High School
Managing a nursing home is similar to managing a business. Classes such as accounting, business management, and computer science will help prepare you for the business side of this job. Quantitative skills are needed to excel in this career, so make sure you take as many math classes as possible. Science and health classes are important to take and will prepare you for college. Classes in sociology, psychology, and social studies provide a background for understanding a variety of people. And, because you will be working with so many different people and must give directions, take English, speech, and foreign language classes to hone your communication and leadership skills.
Postsecondary Training
Most nursing home administrators have a college degree in health administration, business, human resources, or another related field. A few states do allow licensing for administrators who hold an associate's degree and have a certain amount of experience. It is recommended, however, that you get a bachelor's degree. One reason for this is that requirements for professional certification stipulate that anyone licensed after 1996 must also hold a bachelor's degree to be eligible for certification. In addition, most employers insist on hiring only those with at least a bachelor's degree.
Many colleges and universities across the United States offer bachelor's degrees in health care administration, health service administration, or long-term care administration with concentrations or minors in nursing home management. The Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) certifies undergraduate programs that meet the organization's standards; the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) grants academic approval to undergraduate programs in long-term care administration. For information on certified and approved programs, contact these organizations. The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) is the accrediting body for graduate programs in health administration education. Information on these graduate programs is also available from the AUPHA. Graduates of advanced-degree programs usually have a master's of science in health administration or a master's in business administration in health care management.
Courses you are likely to take as an undergraduate cover subjects such as health law, gerontology, medical terminology, and health care financial management. In addition, expect to take classes such as accounting, marketing, computer science, and organizational theory. Some programs also require students to complete an internship, also called an administrator-in-training program.
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