Five Great Healthcare Management Jobs That Don’t Tether You to an Office
- Regional Manager
- Instructor
- Program Mentor
- Director of Acute Care
- Practice Manager
For those interested in healthcare management work but without the constant requirement for being stuck to a desk, there is good news. While there will always be a fair share of administrative and desk-related duties in this kind of role, there is also typically enough diversity in needed oversight that movement and time away from the desk often become inherently necessary. If this sounds like the ideal balance for you, read on as we cover five great career opportunities in healthcare management that provide that sometimes cherished time away from a desk.
Related: Top 20 Master’s Degree Programs in Healthcare Management: Best Bang for the Buck
1. Regional Manager
There are many, sizable healthcare organizations and systems today which rely on the services of regional managers to help keep everything running smoothly. There are various titles and roles within this position area including regional vice president, CEO, regional manager, and several others, but all are concerned with managing the whole of the geographically-spread components of the organization, individually and as part of the whole. Administrative duties do come with this type of work but so too do the callings of travel, movement, and diversity in the work day.
2. Instructor
Instruction is another great way to get up and away from the all-day desk job in healthcare. Instructors specific to the healthcare management industry also work in a number of environments, from the healthcare facility to the college or even a special events forum or situation. Distance instruction is also a growing component to the opportunities here. In any case, instructors in healthcare management studies see some reasonable diversion from the constant desk duties some dislike.
3. Program Mentor
A program mentor is a professional who works for a college or university and essentially acts as a confidant and advisor to students following healthcare management degree paths themselves. This is typically a movement-oriented job that sees the mentor meeting with students at various times and places around campus, planning activities, working with other administrators on various student-related causes, and more. For those looking for movement away from the desk, diversity in duties, or simply an opportunity to help future students along similar academic paths, this job can be a great option.
4. Director of Acute Care
Acute care is a unique combination of medical care areas all put to centralized use in patients who are in critical or emergency medical situations. Per the World Health Organization, this specialty area of care can include many disciplines such as critical care, trauma care, short-term stabilization, and others. As such, the director of acute care is a healthcare management professional who oversees this diverse area of need, and often in a variety of locations, and to that end, fulfilling lots of physical leg-work, away from the desk.
5. Practice Manager
Practice managers are similar in their role to the regional managers discussed above. This professional acts as an administrative head over a medical practice. In many cases, this entails the oversight of various locations – a sure way to avoid some desk time. An example of this would be a practice manager overseeing an eye care practice that has five different locations. These locations can also be spread quite far geographically, depending on the individual practice, area populations, and other factors.
Healthcare management is all about keeping the rest of the practicing medical world up and running as effectively as possible. For those wishing to work in this field but also avoid constant time at a desk, there is plenty of opportunity. For more information on the field of healthcare management and the job options therein, the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management is an excellent resource with which to consult further.