Healthcare Administration Manager

Healthcare administration and management refers to the process of leading, overseeing, or managing healthcare systems or hospitals and the delivery of healthcare services. 

Here we’ll review what healthcare administration and management is, why it matters, and why you may want to consider a career in the field.

We’ll also explain how to prepare yourself for becoming a professional healthcare administrator, and where you should go to school to study healthcare administration and management.

Whether you’re already experienced in the healthcare industry, and are simply in need of official academic credentials required to receive a raise or a promotion to a more senior-level role, or you’re entirely new to healthcare, we’ll get you up to speed quickly.

Is Healthcare Administration a Good Career?

Yes, healthcare administration and management is an excellent career choice, especially since the field continues to grow rapidly, with the demand for knowledgeable and capable healthcare administrators expected to grow significantly over the next decade.

In fact, the BLS estimates that employment for medical and health services managers is projected to grow by 28% between 2021 and 2031. The average growth rate for all occupations is 4%, meaning that there is a great deal of opportunity in this field.

Healthcare administration and management is a challenging, but interesting and exciting role, requiring skills, knowledge, and expertise in both business and healthcare, making this an excellent option for anyone interested in helping healthcare organizations overcome the difficulties of adapting to a series of ever-changing rules and regulations.

What Do Healthcare Administrators Actually Do?

Healthcare administrators are in charge of running healthcare clinics, hospitals, agencies, systems, or vendors, and they are tasked with managing the delivery of healthcare services, including overseeing and managing elements related to both business and healthcare.

Accordingly, success in the field tends to be improved by building a strong foundation in both business and healthcare, including expertise in the following business fields:

  • Management, supervision, and decision-making.
  • Policy and communication.
  • Project management.
  • Strategic planning, operations, and finance.

And on the healthcare side, healthcare administrators also need to be experts in all facets of the U.S. healthcare system, but especially in service delivery, specifically in the following core areas:

  • Quality assurance.
  • Risk management.
  • Insurance.
  • Ethical, legal, and regulatory issues.
  • Other practices essential to managing in a healthcare environment.

The most effective healthcare administrators tend to be experts on both sides, with awareness, skills, and expertise in business-related concepts, as well as a firm understanding and ability to manage essential tasks unique to healthcare delivery. 

Do I Need a Degree to Get a Job in Healthcare Administration?

You don’t necessarily need a degree to secure employment in the industry, or even to build a successful lifelong career in healthcare administration and management, but having academic credentials does tend to make related roles more accessible, especially when pursuing more senior or management-level positions.

If your goal is to become a professional healthcare administrator or healthcare manager, then you will almost certainly want to study healthcare industry best practices, and develop your related leadership and management skills, abilities, and knowledge in an academic setting.

Whether you choose to seek employment in a state, local, or private hospital, or in ambulatory services, nursing, government agencies, or a residential care facility, earning your bachelor’s or master’s degree in healthcare administration is one of the best ways to improve your understanding of the U.S. healthcare system, and to increase your chances of landing a job in healthcare administration.

Getting your degree is also one of the best ways to ensure that you’ll be prepared to bring value to a healthcare organization from day one, which should further improve your chances of convincing a hiring manager to choose you for a related role.

However, you do have a couple of excellent options in terms of which degree you choose to pursue, and while some people will certainly want to pick the bachelor’s level degree, others may be better suited for the master’s program.

Which Healthcare Administration Degree Should I Get?

You should pick the degree that best meets your educational and professional goals, and which best complements your current skills, experience, and knowledge of healthcare administration best practices.

Based on your needs and goals, you’ll want to choose either CSU Global’s Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration & Management, or our Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration

Both of these programs can be completed 100% online, are regionally accredited, and are widely respected.

If you’re new to healthcare administration, and just looking to get your foot in the door, or if you only have a little experience in the field without any formal education regarding best practices, then you may want to choose the bachelor’s degree program.

However, if you’re already a professional healthcare administrator, or if you have experience in some other similar line of work in the healthcare industry and your goal is to improve your marketability for senior-level roles, then the master’s degree program may be a better option.

