"Mini-Guide" to Health Administration Degree Online
Today's health care industry is an exciting and progressive field, ripe with a wide variety of job opportunities and personal challenges.
If you are considering a health administration online degree to jump start new employment possibilities or perhaps change careers altogether, you are in the right place. We are here to help.
It's natural to be excited and nervous about the idea of earning a degree over the Internet. Since we know you have lots of questions about going back to school online, we have written this quick, easy-to-read "Mini-Guide to Health Administration Degree Online" to help give you all the facts and information that you need to make the best choice for you.
- 1 How do you define health administration?
"Health administration is the management of resources, procedures, and systems that operate to meet patients' needs and wants in the health care system."
— HealthWeb
"The health care administration major prepares you to manage the business activities of a wide variety of organizations that make up the health care delivery system, such as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, insurance companies, and public health agencies."
— College Board Book of Majors, 2nd edition
"Health care is a business and, like every other business, it needs good management to keep it running smoothly. Medical and health services managers, also referred to as health care executives or health care administrators, plan, direct, coordinate, and supervise the delivery of health care. Medical and health services managers include specialists and generalists. Specialists are in charge of specific clinical departments or services, while generalists manage or help manage an entire facility or system."
— U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition
"Most Health Administration curriculums combine a liberal arts background with management theory and the practical skills involved in planning and delivering health services. If you major in Health Administration, you'll take courses in management, health care administration, epidemiology, health law, and health finance and economics. You'll learn how to manage the finances of huge organizations, how to deal with personnel, and how to interpret and comply with the maze of laws that effect health care providers, administrators, and organizations."
— The Princeton Review Online
- 2 How do I know if a health administration degree is right for me?
Consider a degree in health administration if:
- You currently work or have previously been employed in a health care setting, such as a physician's office, hospital, ambulatory care center, mental health or rehabilitation facility, nursing home, or home care agency, etc.
- You feel that there is a need to improve the system of care giving in the U.S.
- You enjoy listening to others.
- You can discreetly handle confidential work.
- You are increasingly ready to handle more responsibility in your day-to-day activities.
- You thrive in a team environment and are able to both supervise and work with others in a collaborative way.
- You believe that healthcare services should and can be provided in a professional and caring manner.
- You are able to stay in control, even under stress.
- You are highly organized and can keep track of details.
- You care deeply about your family and the community in which you live.
- You believe that affordable, quality health care is possible and keep up-to-date about the latest health care concerns and policies.
- You like working with different types of people.
- 3 What other degrees besides a health administration degree should I consider?
If you're not sure about pursuing a degree in health administration, consider these related fields of study instead:
Business Administration
Strategically organize and lead effectively; learn how attitude, capital and resources connect and contribute to success and failure in the business environment.
Online Business Administration Degrees | Online Business Administration Certificate Programs
Human Services
Learn about the needs of those living with violence, isolation, or poverty; what services are needed, how to initiate and manage the programs designed to ensure well-being and safety.
Online Human Services Degrees | Human Services Certificate Programs Online
Nursing
Know how to meet the immediate and long-term medical needs of patients; educate and provide counseling to the injured or those coping with illness.
Online Nursing Degrees | Online Nursing Certificate Programs
Public Administration
Learn about the current ways in which services and programs are being developed and managed to meet the needs of society and its individual communities.
Online Public Administration Degrees
Sociology
Examine intricacies of human relationships how people relate to each other and how that pertains society as a whole.
- 4 How can I specialize my health administration degree?
To meet the growing demand for specialized skills, many schools now offer concentrations (or specializations) — a focused area of study — to expose students beyond the core curriculum. Students can tailor their education and acquire in-depth knowledge in a variety of areas:
Health Information Systems
Understand how technology, staff, and resources need to be managed and coordinated within a health care organization or business in order to effectively function.
Long Term Care
Specialize in nursing home care and assisted living services and be able to understand its role and importance in the field of health care administration.
