[KwlAznKid]

I really want to start to steer my career towards the heathcare sector and I'm pretty lost, I was wondering if anyone here has gone through this and can maybe give me some pointers. My ultimate goal would to be a healthcare admin but I know there are additional steps along the way. If anyone here could offer me some advice or allow me to PM them with some questions I would be very grateful. If you're around OC area I would be happy to buy you lunch or coffee to discuss it in person as well

Thanks!

[matthewk]

Do you have a monetary goal in the next 10 years you'd be happy to share? Healthcare admin is pretty vague to start pointing you in the right direction.. What's your current degree?

[carlo_r13]

Become a social worker first. Best place to get oriented with everything.

[KwlAznKid]

Originally Posted by matthewk

Do you have a monetary goal in the next 10 years you'd be happy to share? Healthcare admin is pretty vague to start pointing you in the right direction.. What's your current degree?

is it really? see this is how new i am to this stuff haha. I have a degree in economics with work experience in finance/accounting/sales going for my MBA as of now I just turned 23, 2 years out of college and graduated Cum Laude. But the thing is I know that I don't have much "healthcare" history on paper so I wanted to see what the best steps to take would be to steer towards that pathway. getting a BS in bio or nursing is just too late for me at this point. (well not really but it's pretty much out of the question)

edit: oh and to answer your question i don't have a specific job in mind, to be honest i thought health care admin was a specific job already

Originally Posted by carlo_r13

Become a social worker first. Best place to get oriented with everything.

I've been seeing a lot of entry positions that require you to have a RN certification, what's your take on getting an RN license and going from there? A social worker almost seems like while yes you do get oriented with many aspects of the field it doesn't seem like someone goes from social worker to hospital cfo/ceo/admin usually

[carlo_r13]

To be a nurse right now and get a job is very difficult. I've been nurse for about 5 years and I just started to shift from bedside to management. My previous administrator was a social worker before she became an admin. That was the pathway that she took and it looks a lot easier.

[Echo M3]

All 3 are rather different career paths. What actually interests you?

Do you like caring for patients and following them in person? Then nursing is an option.

Do you like working with the equipment and administering the simple tests, like ECGs and ultrasounds? Then you can consider being a tech.

Or are you interested in the business side of
Healthcare (admin)?

You interestingly left out medicine. Being a physician gives you both an administrative (depending on where you operate) and a personal relationship with the patient, as well as being the ultimate decisionmaker for the patient.

[matthewk]

Originally Posted by KwlAznKid

is it really? see this is how new i am to this stuff haha. I have a degree in economics with work experience in finance/accounting/sales going for my MBA as of now I just turned 23, 2 years out of college and graduated Cum Laude. But the thing is I know that I don't have much "healthcare" history on paper so I wanted to see what the best steps to take would be to steer towards that pathway. getting a BS in bio or nursing is just too late for me at this point. (well not really but it's pretty much out of the question)

edit: oh and to answer your question i don't have a specific job in mind, to be honest i thought health care admin was a specific job already



I've been seeing a lot of entry positions that require you to have a RN certification, what's your take on getting an RN license and going from there? A social worker almost seems like while yes you do get oriented with many aspects of the field it doesn't seem like someone goes from social worker to hospital cfo/ceo/admin usually

I think your best bet might be a path to CFO is to go and work for a payor. Learn about the insurance industry and then move that into hospitals..

Most my my friends that are on the opperational C-level side (CMO, CEO, COO, GM) of hospitals are MDs with an MBA.

[cooh23]

I have a degree in Health Admin and currently work for a big hospital.

Like the other people have said, it really depends on what you want. Getting an MBA doesn't really get you in quickly in the healthcare industry since the industry is so small. Health IT is big and Project Managers with health IT background will be in demand in the next coming years when the Health reforms takes full effect.

Having an MBA is a plus but you need to have a concentration. A lot of schools right now are offering a concentration in Health Management.

Edit: Just saw the post above me. A lot of C-level execs have MD background but not all. A lot of the execs are also familiar with politics. You need a lot of political backing in this industry.

