. A long-term care facility administrator (4) has the responsibility of overseeing nurses and staff, as well as managing the hiring, budgeting, and other business tasks that come along with running an assisted living facility or long-term care center such as Villa de San Antonio.

Clinical Administrator

A clinical administrator (5) runs the daily operations of healthcare offices like outpatient clinics, family practices, community health centers, and more. They direct the office team, doctors, and nurses in areas like patient care and hiring. This type of administrator position involves budgeting, creating policies for the clinic, and other tasks. Clinical administrators should have extensive knowledge of healthcare laws, insurance processes, and medical staffing.

A Day in the Life of a Healthcare Administrator

No matter the specific healthcare administration degree job, healthcare administration is a high-level career that requires analysis and decision-making skills. Because hospitals and clinics are often open around the clock, a healthcare administrator may be required to work outside of normal office hours. Hospital administrators will need to work closely with a wide variety of other staff members, so they must have excellent people skills and the ability to manage a large team.

Start Your Career Today

Whether you’re looking to advance your current healthcare administration job or wanting to make a career switch, an online degree may be the right choice for you. Online programs are ideal for those managing a busy schedule of work and family life. For example, Independence University offers a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration program that can be completed online in just 15 months. With an online healthcare administration degree, you can choose to take classes on your own time and learn from an experienced and dedicated group of instructors and advisors.