14 Best Hospital Management Jobs
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If you’ve ever considered a career in healthcare than you probably know that there are plenty of opportunities to advance through the ranks to management positions. We have outlined the best hospital management jobs for you to consider.
How Hospital Management or Healthcare Management Is Different Than Other Industries
The healthcare industry is very unique in its approach to providing guidance and leadership in the ever-changing industry. For instance, in some industries, a manager can transition from one industry to the next without any hiccups. A CEO of a manufacturing company might be able to become an administrator or manager for a service-based corporation. When a manager or administrator moves from one position in one industry to the next, a lot of the same principles or techniques transition themselves to the new industry.
The healthcare industry is very different in the sense that those transitions aren’t as smooth or done as easily. The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that the healthcare industry is very unique in how management and leadership have to respond and behave because the priorities are vastly different.
While every business seek14 s to make money or generate profits, industries often have different goals or different priorities. For instance, the entertainment industry is focused on creating as much profit as possible by increasing the number of subscribers with existing infrastructure and technology. Whereas the healthcare industry is focused on providing care to their patients and engaging in research to make care more effective and efficient through new technology and new methods.
While one industry seeks to increase the number of potential users, the other one seeks to make their products and services more efficient so they can treat more people.
In other words, the healthcare industry needs managers and leaders who understand the industry backward and forwards. The healthcare industry is one of the rare industries where that critical experience one gains from working in other roles within the healthcare industry provide critical insight into how the industry operates like a well-oiled machine and understands what it takes to push innovations into the future.
Experienced healthcare professionals can tackle problems from the perspective of having experienced some of the policies or been on the front lines of care when it comes to the implementation of training, technology, or care procedures. That critical insight is essential for understanding what challenges the industry might face moving forward, and how to best navigate those difficult waters. As we mentioned, some of those skills that a leader or manager possesses from other industries won’t be able to transfer directly to the healthcare industry. As an example, an executive from other industries might want to come into a hospital and expect to slash costs on research and drive that money towards marketing.
The problem with this is that when hospitals and healthcare facilities don’t heavily invest in new technology or care methods, they can fall behind on care times and efficiency metrics. When that happens, the hospital gets downgraded and they can no longer attract top-tier healthcare professional talent. This is just one example of how the healthcare management or hospital management is vastly different than other industries and the leadership structure that other industries have. This example just provides a little insight into what separates the healthcare industry from other industries, and why hospitals and healthcare facilities are constantly seeking experienced healthcare talent for vacant healthcare management or hospital manager positions.
Why You Should Consider Hospital Management Positions
Healthcare management is one of the fastest growing sectors in the entire healthcare industry. The unique thing about the healthcare industry is that experience is one of the most critical things to providing efficient and effective care. Hospitals and healthcare facilities are constantly seeking experienced managers to help lead the next generation of care. This means that there are plenty of hospital management jobs, hospital management jobs where the goal is to manage your employees. As a hospital manager, you will have to coordinate with the employees throughout the hospital to ensure everyone is aware of their responsibilities, how their roles interact or coincide with others in the same department, and then handle any potential scheduling or disputes that might arise.
Employee management also revolves around finding ways to optimize the roles and responsibilities that everyone has. You will be tasked with identifying gaps in various roles or needless clutter that causes unwanted confusion or distractions. For instance, you might find that your employees have needless barriers or paperwork that they have to fill out which can be more efficient if they just implement some new technology.
Another aspect of employee management revolves around scheduling when the care providers should work and then handling any concerns or issues that might arise when someone takes some time off or an emergency scenario arises.
• Finances and Accounting
As a hospital manager, you will be tasked with understanding and knowing the finances or accounting of various departments under your care. As a hospital administrator in hospital management roles, you will frequently be tasked with laying out budgets that help underscore the financial goals of the department.
Having a strong understanding of the finances within a department is critical to running it successfully because you will be able to identify weak points and strategize potential remedies for financial struggles as they arise. The good news is that you don’t need to be an accounting major to learn how to read and deal with financial statements. A little bit of practice will help you pick up the skill with ease.
