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When asked what they want to be when grown up, most children don’t reply, “a hospital administrator.” Becoming a doctor is a far more popular choice and even to adults it seems like a more prestigious job. But however revered doctors are, their work doesn’t get done unless they have a good administrator running the operation. For this reason, more and more people choose to be administrators. So, how do you become a hospital administrator?
What Does the Job Involve?
First, let’s take a look at what the job of a hospital administrator entails. Hospitals and health care facilities, like most service-oriented businesses, require organization to ensure the customers (or patients in this industry) are cared for. Health care administration is responsible for providing that organization. This requires a background in both management and health care and may include tasks such as improving the efficacy of delivering health care service, keeping abreast of laws and regulations, managing the finances of the operation, creating schedules, or communicating to the medical staff. These types of tasks are needed in operations such as nursing homes, clinics, and hospitals.
Education
In order to provide efficient organization in these various settings, one has to obtain the education to do so. A bachelor’s degree, preferably in a related field, is the very minimum education needed to enter the field. However, to become a hospital administrator of any worth, a master’s degree in health care administration, public health, or business administration would be most helpful. This kind of education will provide you with the requisite skills needed both to manage the business side of a health care facility as well as the health care side of being a hospital administrator. The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education provides a very though listing of accredited programs in various fields that will benefit a future hospital administrator.
Additional Resource: Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science
Finding a Job
Once you have obtained the needed educational requirements to become a hospital administrator, it is now time to obtain the practical experience. This will come in the way of gainful employment. The opportunities are more numerous than most other fields since health care administration is projected to grow anywhere from nine to sixteen percent by 2016. Searching employment websites should reveal several job opportunities in the health care administration field. While licensing or certification is not necessary to become a hospital administrator, it certainly does help. Organizations such as the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management and the American College of Health Care Administrators provide certification in the health care administration field.
The path to become a hospital administrator is not an easy one. It takes hard work and dedication to pursue the needed bachelor’s and master’s degrees. It takes perseverance to find and land a job in the field. It takes ambition to climb the ladder and gain valuable experience as a health care administrator. However, if you have what it takes, then you can become a hospital administrator. It is one of the most rewarding, well-paid, and promising jobs on the market these days.
