March 29, 2024

What Are Some of the Specialty Areas in Healthcare Management?

As the healthcare industry continues to grow and change at a pace more rapid than virtually any other in the United States, healthcare management looks like one of the most promising and stable careers in the country. This strength is due in large part to the large number of different opportunities and workplace types open to graduates with at least an undergraduate degree in the field. When considering this path for either educational or occupational pursuits, consider the various number of employers and workplace settings available.

Positions are Available in Major Hospitals Across the Country

The first place that most healthcare management professionals consider starting their career is at a major hospital in one of the country’s largest cities or rural areas. These hospitals are a natural attraction for graduates: They offer excellent opportunities for advancement, robust benefits packages, and a large number of different career tracks for those who might want to travel a slightly different path. Larger hospitals also offer some unique opportunities for professionals who want to work within very specific areas, including technology or regulatory alignment. Among the most popular positions at larger healthcare campuses:

– Healthcare Systems Management, which allows managers to implement new high-tech systems for doctors and patients, sometimes training doctors on the new software as it becomes available.

– Regulatory Management, a field that charges healthcare managers with aligning the hospital’s programs with state and federal requirements.

– Insurance Management, for those hospitals that need a dedicated staff who can ensure all transactions are properly charged to either patients or their specific insurance providers.

Smaller Hospitals are Also Full of Great Opportunities

While larger hospitals might grab all the headlines during a broad job search, many candidates might find that they’re intimidated by the faster pace and the more rigid structure of careers in this area. Thankfully, smaller family practice clinics and sole practitioners’ offices make it easy to find a job that blends the right size with the right set of skills for virtually every area of interest. Within smaller healthcare organizations, the role of the healthcare manager becomes far broader and less niche-oriented than it is on larger campuses. For this reason, the most popular positions include:

– Facility or Department Management
– Patient Outcomes Supervising
– Employee Support
– Regulatory Oversight
– Systems Management and IT Support

Broader positions are perfect for the professionals who don’t necessarily want the fast pace of a hospital but do thrive on having more responsibilities than average. These positions allow a faster pace of work within a smaller team, which is often the ideal work environment for entry-level candidates and others who would rather manage a smaller team than work within a larger hierarchy.

Two Great Tracks, and Many Specialty Areas, for Healthcare Managers

From oversight of regulations to management of insurance and high-tech implementations, those with a background in healthcare administration have a larger number of positions open to them. Strong growth in the healthcare industry at large, and within the management profession specifically, means that graduates of undergraduate or graduate-level programs will be able to easily find a specialty at a large hospital or small clinic that meets with their unique perspective.