• Public Relations
In hospital management jobs, you will also be dealing with public relations issues. When a hospital or healthcare facility agrees to change up their strategy or rebrand, directors and managers are tasked with dealing directly with the public to ensure that the message is being spread properly. In the event that something negative happens, hospital managers will be tasked with providing damage control and keeping the focus on the important issues.
• Scheduling Care Providers
Hospital administrators or hospital managers will also be tasked with coordinating outside care in some regards. In the event that an outside physician or care provider needs to be called upon to pick up slack for the limited workforce or due to some other extenuating circumstance, hospital management professionals will be tasked with coordinating and scheduling care providers when necessary.
• Various Administrative Duties
In all of the best hospital management roles, you can expect to deal with various administrative duties each day. This might range from answering emails, talking on the phone, or dealing with extensive amounts of paperwork. These administrative duties might seem daunting at first, but are necessary to provide structure and stability to the healthcare industry.
• Marketing
In some hospital management jobs, you will be tasked with coming up with marketing plans or marketing goals for new initiatives that the hospital or healthcare facility are going to be running. As a hospital manager or hospital manager, you will be responsible for putting the individuals in place who can oversee the marketing efforts, and then coming up with the benchmarks to ensure that the marketing goals are being met. From there, you will also be tasked with reviewing the marketing benchmarks and providing guidance moving forward to ensure that the marketing efforts translate to profits.
• Research
As a hospital manager, you will also be tasked with overseeing some of the commitment to research. This might entail actually conducting the research, or just ensuring that the research takes place. If you're not directly involved with the research, you will be overseeing the research development, the presentation of the concluded research, and then the implementation of that research to the care moving forward.
• Information Technology
One of the most important roles in hospital management jobs is related to information technology. This doesn’t mean that you need to have an IT degree or be an expert computer programmer to effectively utilize information technology, but you should understand the basics of what it is and how you can use it to make informed decisions.
Essentially, in a hospital management role you will be using information technology to gain valuable insight into the patients, treatment methods, care times, and much more to find gaps in coverage or areas of improvement. From there, you can then monitor those improvements through the technology in the same regard.
For instance, you might find that you have a major supply gap in one department within the hospital, and through the use of technology can identify why that is and how you can potentially fix the bottleneck. Information technology is critical to making sure that you make effective decisions when you’re coming up with the planning and development of the hospital or healthcare facility.
• Planning and Development
As a hospital manager or hospital administrator, you will be in charge of the planning and development for various departments or the hospital as a whole. You will be in charge of planning various initiatives, developments, revenue and profit goals, staff retention rates, patient satisfaction levels, and much more.
Once you oversee the planning of all the initiatives or procedures that are going to be set in place, then you are also tasked with the development, and monitoring of those developments.
• Growth Strategies and Implementation
As a hospital manager, you will also be tasked with finding potential growth strategies, and then implementing those growth strategies. These growth strategies might be related to the number of patients the hospital or healthcare facility sees, the revenue goals set in place, patient retention rates, research approval rates, and more.
As a hospital management professional, you will be tasked with overseeing a large number of projects and initiatives. You will be tasked with keeping a bird’s eye view from the top down to oversee the growth and development of the healthcare industry moving forward. As a healthcare leader, you can directly shape and change the way the healthcare industry moves forward.
14 Best Hospital Management Jobs
Now that we’ve outlined why you should consider a hospital management job, what separates the hospital management industry from other industries, and some of the common responsibilities that you will have on the job, we will outline the best hospital management jobs for you to consider. We’ll break down each job, some of the core responsibilities, and the expected salary you might earn while in the position.
In some hospital management jobs, you will be tasked with coming up with marketing plans or marketing goals for new initiatives that the hospital or healthcare facility are going to be running. As a hospital manager or hospital manager, you will be responsible for putting the individuals in place who can oversee the marketing efforts, and then coming up with the benchmarks to ensure that the marketing goals are being met. From there, you will also be tasked with reviewing the marketing benchmarks and providing guidance moving forward to ensure that the marketing efforts translate to profits.
• Research
As a hospital manager, you will also be tasked with overseeing some of the commitment to research. This might entail actually conducting the research, or just ensuring that the research takes place. If you're not directly involved with the research, you will be overseeing the research development, the presentation of the concluded research, and then the implementation of that research to the care moving forward.
