Increasingly Complex Healthcare Management Positions
Medical companies and facilities are searching for qualified professionals who can handle a healthcare management position. The rapid expansion of the entire healthcare field means competent management professionals are in short supply.
A healthcare management position is frequently titled differently depending upon the company or facility. Some possible position names include:
- Chief of a department
- Department chair or head
- Floor nurse
- Head nurse
- Hospital administrator
Private medical companies might have position titles such as:
- Chief executive officer (CEO)
- Chief financial officer (CFO)
- Chief operations officer (COO)
- Treasurer
Salaries for medical management positions can vary depending upon the size of the company or facility and the amount of responsibilities. As with most management positions, salary offers are typically generous at the largest and most well-known companies or facilities.
Additional compensation may be negotiable when applying for a management job. Often management professionals may be able to ask for certain perks if their resume is sufficiently impressive and the employer wants to hire them.
Compensation packages for private and public medical management can include:
- Child care
- Flexible scheduling
- Housing reimbursement
- Personal transportation
- Stock options
- Transportation reimbursement
- Travel reimbursement
Bonuses may be offered for meeting certain performance thresholds or on a periodic basis. However bonuses are more prevalent at larger companies and facilities compared to small and medium-sized management opportunities.
Successful professionals in medical management tend to have some traits in common. In particular, they often are exceptional at:
- Interpersonal communication with a wide range of people
- Leading coworkers through tough days
- Making choices on tough issues and sticking to their decision
- Providing personalized attention to each patient
- Remembering faces and names
Because management decisions affect people’s health and lives, professionals need to be able to separate their personal and work lives. They should clearly draw a line between the workplace and their home. Constant working will lead to burnout quickly.
Management professionals also should consider enrolling in counseling services or speaking with a mental health professional on occasion. This is especially true for professionals who work with patients on a regular basis. Not every patient will live. Since management positions tend to attract many professionals with type-A personalities, it can be hard for them not to see a patient’s death as a failure on their part. Counseling can help lessen some of the stress of the job.
With constant change in medical technology and techniques, management professionals will likely need to attend some kind of continuing education effort regularly. Those with licenses will need to keep their licenses updated. Although they may not actively practice on many patients, nearly all management positions will not be open to professionals who have let their licenses lapse.
Although most healthcare professionals in management have a medical-related degree, some may also want to consider a secondary business-related degree. Financial issues may not necessarily be a direct duty for a management professional, but a business-related degree can help them understand their company’s or facility’s financial issues.
As with the rest of the healthcare field, medical management positions are experiencing high job growth. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many healthcare occupations are predicted to grow by 20% to 30% from 2008 to 2018. This is much higher than all other non-healthcare jobs’ growth rates.
Competent healthcare management helps to ensure that patients receive the medical care they need at a price that works for both the company or facility and the patient. Without excellent management, medical care is unaffordable and patients receive substandard care. For professionals who want a financial challenge that involves saving people’s lives, a management position in healthcare may be the right choice.