Medical Office Management
Learn what abilities and skills are necessary in order to maintain operations within a health care practice or facility, especially in regards to handling confidential, personal medical records and patient history.
Geriatric Health Medicine
Learn the skills to be an effective administrator for programs and services designed to meet the needs of individuals who are aging. Understand how to anticipate the demand and necessity of certain services.
Health Policy and Management
Gain the expertise in the field of health care to improve existing programs and establish new services. Develop leadership and managerial skills for use as an administrator in a health care facility or organization.
MBA/Health Care Management
Strategically organize and lead effectively within a health care environment; learn how attitude, capital and resources connect and contribute to success and failure of a health facility.
- 5 What courses will I take in a health administration degree?
While the exact curriculum and degree requirements will vary among schools, here is a partial list of some of the courses you might take in a health administration degree:
- Analysis and Design of Health Information Systems
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Business Law
- Elementary Statistics
- Epidemiology
- Ethics: Health Care and Social Responsibility
- Expenditures and Cost Control in Health Administration
- Health Administration Finance
- Health Care Delivery Systems
- Health Policy
- Human Resources Management
- Introduction to Health Care, Health and Disease
- Leadership in Health Care Organizations
- Legal Concepts in Health Administration
- Long-Term Care Policy
- Management of Managed Care Organizations
- Operations Management in Health Care
- Principles of the Economics of Health Care
- Program Evaluation & Management in Health Services
- 6 What skills will I learn from a health administration degree?
When you have completed your health administration degree, you will likely have gained many of the following skills and competencies:
- An awareness of contemporary health care issues
- Ability to determine the organization and personnel needs of a particular organization
- On-going interest in learning how to manage health-related organizations in an effective, efficient, and compassionate manner
- Proven experience with managing and directing the resources to meet the needs of a community
- A thorough understanding of health care as an industry
- Ability to effectively motivate and lead those around you
- Ability to converse with a variety of medical specialists
- Experience acting as an informed mediator who can work through administrative problems
- The confidence and training to work within an organization with one or many facilities
- Good understanding of the role health care plays in American society
- Ability to determine the demographics of a community in order to effectively coordinate services and resources
- Proficiency in fundamental aspects of business and management, and able to apply those principles to healthcare settings
- 7 What kind of employers hire health administration degree holders?
As a career-oriented major focusing upon the provision of high-quality medical service and administrative support to all constituents of the American health care system, competent health administrators are needed by such diverse employers, such as:
- Academic medical centers
- Consulting firms
- Government organizations such as health planning agencies, regulatory bodies, the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system
- Health Clinics
- Health insurance organizations
- Health systems
- Home health agencies
- Hospitals
- Long-term care faculties or nursing homes
- Medical groups
- Mental health facilities
- Physician practices
- Public health departments
- Rehabilitation centers
- State and Federal governmental programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid
- Universities and research institutions
- 8 What careers will I qualify for with a health administration degree online?
Here is a sampling of jobs you for which you may be qualified with a degree in Health Administration. Use this for inspiration, remembering that this many represents some, but certainly not all, of the careers you can consider:
Possible Job Titles for Associate's or Bachelor's Health Administration Degree Holders
- Assistant Hospital Manager
- Community Health Project Specialist
- Health Benefits Specialist
- Health Information Technology Research Associate
- Health Program Liaison
- HR Specialist
- Managed Care Analyst
- Medical Office Assistant
- Patient Access Representative
- Patient Coordinator
- Program Developer
- Quality Improvement Specialist
Possible Job Titles for Advanced Degree Holders
Additional experience is typically required for the positions in this list.
- Administrative Manager
- Assistant Director of Patient Resource Management
- Associate Professor of Health Systems Management
- Behavioral Health Education Instructor
- Director of Health Information Management
- Director of Management, Support Services
- Director of Women, Teen, and Adolescent Health Services
- Healthcare Field Associate
- Home Health and Hospice Compliance Project Manager
- Hospital Administrator
- Medical Director
- Personal Health Services Administrator
