Recently, we discussed what healthcare administration is, why it’s important, and why you should consider this field. Here, we’ll explore the idea that healthcare administration is overly challenging and explain why this may be a misconception.
Many people think of healthcare administration and management as a difficult field of study and a difficult or stressful field to work in, but that’s not necessarily true.
This post will explain why people think healthcare administration is difficult, what you need to do to succeed in the industry, why you should consider getting into the field in the first place, and why you should choose to get your degree from CSU Global.
After reviewing these details, if you’re interested in taking the next step towards developing your career in healthcare administration, fill out our information request form to receive additional details about our 100% online Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration and Management or our online Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration.
If you’re ready to get started, submit your application today.
Why Do People Think Healthcare Administration is Difficult?
There are several reasons why people think of healthcare administration as challenging, but the most common one seems to be that it requires developing and maintaining expertise in two very different subjects, including:
- Business expertise - ensuring that the organization, department, or services you oversee remain profitable.
- Healthcare expertise - ensuring that the organization, department, or services you oversee deliver effective healthcare services.
While this is a complex field that requires two different and potentially challenging sets of skills - knowledge, and abilities in both business and healthcare - the rewards you’ll receive for building those skill sets may be well worth the investment.
You might think it’d be easier to specialize in just one of these subjects, leaving either business or healthcare tasks to another expert, but that’s not how the healthcare industry is structured. There are important reasons for enabling a single individual to oversee both sides of the equation.
The best way to ensure that you’ll be able to overcome the steep learning curve required to develop both the business and healthcare capabilities required to get into and succeed in this industry is to study the field in a serious academic setting, within a respected, accredited degree program.
What Do You Need to Learn to Become a Healthcare Administrator?
You’ll need to develop skills and abilities in both business and healthcare areas, including:
Business Skills:
- Project management
- Policy management
- Human resources
- Strategic planning, operations, and finance
- Operations management, supervision, and decision-making
Healthcare Skills:
- Ethics
- Quality assurance
- Risk management
- Healthcare finance
- Other practices essential to managing a demanding healthcare environment
These areas of expertise will be essential for handling the daily responsibilities of healthcare administrators and managers, which include diverse challenges like:
- Overseeing the delivery of healthcare services.
- Managing medical practices, clinics, or departments.
- Training staff to deal with new laws and regulations.
- Ensuring that patient delivery standards are met.
- Protecting the organization’s bottom line.
These may not seem like simple or easy tasks, but they’re not necessarily any more difficult than the responsibilities you’d face in any other important profession.
To ensure that you’ll be capable of handling these challenges, you should consider completing a degree program in healthcare administration.
Through the course of your studies, you’ll develop both business and healthcare capabilities that allow you to serve as an incredibly valuable asset at nearly any healthcare organization.
Who Should Consider Becoming a Healthcare Administrator?
If you’re interested in healthcare administration and are thinking about getting into the industry, then it’s worth doing the research to find out if it’s a good fit for you.
First, understand that it will take time, work, and extensive studies to develop the skills and expertise you need to succeed in this field.
Next, take a look through the following list of character traits that make people uniquely suited to become effective healthcare administrators.
If any of the following characteristics apply to you, then you might be perfectly suited for a job in this field:
- Good Leaders & Managers - In this role you’ll need to take charge, delegate authority, and provide instructions and directions to the people you work with. If you’re a natural leader, or if you’ve developed leadership and management skills, then you’ll have a great chance at achieving big things in this industry.
- Problem-Solvers - Like any important job, healthcare administrators need to be capable of evaluating processes and finding ways to improve them; natural problem solvers and people who are interested in optimization and efficiency tend to perform extremely well in this field.
- Great Communicators - In this role you’ll work with different types of people, including other key stakeholders, medical professionals, business professionals, and perhaps entire teams of people working to support a healthcare organization. The better you are at communicating, the more likely you are to succeed as a healthcare administrator.
- People With Solid Integrity - This job requires a great deal of responsibility, as healthcare administrators may literally find themselves responsible for protecting people’s lives by making important decisions about medical services. It’s critical that anyone considering a job in this industry is honest and trustworthy.
- Organizers and Planners - Because healthcare administration requires involvement in both the business and healthcare side of an organization, people who are well-organized and excellent planners tend to perform better in this complex role.
