Hospital administration is essential to ensuring that hospitals can offer patients high-quality care. With the proper organization, resources, and personnel, the smooth running of a hospital is possible. Therefore, those interested in a career in hospital administration must have strong management and leadership skills and knowledge of business principles.
The first step for aspiring hospital administrators is to earn a hospital administration degree from an accredited college or university. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Healthcare Administration, sometimes called a Master of Health Administration (MHA), is an excellent start.
What Is Hospital Administration?
Hospital administration is an important yet often overlooked field responsible for healthcare institutions’ day-to-day operations. It involves creating and implementing policies and procedures with attention to regulatory compliance, managing financial, personnel, legal, and information systems, coordinating the different departments and personnel in a hospital, allocating resources, and helping create patient care policies that ensure safety and quality care. Hospital administrators also help promote communication between teams of healthcare providers and support research initiatives.
The goal of hospital administration is to provide quality care to patients in an efficient and organized way. With experienced administrators ensuring the well-being of both patients and caregivers alike, hospitals should be able to meet their goals. Hospitals have become increasingly complex networks with both internal and external stakeholders, making hospital administration one of the most challenging roles in healthcare today. Those specializing in hospital administration are critical players who help ensure that the facility and its employees fulfill their responsibilities while keeping patient care at the forefront.
What Does a Hospital Administrator Do?
Hospital administrators work tirelessly to ensure the smooth functioning of any medical facility. They must manage a wide range of duties, from ensuring that their organizations comply with all relevant regulatory requirements to leading and managing the day-to-day operations of the medical institution. Hospital administrators must manage and monitor financial resources, develop plans for providing health services, create staffing plans and schedules, ensure quality control in medical service delivery, and serve as liaisons between staff and governing bodies. In addition to these duties, they also lead and promote change within their institutions to ensure best practices in evaluating standards of care.
Financial
As a hospital administrator, there are a variety of financial tasks and responsibilities to be performed. First and foremost, managing the hospital’s budget is crucial to ensure sustainability. This includes allocating funds for personnel, medical supplies, and other operational costs. Furthermore, the administrator must be able to identify potential areas of cost savings while also recognizing that higher quality may require increased funding. In addition to budgeting and forecasting, the role involves understanding insurance billing regulations to maximize revenue. Other responsibilities may include drafting contracts with vendors and securing capital instruments required for renovations or expansions on behalf of the hospital.
Supervisory
Hospital administrators act as supervisors overseeing all medical staff, including clinical and non-clinical teams, such as surgeons, nursing staff, psychologists, and other professionals. They are responsible for maintaining good working relationships between departments, requiring them to develop effective communication systems. Because each department needs to work together in harmony for the hospital to be successful, the administrator must ensure that everything is operating optimally. This involves setting goals, resolving conflicts, reviewing processes and procedures, and coordinating and managing resources.
Human Resources
Hospital administrators also play an important role when it comes to human resources (HR) tasks, including hiring the best personnel, determining salary ranges and employee benefits, providing ongoing development opportunities, addressing employee performance challenges, and motivating staff. With such responsibilities comes great accountability; hospital administrators must ensure that their HR practices comply with relevant labor laws. This includes understanding diversity and discrimination regulations, creating training programs, tracking performance evaluations, and monitoring disciplinary procedures. By properly handling these roles in human resources, hospital administrators can help maintain an environment of fairness, respect, and transparency within the facility and its staff.
Patient Care
Hospital administrators are vital in helping ensure that patients receive safe, high-quality care. They are responsible for creating efficient protocols and procedures that enable the staff to work together effectively while prioritizing patient safety. They build teams of healthcare professionals who can effectively collaborate to provide the best possible patient outcomes. They also manage the budget and allocate funds appropriately toward improving infrastructure and resources. On top of this, they monitor performance metrics, compliance standards, and changing regulations to adjust hospital operations when necessary.
Marketing/Fundraising
Hospital administrators are crucial to the success of a hospital’s marketing and fundraising efforts. They play a prominent role in increasing visibility, building relationships with stakeholders, donors, and the public community, and ensuring that their hospital’s mission is achieved. They must stay on top of trends while keeping an eye on their particular hospital’s present and future needs. Great hospital administrators understand the importance of dedicating resources to marketing and fundraising so that a hospital can reach its maximum potential, both financially and in terms of providing quality health care.
What is the Difference Between a Hospital Administrator and a Healthcare Administrator?
The roles of a hospital administrator and a healthcare administrator are easily confused, yet they are quite distinct. Hospital administrators are the managerial staff who run and manage an entire hospital or healthcare facility, including overseeing operations in different departments, developing budgets, and arranging for necessary equipment and staffing levels. On the other hand, healthcare administrators generally have an oversight role across an entire healthcare system or network, such as a hospital district or health maintenance organization (HMO), with a focus on larger, population-based health issues such as improving access to care and health outcomes. Areas of focus may include policy development, regulations related to patient care, clinical standards, and procedures. These administrators may work with hospitals but also with other organizations within the field of healthcare, like clinics and government health programs. Both roles are integral in providing quality patient care in today’s healthcare environment.
