what can i do with an mba in healthcare

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mba healthcare jobs

Earning an MBA in healthcare management is a great path to lucrative and in-demand roles within the medical field. Rather than working on the frontlines alongside medical providers, these professionals conduct behind-the-scenes tasks that make life-saving work possible.

An MBA in healthcare management can prepare graduates to serve on a hospital’s leadership board. On average, a director of operations in this field earns $91,226 per year, according to Payscale. Read on to learn more about what it takes to pursue an MBA in healthcare management career.

What Is an MBA in Healthcare Management?

If you are an organized, natural leader and a strategic thinker, earning a master’s in healthcare management could be a terrific fit for you. The degree explores areas such as business ethics, law, leadership, accounting, marketing, budgeting, and planning — all through the lens of healthcare. Graduates with an MBA in healthcare management can work as department directors, CEOs, and financial planners for hospitals, nursing homes, and acute care facilities.

What Can You Do With an MBA in Healthcare Management?

  • Medical Health Services Manager Medical: health services managers make about $104,280 per year on average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects this career to grow 32% between 2020 and 2030, which is much faster than the national average. Medical health services managers improve the day-to-day operations of a healthcare facility. They work with department directors to make sure employees stay on task and have the resources they need to perform their job.
  • Nursing Home Administrator: On average, nursing home administrators make $98,890 per year, and the BLS projects this career to grow 9% between 2020 and 2030. These professionals oversee clerical and administrative staff. Additionally, administrators ensure the facility maintains proper medical supply inventory levels and create schedules for all levels of staff members, such as physical therapists and front door greeters. These professionals perform crucial job functions that ensure that the aging population can gracefully live out their later years of life.
  • Healthcare Consultant: Payscale reports that healthcare consultants earn $87,660, on average. They offer advice to healthcare facilities to help them overcome problems and meet goals. These professionals must possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Healthcare consultants also need strong organization, strategic thinking, and active listening skills. Professionals working in this role sometimes own their own consulting business or work for a private healthcare consulting company. The BLS projects management analyst jobs, which include consultants, to grow 14% between 2020 and 2030.
  • Administrative Services Manager: Administrative services managers earn $98,890 per year, on average, and the BLS projects this career to grow 9% between 2020 and 2030. These professionals oversee administrative staff members, including secretaries, clerks, and assistants. Administrative service managers also make sure hospitals, nursing homes, and doctors’ offices remain safe and sanitary places to work and visit. In some cases, administrative services managers connect employees with training opportunities and other benefits like health insurance. Administrative services managers also oversee records management.
  • Healthcare Administrator: Healthcare administrators make $98,890 per year on average, and the BLS projects this career to grow 9% between 2020 and 2030. These professionals provide training opportunities for doctors and nurses, oversee employee schedules and company records, and provide employee reviews for subordinates. Healthcare administrators make sure a healthcare facility operates as smoothly as possible and provides the best possible care for patients. They help make hospitals safe, sanitary, and orderly. In some cases, healthcare administrators must hold a registered nurse license, particularly if they oversee other nurses.

how to use mba in healthcare

Healthcare MBA Careers

  • Hospital Administrator
  • Pharmaceutical Project Manager
  • Policy Analyst or Researcher
  • Health Services Managers and Administrators
  • Medical Entrepreneurship

An MBA in healthcare opens doors to lucrative careers in four areas: providers of medical services, suppliers of equipment and pharmaceuticals, insurance companies and administration of healthcare facilities. Each area includes hundreds of job opportunities that range from hospital administration to formulating policies for governmental and health departments.

