Like all industries, the healthcare industry thrives on good management to keep operations running smoothly. This is where healthcare administrators step in. These additional, qualified hands, though they are not medically skilled, plan, direct, coordinate, and supervise the delivery of healthcare so that hospitals function smoothly. Although healthcare administrators do not come in direct contact with patients, these professionals do help shape policies, examine medical record administration, rectify loopholes, and thereby better the country's overall healthcare system.
Demands of the Healthcare Administrator's Job
Healthcare administrators' tasks are multifarious. Like orchestra conductors, administrators strive to bring disparate notes into one cohesive and harmonious whole. These administrators oversee policies and procedures for their respective departments and coordinate interdepartmental activities.
It has been estimated that more than 100,000 healthcare administrators work in U.S. health administration and are responsible for millions of dollars' worth of facilities and equipment, in addition to other employees. Positions range from middle management to CEO positions at organizations as small as private clinics and as large as major international companies with thousands of employees.
Duties of the Healthcare Administrator
Healthcare administrators are responsible for the expansion, installation, and functioning of healthcare facilities and services apart from maintenance and patient records' security, as per federal regulations. An accurate and complete patient records database not only proves the efficiency of the administrator but also proves immensely useful for quality management and medical research purposes. From formulating policies at healthcare facilities and ensuring that hospitals and healthcare groups comply with federal norms and regulations, to helping centers pass statutory inspections, a healthcare administrator's job is rewarding, albeit challenging.
Only those professionals who want to qualify as nursing-home administrators must obtain licenses. The requirements to obtain licenses include a minimum of 400 hours of practice in nursing home administration, a master's degree in nursing home administration or an Administrator in Training (AIT) program, and a passing score on the state and national exams.
A Career in Healthcare Administration
To find employment as professional healthcare administrators, individuals need master's degrees in health services administration, long-term care administration, health sciences, public health, public administration, or business administration. However, some entry-level positions can also accommodate people possessing bachelor's degrees. Graduate degree programs in healthcare administration range from two to three years in length and, at times, offer specialized courses at any hospital, nursing home, or other medical center. Applicants to graduate programs can have business, liberal arts, or health profession backgrounds, but those having previous work experience in healthcare units have an advantage.
Healthcare administration is lucrative. The median annual earnings for healthcare administrators in top healthcare industries, according to a survey, are more than $120,000.
Healthcare Administration Involvement
Hospital administrators have to make effective decisions all the time. For this, they need to adopt certain skills to adapt to the demands of their jobs. They should be analytical, unbiased, diplomatic, flexible, and possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Hospital administrators' jobs become more demanding when they must motivate colleagues whose own work involves extreme pressure. Therefore, those skills become essential to their day-to-day managerial activities and help them become successful in their roles as hospital administrators.