Essential Skills for Hospital Administrators
Excellent hospital administrators possess many essential skills that aid in their facilities’ success. They must have strong organizational and communication skills and the ability to make critical decisions under pressure quickly. They should have an understanding of hospital operations, great people skills to handle staff members, and an ability to manage resources efficiently. Problem-solving abilities are also necessary for effective planning, budgeting, and assessment. Understanding the needs of patients while ensuring they receive quality care is key to any successful administrator’s job description. To carry out all duties professionally, hospital administrators must act with tact, wisdom, and integrity.
Hospital Administration Specializations
As the role of a hospital administrator grows in complexity, it can be beneficial for practitioners to specialize and hone their expertise within their field. Hospital leaders have many specializations available to pursue that drastically vary in both focus and scope, including areas such as informatics, quality improvement & risk management, finance & budgeting in healthcare operations, or clinical research administration. Each specialization provides essential knowledge and experiences so they can become distinguished professionals within the field. Hospital administrators who specialize are well-positioned to get ahead in their profession by equipping themselves with the most up-to-date information and having access to specialized career opportunities. A few of the most common specializations include the following:
Public Policy Administration
Public policy administration is a discipline that covers the understanding and analysis of healthcare policies, laws, and regulations to inform and shape health policy decisions. It involves understanding the legal, administrative, and economic aspects of the healthcare system to manage medical delivery services effectively. This type of administrator must be intimately familiar with relevant legislation and understand how different facilities implement policies. They must have an excellent understanding of both private sector and government agency bureaucracies and the ability to communicate complex ideas in clear terms. In this way, hospital public policy administrators can bridge the divide between research and its real-world applications.
Patient Advocacy
Hospital administrators are vital to the functioning of any healthcare facility, but those who specialize in patient advocacy take on an even more critical role. Patient advocacy is about putting patients first and making sure that their voices are heard in all medical decisions. Specializing in patient advocacy as an administrator can make it possible to ‘put oneself in the patients’ shoes,’ gain unique insight, and make informed decisions regarding their well-being. By being proactive, an administrator specializing in patient advocacy can help create a better experience for patients and their families. Hospital administrators with this specialty can help create a culture within the hospital environment that puts the needs of the patient front and center. They have expertise in understanding hospital policies, protecting patient rights, and establishing meaningful relationships between providers and patients. By working with doctors, nurses, and other staff members, these administrators can help ensure a smooth flow of communication so that every patient gets the care they need at all points along their healthcare journey.
Health Informatics
As hospitals increasingly rely on technology for managing patient information, the role of a hospital administrator with specialized knowledge in health informatics is becoming more vital. Health informatics combines medicine, computer science, and information systems to manage data electronically and provide electronic support for decision-making. With these essential skills and knowledge, a hospital administrator could help make sure the medical staff stays up to date on the newest advancements in technology while keeping patient confidentiality top of mind. Taking courses in health informatics can give any hospital administrator the tools they need to succeed in this brave new world of medical technology.
Steps to Become a Hospital Administrator
Earn Your MBA in Hospital Administration
Investing time and energy into earning an MBA in Healthcare Administration like the one offered at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Gary W. Rollins College of Business will create an excellent foundation for a successful long-term career as a highly sought-after healthcare administrator. Your health administrator degree coursework will cover areas such as health economics, hospital management, finance, health informatics, and organizational behavior, all of which can help you develop into an effective leader. An MBA in Healthcare Administration will provide you with the expertise necessary to develop strategies, lead teams, exercise financial responsibility, and utilize data analysis tools to solve complex problems within the healthcare system. With your MBA in hand, you will have an impressive range of financial, practical, and managerial knowledge that you can use to help shape the future of healthcare. It will also give you access to valuable networking opportunities that can help further your career down the road.
Gain Work Experience
After earning your master’s degree in healthcare administration, gaining work experience is a crucial part of solidifying your knowledge and preparing for success in the field. Experiential learning can help build upon the theoretical information you learned in school, allow you to apply the theories and skills you have acquired throughout your course of study, and sharpen career-specific skills that could benefit you throughout your professional journey. Employers appreciate candidates with experience related to the position they are applying for. Equipping yourself with knowledge from courses combined with hands-on experience will allow you to thrive in the competitive field of hospital administration. It is also vital to stay up-to-date on any industry trends or developments and continue to build on existing skills and knowledge sets. Take the time to focus on areas in which you may need additional practice, such as problem-solving or communication.
Consider Industry Certifications
Once you have some experience under your belt, it may be worth pursuing additional industry certifications. Doing so can help set you apart from other professionals in your chosen field, gaining extra credibility and knowledge related to your area of expertise. Several healthcare organizations offer certifications and accreditations, so take the time to do your research to find what is most applicable and beneficial to you. The right certification can open new opportunities for career advancement within a competitive job market.
Start Your Journey to Become a Hospital Administrator Today!
UTC’s Gary W. Rollins College of Business is an excellent choice for a launching pad to becoming a hospital administrator. Students benefit from its smaller campus, yet access to cutting-edge technology and resources, flexibility, personalized attention, and the college’s strong connection with the local healthcare community. The business school offers a top-notch MBA program tailored specifically to future healthcare administrators while emphasizing values such as integrity, service, collaboration, and improvement. You can be assured that you will receive a quality education in an atmosphere that supports your aspirations. Contact us today to learn more!
