Health Care Administration
Whenever you go to a hospital for a routine checkup or for emergency, you probably notice how incredibly busy these places can be. With patients going back and forth and nurses and physicians hurrying from room to room, it seems remarkable that people receive the care that they need, when they need it. Of course, this amazing coordination doesn't happen magically. In order for hospitals to provide optimal care, they must be well managed by supervisors with extensive medical knowledge, administrative savvy, and leadership skills. This is what you'll learn through health care administration training.
What Exactly Is Health Care Administration?
If a hospital is a business (and many would argue that it is) health care administrators constitute the executive team that makes sure that inventory is kept, expenses are paid, resources are secured, and staff members are hired (and fired). Through your training, you also learn how to interact with insurance companies, families, regulatory agencies, other hospitals, emergency response units, and any other groups that work directly or indirectly with hospitals. A bachelors degree or higher is strongly recommended for this field given the range of your responsibilities. Coursework will include public speaking, finance, accounting, anatomy, legal ethics, organizational behavior, and management.
Opportunities in Health Care Administration
Like most other occupations in the health care industry, positions for administrators should be numerous in the coming years. According to the US Department of Labor, this field will grow faster than the nationwide average for all other occupations. Median salaries were just under $70,000 in 2004.
Health Care Administration is available in the following states:
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