Health Care Managers

Employers

Approximately 562,700 health care managers are employed in hospitals, HMOs, group medical practices, and centers for urgent care, cardiac rehabilitation, and diagnostic imaging. Opportunities are also plentiful in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, home health care agencies, adult day care programs, life care communities, and other residential facilities. In addition to these traditional employers, the Association of University Programs in Healthcare Administration reports that managers can also work for pharmaceutical companies, health care consulting firms, health insurance companies, and professional associations.

Starting Out

A student in training as an administrative resident or postgraduate fellow may be offered a job as an administrative assistant or department head by the hospital or health care facility where the residency is served. The hospital's administrator at the place of training may also assist the student in locating a job.

Job openings can also be found by contacting the university's career services office or through state and national associations' online postings. Large professional society meetings may offer on-site notices of job openings or recruiting events. Positions in federal- and state-operated health care institutions are filled by the civil service or by political appointment. Appointments to armed forces hospitals are handled by the various branches of the services.

Although the majority of students prepare for this career by completing a four-year college program followed by graduate study, it is still possible to secure a health administration position through experience and training in subordinate jobs and working up the administrative ladder.