Salaries and Job Satisfaction of Healthcare Business Management

Healthcare management careers are among the highest paid, most popular and most rewarding of professions. Five very different career opportunities available to people with an MBA in Healthcare include:

1. Hospital Administrator

Hospital administrators run community hospitals, clinics, medical centers, research hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities. All management occupations should grow by six percent through 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the prospects for growth in medical management are better, because of the explosive growth in medical services, managed care and health technologies. A hospital administrator’s duties include hiring doctors, implementing new medical procedures, public relations, developing budgets and ensuring compliance with government security requirements for handling sensitive electronic health records or EHRs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics further reports that salaries averaged $92,810 for hospital administrators in 2014 and that the highest paid administrators of major hospitals and medical centers earned more than $161,150.

2. Pharmaceutical Project Manager

Pharmaceutical project managers oversee developing new drugs, launching advertising campaigns and assembling teams to study the benefits and side effects of drug therapies. Most pharmaceutical firms hire people who have an MBA in Healthcare, strong IT skills and the ability to work with multiple stakeholders that include biochemical engineers, chemists, technicians, physicians and marketing professionals. Research shows that the median starting salary for these professionals is $85,236 but could easily top six figures, according to PayScale. Your duties might include developing promotional plans for drugs, arranging for clinical trials, conducting market-penetration studies and analyzing investments. Most project managers for pharmaceutical companies have strong science backgrounds and another degree in a scientific discipline.

3. Policy Analyst or Researcher

Policy analysts and researchers work with government agencies, insurance companies and private enterprises to test policies that guide decisions in health care and to assist in developing new programs and policies to keep pace with rapidly changing healthcare best practices and new technologies and treatments. Policy consultants often generate major changes in the way that people receive and pay for health care. Health policy analysts earn between $40,880 and $87,128 annually with geographic location as the major factor that determines salary, according to PayScale. These healthcare professionals compile and curate data from many sources to recommend health policies and design models that show the consequences of changing programs for governments, nonprofit organizations, multinational companies, community groups and political action committees.

4. Health Services Managers and Administrators

These professionals plan, manage and coordinate health services for medical practices, groups of physicians, universities, insurance companies, private companies and government agencies. These medical professionals protect people and communities with insurance coverage, education, health services, healthier lifestyles, research and new programs to prevent disease and promote better health. Combining business savvy, healthcare trends and IT knowledge, today’s managers and administrators work with EHRs and EMRs to ensure regulatory compliance and plan for the increased medical services and staffs that will be needed to care for baby boomers who live longer lifespans. An MBA, though not essential for all manager positions, greatly improves any student’s prospects of finding desirable employment in the field.

5. Medical Entrepreneurship

Medical technologies are among the fastest growing and most lucrative industries, and getting an MBA in health care could qualify you to start or lead a medical technology company or a university-based program that manufactures equipment or develops new treatments using the latest biologic technologies such as those that create drugs from living cells. Companies are racing to develop biologics in one of the biggest trends in pharmaceuticals. This kind of medical entrepreneurship has been credited with decreasing prostate cancer deaths by 25 percent and accelerating research to find other cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancers, HIV/AIDS and many other medical conditions according to Harvard Business Review.

Your Master’s of Business Administration in Healthcare degree opens a range of careers and workplace settings where you can oversee financial matters, cutting-edge research, policymaking, legal compliance, technology, human resources and public relations.

Incredible MBA Healthcare Administration Jobs

Healthcare is a critical industry in our society—one filled with opportunities and growth potential. For ambitious and passionate professionals, it can also be a very rewarding career path. However, to excel at the management and leadership levels you need specialized expertise and education.

The MBA has long been the gold standard for leadership. Now, many MBA programs offer students the opportunity to specialize in healthcare, giving them the same rigorous curriculum and management skills within the context of the healthcare industry.

An MBA with a specialization in healthcare can help you advance your career—whether you’re a clinical practitioner looking to move into an administrative role, a medical student looking to stand out for residency selection, or a nonclinical professional looking for new opportunities in healthcare.

If you’re considering an MBA in healthcare, it’s important to know the career paths this degree is best suited for. Let’s look at some of the top jobs for professionals who choose to pursue an MBA in healthcare administration.

