This document provides an overview of healthcare administration careers and graduate programs. It discusses the history of healthcare administration, the roles and responsibilities of administrators today in managing finances, human resources and ensuring quality care. Examples of graduate programs that provide the necessary education for these roles are described, such as MBAs with healthcare specializations from top universities. Specific career paths within healthcare administration like practice management and laboratory management are explored, noting how the presenter's skills and experience make them a good fit. Sources are also cited.

1. Healthcare
Administrator
This presentation is a look into various healthcare
administration professions and graduate programs in an effort
to clarify where my skills would suit me best.

2. A Brief History
Up until the early part of the 20th century, hospitals were largely for the poor,
and not much could be done to help improve the patients’ experience. With the
development of antisepsis, anesthesia, modern surgery and antibiotics, hospital growth
in the U.S. skyrocketed, going from 170 to 7,000 in 50 years.
Early on, hospital administrators were simply graduate nurses, doctors, or
even laypeople, until Marquette University established the first degree-granting
program. This program ultimately failed, but there was still a need for this education
and healthcare administration was turned into a 2 year graduate degree.
Over the last century, healthcare administration has seen dramatic change,
morphing from management of simple hospitals to large, complicated organizations,
sometimes even incorporating several clinics into a large healthcare system. Along with
this has come the change from self-pay to third-party reimbursement, a complicated
system that administrators must be knowledgeable of.

3. Roles of Administrators Today
Healthcare administrators are responsible for the business
and financial aspects of healthcare services, and must focus on
financial stability and efficiency of the organization. To do this,
administrators must manage human resources, finances, collect data
and analyze it, and then apply it back to the organization, amongst
many other duties to keep the organization running smoothly.
Additionally, administrators must ensure the care of vulnerable people
at sensitive points in their lives as well as ensure the moral and social
order of the organization remains intact.
Today, these objectives have become difficult in the face of
rising prices, shortages of clinicians, and the rapidly changing
landscape of medical technology.

4. General Job Description
 As a healthcare administrator, one would be tasked with
being the “face” of the organization, at least from a business
standpoint. Though they do not work directly with patients,
administrators are very much so responsible for ensuring
patients receive proper and prompt care, through
scheduling, supervision and communication with employees.
Administrators must also stay up to date on current policies,
laws and regulations in the health care industry, as well as
be able to responsibly manage a facility’s finances. An
administrator would not work closely with many people, but
would have to have a working relationship with a large
number of people every day. A typical schedule would
involve conferences, 1 on 1 meetings, and analytics
evaluation amongst other things.

5. Growth Potential and Salary
Range
 According to healthadmincenter.com, the outlook for administration is strong, and
the healthcare field on the whole is expected to have double-digit growth (22%)
over the next 10 years due to the aging population.
 The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists 20 of the top 30 fastest growing occupations as
healthcare.
 Currently, administrators make $96K per year on average, with the general range
going from $48K to $177K on the high end.
 This pay increases even more as hospital CEOs average $386,000, and insurance
CEOs average $584,000 in salary
 Top executives of healthcare systems earn impressive salaries, with even more
impressive compensation packages, such as Mark T. Bertolini, CEO of Aetna, who
had a salary of $977,000 in 2012, with a compensation package of over $36
million.

6. Education Required
Generally, healthcare administrators only need a bachelor’s
degree for employment, but many times, especially when one
is looking to advance in the field, administrators will also have a
master’s degree. Most commonly master’s degrees will be
either MBAs or MHAs, although there are always exceptions.
Occasionally, health professionals such as nurses or
physicians will become administrators due to their extensive
knowledge of the field, and hands on experience.
Though not required for general administrators, those working
in nursing home or assisted living must pass the American
Association of Healthcare Administration Management
(AAHAM) exam.