If you exhibit any of the above characteristics, then you may be perfectly suited to succeed as a professional healthcare administrator or manager.
Keep in mind that there are many other traits that would indicate you might be a great candidate for roles in this field, but these are some of the most important characteristics.
Do You Need a Degree to Break Into the Field?
You may be able to get into healthcare administration without a degree in the subject, but you would need a degree in a related subject, like Business Management, HR Management, or Organizational Leadership.
Because of the complex and critical nature of a healthcare administrator’s work, if you’re really serious about getting into this industry then you should consider enrolling in an accredited healthcare administration program.
Getting your degree in healthcare administration and management is simply the best way to ensure that you’ll develop the unique skills and abilities required to succeed in this challenging industry.
It’s also the best way to send a clear signal to hiring managers that you’ve got what it takes to fill their open positions and help steer their organizations to achieve real-world success.
When it comes to choosing a degree, CSU Global offers two excellent programs that you’ll want to consider.
Which Type of Degree Should You Get? Bachelor’s vs. Master’s Programs
We recommend enrolling in the degree program that is best aligned to your professional needs and career aspirations.
Typically, that will require choosing between a Bachelor’s or Master’s program, and the easiest way to decide which program would be best for you is to review your:
- Current academic credentials
- Experience
- Career goals
If you don’t already have a bachelor’s degree, or if you’re brand new to healthcare administration and trying to get your first job in the industry, then we suggest looking into getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration and Management.
However, if you’ve already got a bachelor’s degree in any field, if you’ve got experience in healthcare administration, and especially if you’re looking to secure a job in leadership or management, then you would probably be a much better fit for our Master’s degree program in Healthcare Administration.
If you’re having trouble choosing between a B.S. or M.S. program and would appreciate some assistance in making the decision, please consider contacting one of our Enrollment Counselors by calling 1-800-462-7845 or by emailing enroll [at] csuglobal.edu.
Whichever program you choose, you’re sure to improve your odds of advancing your career in this competitive industry by getting your degree.
Should You Get Your Degree in Healthcare Administration Online?
Yes, you should consider getting your degree online, especially if you already have existing job or family responsibilities that will need to be completed alongside your studies.
Choosing to study online will allow you to complete course work in your own time and on your own schedule, making it much easier for you to continue meeting your other obligations.
CSU Global’s 100% online degrees in healthcare administration were designed to be completed entirely online, and as a result they provide much more flexibility and freedom than traditional in-person programs.
Should you choose to study online with us, you’ll get to enjoy significant benefits like:
- No set class times or physical locations.
- Monthly class starts.
- Accelerated eight-week courses.
If you’re serious about developing the skills needed to become a professional healthcare administrator, but you’re worried about fitting courses into an already busy schedule, then you’ll definitely want to think about studying online with us.
Why Should You Consider Studying Healthcare Administration at CSU Global?
You should choose CSU Global because our B.S. and M.S. programs are regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which is the most respected accreditation organization in the country.
Each of our programs has also achieved great rankings from third-party organizations, and our alumni have reported excellent results from the job market.
In terms of awards, our Bachelor’s Program in Healthcare Administration and Management was recently ranked the #5 Most Affordable Online Bachelor Degree in Healthcare Management by Best Medical Degrees, while our Master’s Program in Healthcare Administration was ranked #2 Best Online Master’s program in Healthcare Administration by Best Health Degrees.
And when it comes to alumni success, our Bachelor’s program alumni report earning a median annual salary increase of 39% one year after graduation and receiving a salary that is 4% higher than the national average for all bachelor’s degree holders.
But performance looks even better for our Master’s program alumni, who report earning a median annual salary that is 30% higher than the national average for all master’s degree holders four years after graduation.
CSU Global itself has also recently been awarded with several important rankings, including:
- A #1 ranking for Best Online Colleges & Schools in Colorado from Best Accredited Colleges.
- A #10 ranking for Best Online Colleges for ROI from OnlineU.
- A #1 ranking for Best Online Colleges in Colorado from Best Colleges.
Finally, to save you on the cost of getting your degree, we offer competitive tuition rates and a Tuition Guarantee to ensure that your affordable tuition rate won’t rise between enrollment and graduation.
To get additional details about our fully accredited, 100% online degrees in healthcare administration please give us a call at (800) 462-7845, or fill out our Information Request Form.
Ready to get started today? Apply now!