Recent health-related challenges like the Coronavirus Pandemic and staff shortages have led to high demand for health administrators, especially medical administrators. The career outlook in healthcare administration is remarkable, with high growth potential. Medical facilities are under dire pressure to meet the evolving health challenges and need healthcare administrators to run their medical facilities smoothly and efficiently.
The 2021 rankings of the U.S. News & World Report placed medical and health services managers as the fourth-best job overall, considering factors like job security, compensation, and job satisfaction. According to statistics, the job outlook of healthcare administration professionals is expected to grow by 32% by 2029. This rate is comparatively higher than other occupations.
Let’s look at some high-paying roles available for health administration graduates.
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer often termed president or an executive director of healthcare facilities, is an authoritative and influential position. Its primary duties include providing and ensuring safety, quality, and care while keeping an eye on the financial performance of the healthcare service providers.
To become a CEO, candidates must obtain a master’s degree in relevant areas of study. For instance, they can avail an MBA MHA dual degree to help manage a facility’s technical and business ends. A candidate also needs to show professional competence with prior experience in management, administration, and operational supervision to apply for this position. The average salary of a CEO of healthcare facilities currently stands at $154,256.
Chief Financial Officer of Healthcare Facilities
A chief financial officer is similar to a CEO of healthcare facilities. But the duties are bound to handle and oversee financial aspects of a healthcare facility. In this C-level position, candidates primarily deal with decision-making and financial matters. Their primary responsibility is to ensure expenses of healthcare facilities are under budget and generate revenue based on a cost-effective approach.
Healthcare CFOs generally require a master’s degree in healthcare administration, business management, finance, and accounting. In addition, 8-10 years of experience in management and leadership positions is desirable. The average annual salary of a CFO is $188,997.
Healthcare Administrator
A healthcare administrator is one of the highest-paying ranks of the healthcare sector. The responsibilities of a healthcare administrator are to oversee entire medical facilities, community outreach, the efficiency of healthcare system delivery, and budgeting.
Healthcare administrators are the face of the health facilities and are involved in long-term strategic planning for business and patient care systems. To become a healthcare administrator, aspirants must have a master’s in healthcare administration with some business component. In addition, prior experience in senior management roles is required.
The median average salary for healthcare administrators generally working as medical and health services managers is $110,430. The starting salary for small-scale healthcare administrators is usually $100K and gradually increases with professional experience and changes in the nature of work in large-scale medical facilities.
Chief Nursing Officer
A chief nursing officer (CNO) or director of nursing is a nonclinical and administrative position in the healthcare sector. The primary responsibility of the CNO is to supervise all the nursing activities of a medical setup. While performing duties in a leadership position, their duties also extend to training and budgeting. CNOs usually start their career as nurses. Several certifications are available to transition into a CNO role. To pursue a career as a CNO, a minimum master’s in healthcare administration is necessary. On average, CNOs earn about $128,463 per year.
Nursing Home Administrator
Nursing home administrators are in charge of nursing homes and residential care and facilities. Their duties include monitoring daily operations, budgeting, supervising staff, and operational maintenance. In addition, they ensure that nursing homes or medical facilities comply with legal requirements.
To pursue a nursing home administrator career, states demand professionals to be licensed. Therefore, health administration graduates are eligible to get licensure. Though not always compulsory, nursing home administrators usually have previous work experience in direct patient care. For instance, many nursing home administrators start their careers as registered nurses, assistants to physicians, nurse practitioners, etc.
The average annual salary of nursing home administrators usually starts from $121,520. But the overall financial outlook of this designation is variable in each state.
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
With the boom in information technology in healthcare services, several IT professionals can also pursue careers in the healthcare sector. They can help in system maintenance and up-gradation of medical facilities. A chief information officer (CIO) is also an example of IT-related designations dealing with healthcare facilities’ IT operations. CIOs handle IT-related needs and assist in the provision of IT support. As electronic data records and telemedicine are continuously rising, IT specialists will play an integral role in healthcare service providers. They are decision-makers for electronic data collection, processing, and strategic planning for the future in medical facilities.
Chief information officers require an IT background with a master’s in healthcare administration and computer science. In addition, they also need to have some certifications that would prepare them to continue their career as CIOs in medical and healthcare facilities.
The average annual salary of healthcare information technology experts is about $292,073.
Health Care Marketing Manager
A healthcare marketing manager develops and implements healthcare-related marketing campaigns and communication initiatives. Additional duties are brand management and analysis of market trends. After getting a master’s in health administration, public health management, or marketing, professionals can become marketing managers for healthcare facilities.
The average annual salary for a healthcare marketing manager stands at $125,169.
Health Insurance Manager
A health insurance manager has expertise in resolving the issues related to health insurance. These managers can oversee the functions such as health insurance claims and revenue cycle management in the healthcare facilities. In addition, they are also responsible for handling and overseeing health insurance benefits given by employers to employees.
Healthcare administrator graduates can join the workforce as health insurance managers. Finance or administration graduates can also apply for this job position. The average salary for a health insurance manager is $103,832 per year.
Final Thoughts
Health administration graduates can benefit from availing themselves of a diverse range of career opportunities in multiple healthcare setups. However, it is essential to consider several factors before opting for a career. These may include a person’s interests, career aspirations, and preference to work in various medical domains.