Because of the growing need for more health care providers in the United States, hospital management is more important than ever before. In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that health services management jobs are going to grow by 32% by the year 2030.
If you’re interested in health care management jobs, now is the time to jump in. Hospitals and clinics across the United States are looking for hospital managers who are passionate about progressing the healthcare system.
To learn more about what hospital management looks like and how to become a hospital manager, keep reading.
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What Does a Hospital Manager Do?
Hospital managers may not hold the scalpel, but they do play critical roles in patient care. They’re responsible for running the hospital and ensuring that patients get the care they need.
A good hospital administrator works as the heart of the hospital. By connecting with staff and patients, a hospital manager can touch every single life.
To be successful, hospital management has to assume several roles: staff management, budgeting, operations, compliance, and more. Anyone interested in hospital management jobs needs to have a firm grasp of business and healthcare.
The number one goal of a hospital manager is to keep everything running smoothly. But, that’s better said than done.
Hospital Manager Duties
To meet their goal, hospital managers have to juggle a lot of responsibilities. With these responsibilities comes a lot of daily tasks:
- Setting the budget for the department
- Meeting departmental goals
- Developing strategies to improve efficiency
- Improving the quality of care for patients
- Overseeing finances such as billing, fees, and fundraising
- Ensure staff compliance with laws and regulations
- Communicate with the department regularly
- Represent the organization to outside groups
- Oversee scheduling for the department
- Educating the community about important health topics
Your place of work and the specific department will affect the duties that you’ll have. But, the main idea stays the same.
Hospital managers are there to run the hospital effectively and efficiently.
Day-to-Day as a Healthcare Manager
As a healthcare manager, every day is different. It’s rare that you’re going to have two days that look the same.
Throughout your shift, you’ll find that you’ll rely on several different kinds of skills. And, you’ll have to make important decisions along the way.
The exact layout of your day will depend on the kind of career that you get. You may start your day in your private office reviewing the tasks for the day. Or, you could jump right into your job by observing staff in the emergency room.
Most of the time, you’ll get to construct your schedule how you want. As long as you get your tasks done, your schedule could be whatever you want it to be.
As you’re sculpting the schedule you want, you also need to keep meetings and other timed priorities in mind.
After your day at the hospital or clinic, you may need to perform after-hour duties as well. You may have late meetings or emergency phone calls.
Overall, your environment is going to be fast-paced and demanding. You should be ready for anything.
How to Become a Hospital Manager
If you’re interested in becoming a hospital manager, there are several steps you need to take.
First, you should work on obtaining your bachelor’s degree. Ideally, you should enter into one of the many health care management programs that are in the United States. The curriculum in these programs is geared towards the exact information you need to know as a hospital manager.
As you’re completing the bachelor’s program, you should consider the prerequisites that you need to get for your future master’s degree. These will help you learn more and get close to pursuing that next step.
Once you’ve received your degree and finished all of the prerequisites, it’s time for you to start your master’s program. You may want to pursue a master’s degree in health administration or business administration.
Both degree programs will teach you the skills that you need to be a successful hospital manager.
As you’re finishing your master’s program, you should start looking for internships. Getting this professional work experience can help you appear more competitive on future job applications.
After you’re done with your internship, you can look for jobs in administration. Many hospital management leaders have to start out as administrative assistants and work their way up.
What Hospitals Look for in Healthcare Managers
When you’re ready to find a career in healthcare management, you’ll be wondering how to make your resume stand out from everyone else’s. To do that, you need to understand what healthcare systems are looking for when they’re hiring managers like you.
Here are some of the most common attributes/characteristics that healthcare organizations look for in managerial staff:
- Proper education – a master’s degree in business or healthcare administration is the most helpful
- Past experience – internships and lower-level positions are attractive
- Analytical skills – following current policies and laws is key to keeping your administration up to date
- Technical skills – administrators have to be caught up with the latest healthcare technologies and data
- Communication skills – hospital managers must communicate effectively at all levels
- Leadership skills – essential in hiring, training, and motivating staff
If you don’t get offered the CEO position on your first try, you shouldn’t give up. It’ll take time to build up to the level of experience required to land a job. 49% of hospital administrators have 5-19 years of experience in upper management before reaching their dream positions.
You’ll Get there. Give it Time.
Start Your Journey in Healthcare Administration
If becoming a hospital manager sounds like a dream come true, you should get started today. You’ve got a few years of training and work ahead of you. But, it’ll all be worth it.
Once you get that dream job you’ve been waiting for, you’ll know it was all for that moment.
To read more about other careers you may be interested in, check out the rest of our blog. You never know when inspiration may strike.
