Healthcare administrators have a lot of responsibilities which depend on what kind of organization they are working for and how large the organization truly is. Their primary role is to plan health care facilities, organize them properly and supervise the functions these facilities by coordinating with the staff that work within that facility. Health care administrators are of two types – generalist & specialist. As the name suggest, generalist are administrators who overlook the functions of an entire facility to ensure that it operates effectively, while specialist are those administrators who possess specific skills related to a certain department which could include accounting, human resources, finance, marketing, etc. A lot of institutions reach out to health care officials to come up with standards and procedures that are professional in nature and policies that can be applied to the institution. They are also in charge of advancing scientific research, medical rehabilitation, preventive medicine & community health and welfare, beyond limited boundaries. If you are looking to be a health care pro, you would need to master communication skills – oral and written, possess leadership and managerial skills, and have an eye for specifics.
The first step you would have to take to become a health care administrator is complete your bachelors degree from an accredited educational institution. While this is enough to qualify you for the post, if you want to be part of a reputable organization, you would consider completing your master’s degree in health services administration, business administration or nursing administration. Look out for an internship program as most employers prefer administrators who have a certain amount of experience as a therapist, nurse or any other post.
The employment opportunities for health care administrators have grown with each year and it is expected to grow even further. Specializing in fields such as long term health care and home health care can prove to be an added bonus as these are expected to grow in demand. Ensure that you do your graduation to compete for these openings. Technology has become so advanced today that what people had to go to hospitals and offices to do, can now be performed easily from their own office or even from home. With the expansion of most hospitals and organizations, health care administrators can be assured of job security throughout their career.
Any degree in health care administration would be a blessing in disguise because of the ever expanding field of health care. You can almost be guaranteed of a position in a health care organization. You can take up jobs of a CEO, finance managers, human resource managers, and tons of other post.
The responsibilities that a health care administrator has would purely depend on the size of the organization he is working for. You would notice that in organizations that are fairly small the health care official would have minimal duties such as patient intakes and handling office finances while in larger organizations, they may be required to run the entire show. They use all of their experience, knowledge and everything that they may have learnt from their education to carry out these tasks effectively.
Most health care officials choose to start off their careers in specialized fields such as nursing. Assisting in laboratories, etc, and then grow to higher post with the means of their education.
If you want to be a high earning CEO or top-level manager, you would have to meet the organizations requirement of having completed your masters in health care administration or you can even do your doctoral degree to qualify for high-ranking careers at reputed hospitals.
There are lists of courses that are also available online for you to benefit from. These courses are both long term and short term and offer a chance at getting some hands-on experience as well. The requirements for a bachelor’s degree and a master degree may be different but it is a must that you hold a bachelor’s degree and pass a licensing test if you care to be employed in the nursing care facility.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted that, between the years 2006 – 2016, there will be a rise for the demand of health care administrators by a steep 16 percent, which would open the doors for nearly 43,000 management jobs. While clinics and other health care facilities will recruit managers, hospitals will dominate this field by being the single largest employer of health care managers. Consultants who supply health care officials to these organizations would see a quick rise in job openings.