So, you’re interested in transitioning to the healthcare industry and like the idea of becoming a healthcare administrator? We’re not surprised… as a healthcare administrator, it’s your role to make key operational decisions to ensure a healthcare facility runs smoothly. So, to help you, we thought we’d explore a day in the life of a healthcare admin and see what’s involved…
Also known as health services managers, a day in the life of a healthcare admin involves an appealing array of responsibilities. Tasks that include organizing staff, budgets, resource allocation, and managing the finances of any private and public health care facilities, including:
- Local, state, and private hospitals
- Doctor and physician’s surgeries
- Long-term health facilities and nursing homes
- Sports rehabilitation clinics
- Veteran care facilities
- Insurance companies
To find out more, join us as we explore a typical daily routine in a day in the life of a healthcare admin…
How You’ll Start Your Day…
Depending on your chosen healthcare work environment, every morning in a day in the life of a healthcare admin involves preparing for the day ahead. Your first task is to prioritize responding to any urgent overnight emails that have come in.
After a coffee, next up is reviewing today’s doctors, nurses, and other medical staff’s schedules who will be working with patients. This is to ensure shifts are fully staffed for the day, and in larger care facilities, you might manage several departments, including the:
- Emergency room
- Radiology (X-rays) department
- Pharmacy
- Physiotherapy unit
- Medical research labs
Morning meetings with scheduling managers and human resources are routine in a day in the life of a healthcare admin.
Organization, Done! Now You Can Start Your Day…
Once these checks are completed and you’re up to speed on your emails, you’ll want to attend meetings with the key department managers.
As the head of a facility’s administrative staff, you’ll want to meet with the director of nursing and the food service manager once or twice a week. Here you might review the previous day's procedures, identify any issues, and make operational decisions to resolve these to ensure the facility runs smoothly.
After your morning meetings in a day in the life of a healthcare admin, next, you’ll conduct your regular budget reviews. This involves tracking expenses, identifying areas where cost savings can be made, and safeguarding that the nursing home or clinic operates within its long-term healthcare budgetary constraints.
Time flies with the various tasks keeping you busy, but now it’s time for lunch…
A Productive Afternoon Ahead…
An afternoon in a day in the life of a healthcare admin is an excellent opportunity to attend meetings with the care facilities’ medical equipment suppliers and stakeholders. Your earlier budget evaluation provides an excellent basis to review the status of supplier agreements, discuss any issues, and negotiate pricing and terms for future orders.
Another responsibility during a day in the life of a healthcare admin is working with human resources to conduct medical staff training and recruitment. This ensures staff receive the necessary training to perform their jobs effectively when working with patients.
Investing time to manage the recruitment of the facility’s medical staff also helps to ensure the medical facility runs smoothly in the future. So, your afternoon can include the following:
- Writing job descriptions
- Sourcing potential candidates
- Reviewing and screening resumes
- Conducting recruitment interviews
- Job offers and onboarding
A day in the life of a healthcare admin will keep you on your toes. However, before you leave for the day, be sure to check your to-do list. And… before you turn off the lights, quickly review tomorrow’s schedule and create a strategy for the morning meeting.
Huge Job Satisfaction and a Great Career Outlook…
During the working week, a medical and health services manager will generally work between 40 to 50 hours a week. However, because hospitals and nursing homes operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, this may require entry-level healthcare administrators to work some evenings and weekends.
A day in the life of a healthcare admin in the private and public health sectors provides an exciting work environment and keeps you busy. It’s also an intensely gratifying career ensuring a healthcare facility runs efficiently when it’s providing essential patient care.
The career outlook is also great. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (LBS), the predicted employment of a medical and health services manager, including healthcare administrators, is set to grow 28% from 2021 to 2031, nearly five times the national average. ¹
Kickstart Your Healthcare Admin Career With National Career College
So, if you’re looking for a long-term career in the healthcare industry, speak to the National Career College today. Our Associate of Applied Science (AAS) healthcare administration program in Los Angeles includes a fantastic clinical externship. Excellent preparation for entry-level graduates to fill the BLS’s expected demand in recruitment.
Here at National Career College, our team of medical expert tutors can help make a day in the life of a healthcare admin your future. With financial aid available to those who qualify, our healthcare admin course is structured so you can retrain around your current commitments. With our online hybrid learning sessions, and day and night class options, you can qualify in just 14 months.
With the BLS calculating the median annual wage for a medical and health services manager was $101,340 in May 2021 and the top 10% earning over $205,620… a new healthcare career awaits you today.²
Enjoy a day in the life of a healthcare admin every day by enrolling with National Career College!
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