What Can I Do With a Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration?

CSU Global’s Bachelor's Degree in Healthcare Administration and Management will prepare you to lead in healthcare organizations by providing you with a strong foundation of competencies in a range of business and healthcare topics.

The sophisticated skills you’ll gain from this program will ensure that you’re ready to bring value to an organization from day one, and may improve your opportunities to secure relevant career roles, like:

  • Practice administrator.
  • Clinical IT application support.
  • Medical staff credentialing analyst.
  • Managed care specialist.
  • Program manager.
  • Hospital HR generalist.

What Can I Do With a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration?

Earning your master’s in healthcare administration will prepare you for a variety of related leadership and management roles.

The courses you complete as part of our master’s program will provide you with the skills and abilities required to successfully complete typical daily duties of professional healthcare administrators, including:

  • Improving quality of healthcare service delivery.
  • Understanding healthcare policy, laws, and regulations and how changes to them will impact your organization.
  • Interpreting financial budgets and managing operational costs, ensuring both profitability and quality of care.
  • Creating strategic plans for your healthcare organization.
  • Organizing healthcare facility records, and maintaining confidentiality, security, and accessibility throughout healthcare services delivery.

Getting your Master’s in Healthcare Administration will prepare you for employment with, or a promotion into roles, like:

  • Medical and health services manager.
  • Administrative services manager.
  • General and operations manager.
  • Practice administrator.
  • Medical staff credentialing analyst.
  • Managed care director.
  • Program manager.
  • Hospital HR manager.

Is Getting a Degree in Healthcare Administration Really Worth It?

Yes, getting your degree in healthcare administration is worth the hard work and dedication required to complete a bachelor’s or master’s program.

Simply put, the most important reason to consider earning your degree in the field is that it’s one of the best ways to launch a successful career in the industry.

Should I Get My Degree in Healthcare Administration Online?

Perhaps, but especially if you are planning on juggling education, work, and family responsibilities while pursuing your degree in healthcare administration.

You can get a well-respected and fully accredited healthcare administration bachelor’s or master’s degree online from CSU Global, where our accelerated programs offer more flexibility and freedom than traditional on-campus programs.

Choosing to get your healthcare administration degree online from CSU Global ensures you’ll be able to pursue your degree without being forced to appear at any set times or locations, with monthly class starts, and with eight-week courses.

What Makes CSU Global the Best School for Studying Healthcare Administration?

CSU Global’s Healthcare Administration Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree programs are both regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Alumni from both programs report significant pay increases a year after completing their programs (7.34% for Bachelor’s graduates, and 11.23% for Master’s graduates), and both programs have also won several recent, and prestigious awards, including:

  • A Top 20 ranking for Best Online Schools for Bachelor of Health Care Management Degree Programs from Online Schools Center.
  • A #3 ranking for Cheap Online Healthcare Administration Degree Programs from Best Value Schools.
  • A #5 ranking for Most Affordable Online Bachelor Degrees in Healthcare Management from Best Medical Degrees.
  • A #2 ranking for Best Online Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Best Health Degrees.
  • A #4 ranking for Top 25 Online Master’s in healthcare Administration from Best Masters Programs.
  • A #5 ranking for The 25 Best Master’s in Health Care Administration Online from Best College Reviews.
  • A #6 ranking for Best Online Master’s of Healthcare Administration from The Best Schools.

Furthermore, CSU Global has also won several important awards at the institutional level, including:

  • A #1 ranking for Best Online Colleges in Colorado from Best Colleges.
  • A #10 ranking for Best Online Colleges for ROI from OnlineU.
  • A #1 ranking for Best Online Colleges & Schools in Colorado from Best Accredited Colleges.

Finally, CSU Global offers competitive tuition rates and a Tuition Guarantee to make sure your rate won’t increase as you study, thus helping to save you time and money.

To get additional details about our fully-accredited, 100% online Healthcare Administration Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree programs, please give us a call at 800-462-7845, or fill out our Information Request Form.

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