7. Graduate Programs – MBA
w/specialization in healthcare
Potential Programs
Emory University – Atlanta, Georgia
 #20 ranked business school (US News and World Report). AACSB, CEPH, SACS-
COC accredited. Offer concurrent MBA/MPH (2 years)
 Require GMAT, work experience is preferred
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
 #19 ranked business school. AACSB, SACS-COC accredited. Offer MBA w/
healthcare specialization.
Duke University – Durham, North Carolina
 #14 ranked business school. AACSB, SACS-COC accredited. Offer MBA w/ health
sector management.
NYU – New York, New York
 #10 ranked business school. AACSB, CAHME, CEPH, MSACSC accredited, Offer
concurrent MBA/MPH.
All generally require a GMAT of above 650, and a GPA above a 3.2. The average work experience is
usually around 5 years after undergraduate, but there are always exceptions.

8. Academic Qualifications for a
Health MBA Program
As a rising senior, majoring in Health Sciences, my coursework
has suited me well for another degree and career in healthcare
administration. Courses in healthcare informatics, healthcare
policy and law, health determinants, economics, accounting,
epidemiology and management can all be applied to a
healthcare administration degree consistently. This coursework
along with a solid GPA/GMAT while balancing several
extracurricular activities speaks to my time management skills
and work ethic.
I chose MBA in lieu of MHA because of the flexibility it offers in
the case of a career switch, without giving up valuable
healthcare specialization.

9. Job Interest: Practice
Manager
This is the position that comes to people’s minds first when the term “healthcare
administrator” is thrown around. A practice manager is the administrator that
would essentially running the healthcare facility, whether it is a small surgery
center, or a large system of hospitals.
This career path would be fitting for myself because of both the education I have
had up to this point, as well as my professional and extra-curricular experiences
which have always seemed to involve an element of leadership, from captain of
varsity sports teams to Vice President of my fraternity. My coursework has
centered around the business aspect of healthcare, from managing an
organization’s finances to evaluating the ethics of decisions that could be made in
such an organization. From the O*NET interest profiler, one of my strongest
categories was “Enterprising”, which is essential as a practice manager when
attempting to manage large numbers of people. Additionally, I scored high in
“Investigative”, which would prove quite valuable as practice managers must
analyze large amounts of data and make decisions based upon those findings.

10. Diagnostics/Laboratory
Management
Equally as important as running care facilities is running the labs that
those facilities depend on to gather test results. Without accurate test
results, physicians cannot accurately diagnose many of the conditions
patients come in seeking help for.
This position also suits me well, as it is heavily involved in both being
organized and ensuring regulations are followed and risk is managed.
For the past year I have been in charge of a high-risk population, and
this experience would allow me to easily transfer over my skills to the
laboratory management position. Additionally, I have coursework in
the sciences, and have been able to spend ample time inside of labs.
Similar to practice management, my O*NET profile fits this position
with high scores in both enterprising and investigative.

11. Conclusion
Through coursework in healthcare, research of the
healthcare field, hands on volunteering, and evaluation of
my own qualities, I have confirmed that a career in
healthcare administration is the correct career for me,
whether it be practice manager at a small local practice,
or eventual CEO of a large healthcare system. The ability
to provide patients with timely and effective care through
a practice designed with quality and efficiency in mind is a
responsibility I would jump at.

12. Sources
1. Haddock, Cynthia Carter, Robert A. McLean, and Robert C. Chapman. “A Brief History of
Healthcare Management.” Careers in Healthcare Management: How to Find Your Path and
Follow It. Chicago, IL: Health Administration, 2002. 1-7. Healthcaremanagmentcareers.org.
Web. 21 May 2016http://www.healthmanagementcareers.org/haddock_ch01.pdf
2. Rosenthal, Elisabeth. “Medicine’s Top Earners Are Not the M.D.s.” The New York Times. The
New York Times, 17 May 2014. Web. 22 May 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/sunday-review/doctors-salaries-are-not-the-big-
cost.html?_r=0
3. “Healthcare Administration Careers l PublicHealthOnline.org.” Public Health. N.p.,n.d. Web.
22 May 2016. http://www.publichealthonline.org/healthcare-
administration/#context/api/listings/prefilter.