• Information Technology
One of the most important roles in hospital management jobs is related to information technology. This doesn’t mean that you need to have an IT degree or be an expert computer programmer to effectively utilize information technology, but you should understand the basics of what it is and how you can use it to make informed decisions.
Essentially, in a hospital management role you will be using information technology to gain valuable insight into the patients, treatment methods, care times, and much more to find gaps in coverage or areas of improvement. From there, you can then monitor those improvements through the technology in the same regard.
For instance, you might find that you have a major supply gap in one department within the hospital, and through the use of technology can identify why that is and how you can potentially fix the bottleneck. Information technology is critical to making sure that you make effective decisions when you’re coming up with the planning and development of the hospital or healthcare facility.
• Planning and Development
As a hospital manager or hospital administrator, you will be in charge of the planning and development for various departments or the hospital as a whole. You will be in charge of planning various initiatives, developments, revenue and profit goals, staff retention rates, patient satisfaction levels, and much more.
Once you oversee the planning of all the initiatives or procedures that are going to be set in place, then you are also tasked with the development, and monitoring of those developments.
• Growth Strategies and Implementation
As a hospital manager, you will also be tasked with finding potential growth strategies, and then implementing those growth strategies. These growth strategies might be related to the number of patients the hospital or healthcare facility sees, the revenue goals set in place, patient retention rates, research approval rates, and more.
As a hospital management professional, you will be tasked with overseeing a large number of projects and initiatives. You will be tasked with keeping a bird’s eye view from the top down to oversee the growth and development of the healthcare industry moving forward. As a healthcare leader, you can directly shape and change the way the healthcare industry moves forward.
14 Best Hospital Management Jobs
14. Medical Office Secretary
Medical Office Secretaries help provide the structure to the chaotic environment of the hospital or healthcare facility. This is one of the best entry level roles that you can pursue if you’d like to get your hospital management career underway. As a Medical Office Secretary, you will be in charge with handling the day to day responsibilities that might arise in the healthcare office or hospital. This will mean that you directly interact with patients, their families, and with other healthcare professionals.
In addition, you will be coordinating the scheduling, billing, and accounts for patients. In some cases, you will also have to get on the phone to act as the middle man between the healthcare facility, hospital, patient, and their insurance companies.
In some cases, you will also be tasked with putting the patient records or information into the database so that it is easily recalled whenever the patient records are needed by other healthcare professionals or providers of care.
Working as a Medical Office Secretary is a great way for you to understand how to manage multiple tasks at once, and gain insight into just how valuable proper scheduling and organization is to the entire healthcare machine.
According to Salary.com, Medical Office Secretaries typically earn between $35,000 to $44,000 per year.
13. Human Resource Manager
Another entry level role for getting your career started in hospital management involves a potential role as a Human Resource Manager. As a Human Resource Manager you will be working directly with management and executives to recruit, interview, consult with, and hire potential talent for any and all positions. As a Human Resource Manager, you can either work exclusively for one department within the hospital, or for the entire hospital. In addition, as a Human Resource Manager you will be responsible for hiring objectives, and ensuring that you and your subordinates meet those hiring and retention objectives.
Working as a Human Resource Manager is a great way for you to gain experience in sourcing talent, evaluating them, and eventually hiring them. According to Salary.com, Human Resource Managers typically earn between $90,000 to $115,000 per year.
12. Healthcare Administrator
As a Healthcare Administrator in a hospital or healthcare facility, your role in hospital management will be to hire and train personnel, conduct various staff meetings, maintain daily operations, and maintain facilities. In addition, you will be tasked with implementing and monitoring policies, oversee billing procedures and guidelines, developing marketing campaigns, and leading clinical professionals.
Essentially, the role of a Healthcare Administrator is to manage all of the complex daily operations that might arise in a hospital or healthcare facility. Healthcare Administrators can work in a variety of hospital management jobs or departments.
Healthcare Administrators typically earn $31.13 per hour, which roughly translates to $64,758 per year. The average salary for a Healthcare Administrator is between $49,248 to $85,215 per year. Over the next decade, the number of hospital management jobs for Healthcare Administrators is expected to rise from 333,000 to over 503,000.
