Health Services Administrators
Background
In hospitals and clinics, the emergency, x-ray, nursing, maintenance, administration, and food service departments must work together to provide quality health care. Health services administrators manage individual departments or specific health care programs within a hospital. Health services administrators manage hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities.
What They Do
Health services administrators in the military perform some or all of the following duties:
- Develop and manage budgets for health care facilities or programs
- Direct personnel activities, such as hiring, employee evaluation, staff development, and recordkeeping
- Direct the day-to-day operations of the nursing department
- Direct the operations of support departments, such as maintenance, food services, or administration
- Meet with hospital department heads to plan services and keep the health care facility running smoothly
- Plan for delivering health services during emergencies and test these plans during exercises
Physical Demands
No information available.
Special Requirements
A four-year college degree in health care, public health, business, nursing administration, or a related field is required to enter most of the specialties in this career. Some specialties require further education or prior experience in the health services field.
Helpful Attributes
Helpful attributes include:
- Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely
- Interest in health care
- Interest in planning and directing the work of others
- Interest in working closely with people
Helpful School Subjects
No information available.
Helpful Fields of Study
No information available.
Work Environment
Health services administrators work in hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities. Most work at facilities on land, but some work aboard hospital ships and ships with large sick bays.
Services offering this career:
- Air Force
- Army
- Coast Guard
- Navy
Hiring Practices
To serve in the military, a person must be at least 17; the maximum age for enlistment varies. To enlist, a person must pass a physical exam and an aptitude test. An enlistee must also meet military standards of discipline and be a US citizen or permanent resident alien.
This position is for officers.
Wages
The military is competitive with the civilian world when it comes to pay and benefits. All branches offer the same basic pay and benefits.
Pay depends mainly on rank or grade as well as length of service. Bonuses and the situation in which the person is serving (for example: flight duty, sea duty, hazardous duty) also affect pay.
Cost-of-living increases usually occur every year, based on inflation. The military also pays allowances for food, clothing, and housing. All these factors combined are called Regular Military Compensation (RMC). They should all be considered when comparing military pay to civilian pay.
There are two main parts to RMC: basic pay and allowances. There are also additional incentives for special abilities, training, or hazardous duty.
Check out the RMC Calculator to calculate your RMC based on your inputs.
Training Provided
Job training is provided for some specialties in this career. This training consists of ten to 12 weeks of classroom instruction and practical exercises.
Course content typically includes:
- Nursing service administration
- Patient unit management
- Planning and directing health services
Civilian Counterparts
Civilian health services administrators usually work for hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), or other health care facilities. They may also work for colleges and universities, public health agencies, insurance companies, or health management firms. Civilian health services administrators perform duties similar to those performed in the military. Depending on the programs or facilities they manage, civilian health services administrators may also be called hospital administrators, nursing services directors, emergency medical services coordinators, and outpatient services directors.
Related Civilian Careers
Employment and Outlook
In peace time the services have about 5,000 health services administrators. In times of military action the number may be different, depending on the type of specialties required. Each year the services need new health administrators due to changes in personnel and the demands of the field. After job training, health services administrators may be assigned to a variety of positions depending on their specialty. Usually, they work under the direction of experienced officers. With experience, they may manage one or more departments in a facility. In time, they may direct a health services facility. Eventually, they may advance to senior management positions responsible for planning health services at many facilities.