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Where Can You Work with a Master's in Healthcare Administration?
By Peter Vogt | Monster Career Coach
A master’s degree in healthcare administration is mostly a blessing with a bit of a curse tossed in.
It’s a blessing in that you’ll be able to explore management-oriented careers in a wide range of healthcare-related organizations and settings once you’ve finished your program. You’ll also have the potential to oversee an assortment of essential activities: financial matters, regulatory and legal compliance, human resources functions, facilities and equipment, technology, public relations and policymaking, just to name a few.
More on Healthcare Administration
Salary: $55,320 - $125,988
Min. Education: Bachelor's
Related Careers: Health Information Technician & Technologist, Health Educator
But for some students studying healthcare administration – also known as health administration, healthcare management or health services administration, depending on the school and program – the seemingly endless variety can be an unexpected curse: The career confusion that stems from having so many opportunities, known and unknown.
“Haziness is common,” says Susan Odegaard Turner, a nurse executive. “Folks just don’t know what to do with [this] degree.”
In fact, one of the more common questions on Monster’s Healthcare Careers message board is, “What can I do with a master’s degree in healthcare administration?”
The short answer: All kinds of things. The longer, more helpful answer: You can get your hands around the various possibilities by thinking in terms of four employment sectors specified by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration: providers, suppliers, insurance organizations and policy organizations.
Healthcare Providers
Providers account for the most common and most obvious career paths for graduates of healthcare administration programs.
Leading the way are hospitals, which employ about 30 percent of all healthcare administrators, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But hospitals aren’t the only providers in town. Healthcare administration grads can also find jobs with:
1. Group physician practices.
2. Clinics.
3. Nursing homes and elder-care facilities.
4. Home healthcare organizations.
5. Outpatient care centers.
6. Mental health organizations.
7. Rehabilitation centers.
Among the many job titles you might investigate in this sector: administrator, director of business development, executive director, practice manager, vice president, chief nursing officer, director of risk management and director of patient safety.
janisp
about 1 month ago
2 comments
I have been in healthcare for over 25 years and am interested in returning to school for a MHA 1/2010. Reading all the above comments I'm just not sure if it is the right move or not. I'll keep a positive attitude and hope that things are the way they are simply due to the present economical situation which I know will possibly be better by the time I graduate.
Galjays4
2 months ago
2 comments
I have an MD degree from the Philippines and have a Master in Science degree in Hos[ital Care Management from CalCoast University. Much of my experience is running a health care program in the Pacific with about 13 employees and also act as a Primary Care Physician. I would like to share my expertise here in the States preferable in the Virginia Beach area, is there anyone interested with my qualifications. I can follow this up with a CV.
tommyg
2 months ago
2 comments
Personally,I'm just starting school and I'm seeking the same degree discussed above,but I am minoring or getting an emphasis in health information systems.I am planning to get my foot in the door by getting certified in medical records and coding along the way.I think that would probably be a good way to get my foot in the door and on my way to the job I desire.Perhaps a position as director of medical records would be a good start in the managerial/administrative side.Any feedback or experience would be sincerely appreciated.
Lynnmir
4 months ago
4 comments
If someone can please help me out regarding this issue I will greatly apprecaite the help.
Lynnmir
4 months ago
4 comments
I recently graduated with my masters degree in health administration and I don't have any experience in health administration, and i'm like others who are very fustrated seeking employment when you don't have any types of experience. My question is how we expect to get hire without experience only the education and knowledge.
snw1984
5 months ago
2 comments
I have been able to find several positions available in healthcare administration, but the problem is that I don't have the 5-10 years experience that most organizations are requiring. I have been a full time student all my life since graduating from hs in 2003 and will be graduating with my MHA in August. It has been frustrating that now my setback is experience. I hope that I don't have to spend another 5-10 years at an entry level position just to get a good paying job.
ajc41
7 months ago
2 comments
I think the job prospects for a MHSA depend on where you are. In Boston, there seem to be plenty of good jobs for a MHSA. From what I understand, the same goes for much of the country. Michigan is a particularly difficult situation because the economy is hurting much more than in other places and the population of MI is expected to decline in the coming years.
nancypuskorius
10 months ago
4 comments
In Michigan, hospitals and major health systems are making cut backs and employment opportunities for Master prepared graduates (MHSA) are hard to come by. Nurses are now assuming tMHSA's responsibilities in addition to their current job duties, and nurses are at a loss of how and what to do with the magnitude of paperwork due to lack of training. Thus, more patient errors are on the horizon and our fractured healthcare system shows NO signs of improvement today or in the near future. he U.S.healthcare crisis should seriously consider revamping our healthcare system to universal medicine, where the underinsured and those individuals with no health insurance will be able to seek medical treatment rather than using the Emergency Department of a hospital as treatment facility -- where 'actual' emergencies should be deemed for just that.
nancypuskorius
11 months ago
4 comments
One of the problems i foresee with a Masters of Health Services Administration Degree is that here in Michigan, there are simply NO jobs available as the recession weakens the economy and health care is no longer recession proof, as large hospital systems are putting a freeze on hiring, halting any new developments and lay-offs for health care workers. Nurses are being pulled is so many directions, and with our weakened economy -- they are wearing many different 'hats' and taking over what MHSA's should be doing. We definitely need a change in the way healthcare is being handled. Our healthcare system is fragmented, and with more lay-offs, hospitals will now be delivering services to those who are uninsured or under uninsured which certainly can put hospitals in debt, and very quickly.
mshca09
about 1 year ago
2 comments
"If you aspire to a nonclinical leadership position, on the other hand, start by working in an administrative assistant role in the business office or as a receptionist or admissions clerk, Turner advises."
are you serious? Those jobs pay about $8-15 per hour depending on where you live. I will be done with my master's in about a yr and the problem I see in finding a decent paying job, is that most hospitals are using their nurses as administrators or unit directors. They are so used to letting them advance that it is hard to break in without an RN. seems to me that with the shortage of nurses, it would make more sense to find straight MHA's or MBA's to fill the buisness role and let the nurses do what they do.
yacubu
about 1 year ago
2 comments
This was very helpful I just completed my Master's and the only healthcare experience I have is from high school. I can now gear my search in the correct manner