11. Director of Research and Advancements
As the Director of Research and Advancements, you will be tasked with guiding the research direction across several different sectors within the healthcare industry. This might range from technology research, patient care research, pharmaceutical research, and more. If you’re passionate about future technology and want to find hospital management jobs that allow you to stay on the cutting edge of technology as it’s being developed, then you should consider looking into this particular career.
Hospital managers in this role help guide research professionals to study new and exciting research and technological trends around the healthcare industry to reduce the cost of care and provide more efficient care to the future patients within the industry.
In addition, Directors of Research and Advancement help guide some of the policies and legislation that congressional bodies use to ensure that research is being developed and conducted safely.
According to Salary.com, Research Directors typically earn between $120,000 to $160,000 per year.
10. Director of Living Conditions
The Director of Living Conditions is largely responsible for everything to do with patient care while they are in the facility or hospital. Essentially, this hospital management job revolves around making sure the patient is as comfortable as they can be in their stay. This means their responsibilities revolve around making sure patients have access to transportation when they need to go from one facility to another, have access to proper medication management, have personal care service for healthy meals that meet their care plans, have access to clean facilities, and more.
The Director of Living Conditions is also responsible for checking in on patients to get a census of what kind of things that patients would like to see in the future to make their care more enjoyable.
According to PayScale, Directors of Living Conditions typically earn between $49,000 to $100,000 per year.
9. Healthcare Consultant
If you’re looking for a hospital management role that provides you with a little bit more freedom, then one particular career you should consider is becoming a Healthcare Consultant. Healthcare Consultants are great for those healthcare professionals that already have previous experience in the healthcare industry, or have some form of experience outside of the healthcare industry but are looking to share their skills and experience.
As a Healthcare Consultant, your main role will be to provide consulting services on various topics. These topics can range from a variety of things like finances, patient retention, branding recommendations, marketing efforts, and more. In addition, Healthcare Consultants can dictate their hours because they are independent contractors. If you’re looking for a bit more freedom in hospital management jobs, then this is the job for you.
According to PayScale, Healthcare Consultants typically earn between $50,000 to $140,000 per year.
8. Director of Emergency Procedures
The Director of Emergency Procedures is in charge of the emergency procedures in a hospital or healthcare facility. This can range from how to deal with emergencies when they arise, or the emergency response coordination with local government and regional agencies. The role of a Director of Emergency Procedures can be a stressful one, because you are charged with the safety of everyone in a hospital or healthcare facility in case something goes wrong. A successful Director will be in charge of reviewing all emergency procedures, checking to make sure everything is up to standard regularly, and educating all staff members about the proper protocols.
According to Salary, Directors of Emergency Procedures typically earn between $120,000 to $155,000 per year.
7. Director of IT / Director of Information Technology
The Director of Information Technology is a great hospital management job for those that are interested in big data and records. These professionals help connect the dots between technology and healthcare. The most important responsibility of IT Directors moving forward in the healthcare industry has to do with keeping patient records and medical information safe as the industry switches to more technology to manage the care.
In addition, as an IT Director, you will be tasked with staying up to date with all of the modern software technology and finding ways to implement it into the hospital or healthcare facility to improve standards of care and treat more patients efficiently.
This role is great for those individuals who are passionate about working with technology and finding ways to incoporate that technology into the ever-evolving healthcare industry.
According to PayScale, IT Directors typically earn between $63,000 to $187,000 per year.
6. Clinical Director
Clinical Directors are one of the best hospital management jobs for those healthcare professionals who want to transition to a hospital manager or healthcare administrator role but still want to remain close with the clinical side of the healthcare industry. Most hospital management jobs or healthcare management jobs eventually transition into a hands-off approach and away from clinical rotations. As a Clinical Director, you will most likely have a hands-off approach to caring for patients, but you will be directly responsible for overseeing some of the care procedures and finding ways to improve the care that is being given to patients.
If you’re passionate about working and interacting with patients, then this is the healthcare career for you to consider because you will still be able to work directly with patients and the healthcare professionals that manage their care. You will work directly with healthcare professionals to ensure they have all the tools and resources they need to provide the best care possible to the patients under their care.
