Health Care Administrator: The Head of the Health Care Team
If you’re considering a career in Business, you have a choice to make. Should you get an Associate d
Health care is the nation’s largest private-sector industry, making up 13 percent of the U.S. workforce.1 Those who have careers as health care administrators find work that is both demanding and rewarding. Running health care departments and facilities is a lot of responsibility, but it can also be very satisfying. If you have great leadership skills and dream of building an important career in health care, you might be destined to become a health care administrator.
What Is a Health Care Administrator?
Health care administrators can hold many different positions across a wide range of facilities and departments within health care. Some work in private physicians’ offices while others help run huge hospitals. Nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, health centers, clinics, health departments, hospice centers, and psychiatric facilities all fall under the broad field of health care. They all require men and women with the expertise to provide excellent patient care.
What Does a Health Care Administrator Do?
Health care administrators and managers are given the task of ensuring quality care for all their patients. They need to be strong leaders who understand financial planning, project management, human resource development and management, community relations and more. They need to be compassionate communicators who can get the job done while never losing sight of the fact that they’re ultimate goal is to serve their patients.
How to Become a Health Care Administrator
Health care administrators work for many years before reaching the top of their profession. Early on they might explore health care jobs and degrees in allied health fields. To break into the profession at entry level, they often need a Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Care Administration. In addition to solid educational credentials, they need lots of experience working in health care facilities and serving as managers.
Pick the Right Health Care Training Program
A quality program in health care administration will teach you about the organizational structure of health care facilities and health care delivery systems. You should learn about the legal and ethical issues that directly affect individual patients and the industry as a whole. Courses in accounting, business, finance and health care economics are a must if you expect to use resources effectively. You should also be trained in team leadership, employee relations and conflict resolution. Every modern health care facility is run with modern technology, so you’ll want a program that understands the importance of staying current.
Health care is expected to generate more jobs than any other industry through 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics.2 If you’re considering a career in this growing field, check out the Charter College programs in health care today.
2http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2012/01/art5full.pdf
egree, a Bachelor’s degree, or just try to enter the business world without a degree at all? That last option is tricky. Who’s going to hire you without experience or knowledge of how things work? But an Associate degree in Business may be a good place to start. Consider its benefits as you make your decision.
Gain Business Skills with an Associate Degree … and Knowledge Employers Want
Breaking into even an entry-level business career requires skills and knowledge you may not possess yet. Even if you took some business courses in high school, they probably didn’t reach college-level lessons. An Associate Degree in Business Administration or Business Management will provide you with the core business skills that employers demand from their personnel.
Your program should introduce you to project development, implementation, and management, customer service, business financials, human resources, and business law and ethics. You should also learn about the technology and software used in modern offices.
Jumpstart Your Career with an Associate Degree in Business
An Associate degree in Business Management allows you to start your career more quickly than a bachelor’s degree program would. A typical Associate degree in Business takes about two years to complete. A Bachelor’s degree, on the other hand, usually takes at least four to five years to complete.
Upon completion of your program, you should be prepared for entry-level business management positions, like a human resources assistant, administrative assistant, marketing assistant, customer service specialist, or financial specialist. And because your program takes less time than a Bachelor’s, you’ll be on your way to a career—and the paychecks associated with it—two years before those in a bachelor’s program.
Increase Your Earning Potential with an Associate Degree
When you have an Associate degree, you are more likely to earn a higher salary than a person with only a high school diploma. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average, a person with an Associate degree makes $8,000 a year more than a person with just a high school diploma.
An Associate Degree in Business is a Good Foundation for a Bachelor’s Degree Another benefit of an Associate in Business is that it can set you up for your next college degree. Whether you choose to continue on with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, a business specialty, or even eventually an MBA, it could all start with an Associate Degree.
Ready to get started on the path to a business career? At Charter College, you can earn an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Business Management online in as few as 15 months. If you are a business professional who has completed a certificate or substantial coursework in business administration, our A.A.S. in Business Administration degree completion program could be an option for you. Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more.