Healthcare Administration Degree
A good healthcare administration degree, sometimes also known as a healthcare management degree program, equips the graduate with the unique qualities, knowledge, and skills needed to tackle the challenges posed by today’s quickly changing and complex healthcare industry.
Some highly respected universities offer specialized Healthcare Administration Degree programs. Learning mode is available both in online and traditional campus settings. An online bachelors is well suited for students who have family and work obligations that make it impossible to relocate for schooling. The online degree program in health administration contains much the same academic coursework and degree requirements as its campus and hybrid cousins. However, computer-generated learning requires dedication and determination to stay abreast of assignments and project deliverables based on a self-determined schedule. Lectures are streamed and student interactions conducted via chat and email threads.
Healthcare Administration Degree students take coursework in accounting, public health regulations, healthcare law, strategic planning, healthcare economics, medical ethics, medical records management, quality management, healthcare marketing, information technology in healthcare, and operations management.
People interested in healthcare administration can pursue degrees at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels
A bachelors in Healthcare Administration degree is designed for individuals wanting to pursue careers dealing with the business aspect of healthcare. Depending on your prior academic achievement, you could earn a Healthcare Management Bachelor’s degree in as few as 18 months to four years.
For graduates ready to assume leadership roles in the modern healthcare system, a master in health administration provides professional-level training with a focus on real-world issues. A Master’s degree can increase the chances of attaining the senior management positions in healthcare administration
A doctorate in healthcare administration is a terminal degree within health administration. It offers advanced learning opportunities in healthcare leadership. They are designed for licensed, certified or registered healthcare practitioners who plan on undertaking facility administration positions within health organizations.
Doctor of healthcare administration program is different from Ph.D. programs. The doctoral degree focuses on the application of real-world research while Ph.D. focuses on the generation and critique of original research.
To gain admittance, doctoral programs will require an accredited master’s degree. Most students need to have a previous degree related to healthcare management, administration or information technology or have at least five or more years of experience in healthcare policy, management or clinical specialty.
The online Ph.D. or Doctor of Health Administration degree represents the pinnacle of scholarship for individuals who are health educators or policymakers.
For administration professionals who want to teach, conduct research and publish, the online Ph.D., while formidable, is a solid choice.
What can you do with a Healthcare Administration Degree?
Healthcare administrators can function in so many capacities. With recent development in technology, dynamic public policies, and growing organizational complexity have created a wide range of job opportunities as well as a growing demand for skilled professionals to fill these roles. They can be found working in a variety of settings, from small private practices to regional hospitals to national medical centers. Healthcare administration careers are available in nursing homes, group physician practices, outpatient care centers, insurance company analyst, medical office business manager, government policy maker, government lobbyist, hospital marketing staff, insurance contract negotiator, facility project manager, rehabilitation clinics or home healthcare services. They can also work in State public health agencies, non-profit organizations with health-oriented missions.
The duties and objectives of a health administrator vary by the organization or company for which they work, but the essential core of the job remains the same regardless. Health administrators are accountable for ensuring the smooth operation of a hospital, hospital system or public health organization. Job descriptions may include the following:
- They supervise employees such as doctors and nurses, ensuring that there is an adequate staff who are trained in key
- They engage in a wide range of planning, coordination, and implementation of medical and health service.
- They have a deep understanding of healthcare policy and laws, as well as latest and imminent issues that require administrators to stay ahead of the trend
- Maintain open communications with medical staff and heads of department.
- Attend and contribute to high-level meetings with investors or governing boards
- Help to manage and oversee hospital budgets and expenditures, and also ensure that there is adequate revenue to cater for improvements needed to keep up with the latest
- They pay attention to little details such as staff scheduling, hiring and salary issues, keep stock of supplies and patient fees and billing.
- Work to improve financial effectiveness and overall efficiency.
- Utilizing data that supports quality and performance measuring decision-making processes for all types of the healthcare
- Analyze financial data to evaluate and identify the degree of financial risk.
How Much do You Make in Healthcare Administration?
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary for the healthcare administration field was $111, 680 in May 2017
It is worth noting that the job opportunities and salaries of healthcare administrators are influenced by some factors, including educational attainment and professional experience, as well as job setting.
Educational qualification is very important, determines how much an individual earns. Bachelor’s degrees don’t usually go beyond an entry-level position (e.g., assistant healthcare administrator), and the salaries do not exceed $54,000.
Health administrators who oversee larger medical organizations (e.g., hospitals) usually earn more than those who manage smaller organizations (e.g., physicians’ offices, nursing home). For example, the annual mean salary of a medical/health service manager working in a hospital earns $104, 680 as compared to $82,240 earned by similar professionals employed in nursing care facilities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
References
Ethical Dilemmas in Health Service Administration. (1994). Healthcare Management Forum, 7(3), 47-47. doi: 10.1016/s0840-4704(10)61069-1
Health Administration: Online Degrees and Careers. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.publichealthonline.org/healthcare-administration/online-degree-programs/
What Can You Do With a Healthcare Management Degree? The Business Behind the Medicine. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/business/blog/what-can-you-do-with-healthcare-management-degree/
What careers can I have with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration? – Online Masters In Public Health. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.onlinemastersinpublichealth.com/healthcare-administration-jobs
