Do You Have What It Takes To Become A Healthcare Administrator?

More and more students are looking into Masters of Healthcare Administration Degrees, since the healthcare industry is the only industry projected to grow exponentially in the next decade.

But, as with any high profile career, it takes a certain character and personality to become a successful Healthcare Administrator. Healthcare executives need a strong blend of management, leadership and even technological skills to successfully oversee large hospitals and institutions.

Take a step back and assess your strengths and weaknesses in these 5 areas, which are considered by the HLA (Healthcare Leadership Alliance) to be the core skills subset of the best healthcare administrators.

5 Core Competencies of Healthcare Professionals:

1. Communication and Relationship Management : A healthcare executive should be able to communicate clearly and respectfully with patients, customers, industry leaders, partners, department heads and hospital workers. He or she should be able to create meaningful relations with peers, and promote constructive interaction between individuals and groups in all situations.

2. Leadership : For obvious reasons, a healthcare administrator needs to have the ability to create a shared vision for and inspire his entire team. He must also be able to create and implement a strong organizational plan for his hospital or institution.

3. Professionalism : A hospital executive must maintain the utmost professional, ethical and moral conduct at all times, thereby setting a high standard of excellence for his team members. He should represent and radiate high quality healthcare professionalism to not only his staff, but to the entire healthcare community.

4. Knowledge of Healthcare : A good healthcare executive is on top of healthcare system policies, the latest innovations in healthcare technology, and the ever changing political landscape of the industry.

5. Business Skills : Yes, business skills. An MHA is actually often times offered as an MBA of Healthcare Administration, because the two fields are so closely intertwined. A hospital CEO, for example, needs to know how to run his hospital like a business (that’s what it ultimately is, after all). Healthcare administrators need to have a good grasp on business principles, systems thinking and business management in order to reach the higher levels of healthcare employment.

If you’d like to take a self assessment and read more about these 5 core traits of healthcare leaders, go to the ACHE’s Competencies Booklet and take a Self Assessment Test to see which of these areas you excel in, and which ones need some improvement. Enjoy!