Top Career Paths And Jobs For Professionals With A Healthcare MBA

An MBA in healthcare prepares you for a wide range of career possibilities in a competitive industry. These roles typically fall into two workplace categories—clinical and non-clinical. An MBA with a focus in healthcare administration can lead to top career prospects in any of these work environments. 

Let’s dive deeper and look at 6 popular jobs for professionals across the healthcare spectrum who can excel with a healthcare MBA.

Healthcare Consultant | Average Salary: $83,490

Healthcare consultants act as analysts, helping healthcare organizations identify opportunities to reduce costs while increasing revenue—without sacrificing quality of care. Having a strong understanding of healthcare-related operations is crucial to determine efficiencies and methods for implementation.

According to Forbes, the healthcare services market (which includes healthcare consulting) is a $50 billion+ industry, and continues to grow exponentially without any signs of slowing down. This market demand makes the career outlook for healthcare consultants bright—offering both stability and growth opportunities.

Medical and Health Services Managers | Average Salary: $104,280

Medical and health services managers develop strategies, organize systems and run operations at medical facilities, specific clinical departments, or a group medical practice. They are responsible for adapting to complex changes in healthcare laws, regulations, and technology.

Medical and health services managers work closely with physicians and surgeons, registered nurses, medical technologists, and other front-line healthcare workers. This work environment makes this position ideal for healthcare practitioners who are looking to move up the ranks and take on an administrative role. 

Plus, with demand for medical and health services managers increasing rapidly—expected to grow by 32% by 2029—these professionals can expect long-term career stability. 

What matters most when choosing a master’s program? Compare features, benefits and cost to find the right school for you.

Healthcare Sales/Marketing Manager | Average Salary: $122,556

These professionals direct sales and marketing activities for healthcare organizations. For example, a sales and marketing manager for a long-term care facility is responsible for reaching occupancy targets and ensuring the brand is well-recognized and respected in the community in which it operates. On the other hand, marketing managers at healthcare technology companies are responsible for increasing awareness and adoption of their product or service.

As digital transformation is still in its infancy in healthcare, marketing and sales managers have the opportunity to harness technology to transform their organizations.

To succeed, both written and verbal communication skills are key, and a Healthcare MBA can provide more specialized skills in marketing to round out your experience and talents.

Public Health Policy Analyst | Average Salary: 81,335

Public health policy analysts gather and evaluate data on current and potential policies regarding health and health care in their community or organization. Many work for the government, NGOs or nonprofits. They aim to improve education, aid in disease prevention, and promote healthy lifestyle changes, as well as determine costs and benefits of public health policies.

These professionals need a strong analytical background, critical thinking and communication skills, as well as in-depth knowledge of healthcare policy and regulations. 

Pharmaceutical Project Manager | Average Salary: $93,156

Pharmaceutical project managers are responsible for ensuring projects are properly planned, resourced, and managed to ensure on-time completion. In a pharmaceutical role, this could include ensuring compliance with regulatory bodies and keeping research records.

Two of the most significant disruptors in the pharma industry are, and will continue to be, digitization and advanced analytics. As more transformational initiatives are undertaken, the need for sophisticated project managers with a strong healthcare background will only increase.

This role is a great fit for people who have strong leadership and organizational skills and have a knack for developing efficient systems to get work done.

Health Insurance Operations Director | Average Salary: $153,48

Health insurance operations directors oversee programs in multiple services areas—from account installation and implementation to client support and claims processing. These professionals have deep knowledge of health insurance functions, so this role is a good fit for someone with a background in the field.

Health insurance is complex and highly-regulated, making qualified operations directors critical to success. To excel, you will need strong management abilities and systematic problem-solving skills.


Why Choose an MBA in Healthcare Administration Over an MHA? 

Many healthcare professionals weigh the choice of getting a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) or an MBA with a specialization in healthcare administration. Both degrees prepare you for leadership roles in healthcare organizations, but depending on your career aspirations, one may be a better fit than the other.

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