According to PayScale, Clinical Directors typically earn between $50,000 to $120,000 per year. If you’re currently working in a clinical rotation setting and are looking to transition to a hospital management job, then this is a great job for you to consider using your experience and background as leverage.
5. Director of Hospice
The Director of Hospice is in one of the department director positions we’ve highlighted on our list of best hospital management jobs. One of the biggest challenges facing the healthcare industry is the aging generation of baby boomers. As the baby boomer generation slowly fades out of the workforce and needs new levels of care previously never seen, healthcare workers are needed to provide long-term care or end-of-life care. Hospice is a type of care for those that are terminally ill and are on the last stage of their lifecycle.
As the Director of Hospice, you will be tasked with overseeing the standards of care for those patients that are on the final stage of their care plan. In addition, you will be tasked with overseeing, organizing, and implementing the policies and procedures in this department to ensure that patients are as comfortable as they can be.
According to Salary.com, Directors of Hospice typically earn between $100,000 to $127,000 per year. This is a great hospital management job for those individuals that enjoy working with the elderly and can help provide consultation and guidance to those families that are struggling to cope with their aging family members.
4. Vice President of Operations
The Vice President of Operations in a hospital or healthcare facility is one of the senior leadership members who help provide stability and foundation to the hospital or healthcare facility. The Vice President of Operations is in charge of helping run the hospital and executing the wishes of the President, Board of Directors, and Chief Executive Officer. Vice Presidents are in charge of helping coordinate the activities and initiatives of the hospital and remove some of the things off the plate of the President of the hospital.
According to PayScale, Vice Presidents of Operations in hospitals typically earn between $75,000 to $270,000 per year.
3. President of Operations
The President of Operations in a hospital is the individual responsible for all the day to day operations of the hospital or healthcare facility. These individuals are responsible for running the hospital day in and day out, providing the best patient care, ensuring the hospital has all the best tools and technology to increase patient standards of care, and provide comfortable patient surroundings.
Hospital Presidents are also responsible for developing the state of the art facilities, providing the best medical equipment, stay on top of related developments throughout the hospital, stay abreast of all the technology and research advancements, and coordinating everything with the CEO and Board of Directors.
According to PayScale, President of Operations in hospitals typically earn between $156,000 to $410,000 per year.
2. Chief Financial Officer
The Chief Financial Officer is the one who handles all of the budgetary and accounting responsibilities for the current year and future projections. The CFO is largely responsible for making sure that the hospital is on track to generate additional revenue each year, increase profits, and cut costs. In addition, the Chief Financial Officer is largely responsible for coordinating with other senior healthcare leaders and managers to ensure that the hospital is on track to meet the other goals or objectives outlined, and what needs to take place if they are not on track.
The Chief Financial Officer is also in charge of potential stock offerings, outside investment requests, and more. The Chief Financial Officer is one of the most stressful jobs in a hospital or healthcare leadership role because without tight budgets and an understanding of the numbers, hospitals and healthcare facilities can shut down overnight.
According to Salary.com, Chief Financial Officers in hospitals typically earn between $289,000 to $410,000 per year.
1. Chief Executive Officer
The Chief Executive Officer is the head individual in charge. This person is in charge of all the senior leadership and manages all of the senior leadership. The Chief Executive Officer is also the face of the hospital or healthcare facility in the eyes of the public, and is responsible for ensuring that every facet of the hospital or healthcare facility is operating at peak efficiency to meet the goals for each department, marketing efforts, and more.
The CEO is also responsible for working hand in hand with the board of directors to ensure objectives are being met, new revenue drivers are being set in place, patient retention is on the rise, and public perception is positive. The Chief Executive Officer is in charge of the strategy and guidance for the long term future of the hospital or healthcare facility. These individuals are tasked with guiding the hospital with long-term perspective.
According to Indeed, CEOs typically earn between $171,000 to $400,000 per year.
Conclusion
The healthcare industry is constantly seeking new talent to fill the growing number of hospital management jobs or hospital management careers. If you’re an experienced healthcare professional looking to advance your career and lead the next generation of care, then these careers are some of the best hospital management jobs to consider.