Do You Have What it Takes to be a Healthcare Administrator?

Modern healthcare has moved on at a great pace in recent years and, as a direct result, the demands on healthcare leaders have intensified. The healthcare administrators of today need to be multi-skilled, highly experienced, and able to cope with a high level of pressure. The best can approach their role with a combination of business acumen, operational, and analytical skills against a landscape of continuous economic and legislative change. Alongside all of this, they need to be able to manage people with exceptional communication skills and inspiring leadership. Find out if you’ve got what it takes to be a healthcare administrator with this guide.

What Does a Healthcare Administrator Do?

Senior healthcare managers are tasked with ensuring a hospital operates effectively, efficiently, and competitively and is profitable. A successful administrator will need to be prepared for the following in their role.

• Adhering to business principles such as working to strict budgets, staying out of the red, and meeting financial targets.
• Working unpredictable and anti-social hours in some situations where their medical or insurance expertise is needed by an emergency medical team.
• Being positive and driven despite the pressures and challenges of the role to maintain morale in the organization.
• Marketing a private healthcare organization in such a way as to attract patients to the facilities.
• Exhibiting strong leadership and authority with people management skills, including making crucial decisions which impact patient care and hiring/evaluating/dismissing staff.
• Delegating tasks to staff to ensure procedures and processes are completed efficiently.
• Prioritizing and organizing the organization’s data, machinery, and computer systems to ensure maximum performance at all times.
• Committing to continued improvement of themselves, their staff, and the organization’s quality of performance by setting goals, promoting collaboration and building relationships.
• Developing programs for preventive medicine, scientific research, medical and vocational rehabilitation as well as community health and welfare.
• Being accessible to staff, transparent in their activities, and honest to create an environment of trust and respect.
• Continuing to learn and take on the very latest developments in technology, healthcare, finance, ethical, and legal issues.

While a lot of the required skill comes from experience, it’s also essential to study the theory of healthcare administration. A Masters in Business Administration such as the MHA online degree through Boston College can equip people with the skills and knowledge they need to reach this level of responsibility.

Could You be a Healthcare Administrator?

In addition to all the skills and traits mentioned above, it’s crucial that healthcare administrators possess exceptional communication skills and natural authority. These qualities are often per-existing but can be developed with the right experiences and training. It’s also important to be comfortable with the latest computers and technology, including healthcare machinery, as modern healthcare organizations rely on this to operate effectively.

To be a healthcare administrator, you also need to have financial knowledge and experience of running a business may be an advantage in this sense. Skills in data analysis also provide administrators with the information they need to analyze past performance to inform future strategies.