Discovering Your Purpose: 6 Reasons to Consider a Career in Healthcare Administration

Do you want to work in the health care profession but don’t want to join as a doctor or nurse?

It would be best if you considered a career in healthcare administration. You may make a yearly salary of $101,340, and the job growth holds a projection of 28% by the year 2031, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As you can see, this is an excellent outlook for the profession, and you can expect to find it to be fulfilling. If you’re wondering if you should start a career in health care administration, then continue reading to learn more about it.

What Is Health Care Administration?

A health care administrator is someone who is involved in the daily operations of a medical facility. People within this field are also known as health services managers or health care managers. Their responsibilities relate to managing programs, staff, budgets, and relations with other organizations.

Health administrators do not work directly with patients and instead help shape the policies of the organization. The policies they create lead the organization to serve patients better and improve the health care system.

What Skills Do a Health Care Administrator Need?

To start, you will need an undergraduate degree to gain entry-level positions within the field. You will also need specific skills to be successful as a health care administrator, and below are some of the skills:

• Knowledge of health care laws and regulation
• Leadership skills
• Understanding of technology
• Communication and teamwork skills
• Ability to adapt in a fast-paced and changing environment

You can gain these skills with an online program in health care administration. The online program may be a starting point for a career within the health field. You can learn more about our online health care administration programs by visiting our page here.

What Is It Like Working in Health Care Administration?

As a health care administrator, your job will be to make sure the daily operations of a medical facility run smoothly, and you will plan for future improvements. If you want to know how to become a health care administrator, start by reading some of their duties below:

• Plan the schedules of employees
• Hiring and salary management
• Financial management and budgeting
• Retaining medical records
• Supporting medical staff, such as nurses and doctors
• Maintaining compliance with healthcare laws and regulations

Of courses, the role and duties of health care administer change depending on your position. For example, those working in health care for the government will focus on health policy and not have so many administrative duties. In another scenario, someone in a high health care administration position will improve programs for an entire organization.

Six Reasons Why You Should Join the Health Care Administration Profession

The profession of health care administration offers an opportunity to work behind the scenes in helping patient’s lives. Below are six reasons why you should become a health care administrator.

1. You May a Variety of Options in Your Career Path

The best thing about joining the field of health care is you have plenty of options on where you want to go in your career path. As a health care administrator, you can choose to work in a clinical leadership role or work in health information management. You can choose to allow your personal strengths or decisions to guide you on where you want to work.

2. You May Create a Nice Income With an Associate in Healthcare

As a health care administrator, you can earn an annual salary of a little over $73,000. As you know, not every career offers this kind of salary starting, which is the best reason to research if your degree will be accepted by your employer or potential employers.

Of course, the salary will depend on a few factors such as your location, years of experience, and education level. As you grow and gain experience, you’ll be able to enjoy the rewards the industry has to offer.

3. The Profession Is Favorable Toward Women

The profession is female-dominated, and approximately 76% of health care administrators are women. The job tends to offer an outstanding work-life balance for those who have a family or are preparing to have one. This is something many careers do not provide and is vital to many people in the country.

4. You’ll Have an Opportunity to Grow in Many Ways

Health care is constantly expanding, and thanks to new technology, it’s going to keep growing. As new treatments and technology develop, you’ll be able to look at your role from a new perspective.

Starting off your education may get you in the door to entry-level health care administration jobs. Then, as you continue working, you will be gaining skills and knowledge of the industry.

The primary skills you may gain are soft skills such as teamwork and communication. These soft skills should help you in leadership and management roles—which, in turn, will help you grow and gain opportunities within the health care setting.

5. You Can Work in a Variety of Office Settings

Just because you have a career as a health care administrator does not mean you only have to work in hospitals. You may have the option to work in a variety of places, and below are some of them:

• Doctor offices
• Nonprofit organizations
• Health insurance companies
• Pharmacies
• Public health institutions
• Nursing homes

Here’s another option you may not know about: It's government agencies, and many administrators choose to work for them during the latter part of their careers. Some even decided to start working for themselves as management consultants.

6. Ability to Specialize in Your Preferred Field of Work

If you do not want to work in a hospital setting, you can specialize in an area of work that interests you. For example, many health care administrators choose to work in an IT-related area. Some may decide to work in the legal or finances field. The choice is yours on where you want to work.

Taking a career path in health care management can offer you multiple career opportunities, a positive employment outlook, and a high salary. Additionally, healthcare administrators are some of the most satisfied with their work.

Are You Ready to Start Your Career in Health Care Administration?

As you see, a career in healthcare administration can offer many benefits. You may have a fulfilling career and help shape people’s lives at the same time.

If you’re ready to start your online program in health care administration, then contact California Coast University today!