[KwlAznKid]

thanks for the all the input guys, i'm going to really sit down tomorrow and do some work and reply. really appreciate the input from you all

[SpacE82]

Healthcare is a great field to get into. I have been working in healthcare for three years. One year as a consultant in the physician referral department at a large hospital here in Chicago (not what my degree is in, but needed to start somewhere). Now I'm an analyst in the quality department at that same hospital. I have a bachelors of science in health administration and I am going for my masters in information systems with a specialization in medical informatics. If you're into computers and technology, look into that. With everything going electronic and having electronic medical records, medical informatics is a new up and coming field. With that comes the need of more data analysts etc. My job is really interesting and i really like it. Healthcare isn't going anywhere and its a great field to get into. If you have any other questions, I'd be more than happy to help!

[cooh23]

Originally Posted by SpacE82

Healthcare is a great field to get into. I have been working in healthcare for three years. One year as a consultant in the physician referral department at a large hospital here in Chicago (not what my degree is in, but needed to start somewhere). Now I'm an analyst in the quality department at that same hospital. I have a bachelors of science in health administration and I am going for my masters in information systems with a specialization in medical informatics. If you're into computers and technology, look into that. With everything going electronic and having electronic medical records, medical informatics is a new up and coming field. With that comes the need of more data analysts etc. My job is really interesting and i really like it. Healthcare isn't going anywhere and its a great field to get into. If you have any other questions, I'd be more than happy to help!

I totally agree. Business Intelligence in health care is key. With the health reform taking full effect in a few years, this is going to be a big field. BI analysts are in demand right now but only a few have a background in healthcare.

BI analysts work with every department of the hospital and it really gives you a broader view of the organization.

[KwlAznKid]

Originally Posted by carlo_r13

To be a nurse right now and get a job is very difficult. I've been nurse for about 5 years and I just started to shift from bedside to management. My previous administrator was a social worker before she became an admin. That was the pathway that she took and it looks a lot easier.

that's what i'm worried about, i'm not actually trying to become a nurse, it just seems like a lot of healthcare jobs want you to have that RN certification, while on the topic of that.. how hard was it to get your RN?

Originally Posted by pman10

All 3 are rather different career paths. What actually interests you?

Do you like caring for patients and following them in person? Then nursing is an option.

Do you like working with the equipment and administering the simple tests, like ECGs and ultrasounds? Then you can consider being a tech.

Or are you interested in the business side of
Healthcare (admin)?

You interestingly left out medicine. Being a physician gives you both an administrative (depending on where you operate) and a personal relationship with the patient, as well as being the ultimate decisionmaker for the patient.

I'm more interested in the business side of things, the overall operation and overseeing (management) of the hospital or healthcare clinic, not so far as a CFO (as i'm not that interested in accounting) but more of like a COO, not too interested in working with patients directly to be honest but i definitely do want SOME interaction if at all possible

Originally Posted by matthewk

I think your best bet might be a path to CFO is to go and work for a payor. Learn about the insurance industry and then move that into hospitals..

Most my my friends that are on the opperational C-level side (CMO, CEO, COO, GM) of hospitals are MDs with an MBA.

your COO friends are MDs with an MBA? wow.. that definitely is a buzz kill.. do you happen to know if that's typical? to have an MD to become a COO? i mean if i'm going to get an MD i might as well just become a doctor.. lol

Originally Posted by cooh23

I have a degree in Health Admin and currently work for a big hospital.

Like the other people have said, it really depends on what you want. Getting an MBA doesn't really get you in quickly in the healthcare industry since the industry is so small. Health IT is big and Project Managers with health IT background will be in demand in the next coming years when the Health reforms takes full effect.

Having an MBA is a plus but you need to have a concentration. A lot of schools right now are offering a concentration in Health Management.

Edit: Just saw the post above me. A lot of C-level execs have MD background but not all. A lot of the execs are also familiar with politics. You need a lot of political backing in this industry.

can you clarify what you mean by political backing? like you need to know the people around the hospital/industry? just curious what kind of degrees do you have? (if you don't mind sharing) do you have an MD or just an MBA? when you say IT background do you mean like the level of CS Major or just be able to use EMR systems and such? there's a new law coming in soon helping to push the conversion to EMR systems or something right? based on what you're saying what you're doing right now seems almost where i'm aiming to be.

Originally Posted by SpacE82

Healthcare is a great field to get into. I have been working in healthcare for three years. One year as a consultant in the physician referral department at a large hospital here in Chicago (not what my degree is in, but needed to start somewhere). Now I'm an analyst in the quality department at that same hospital. I have a bachelors of science in health administration and I am going for my masters in information systems with a specialization in medical informatics. If you're into computers and technology, look into that. With everything going electronic and having electronic medical records, medical informatics is a new up and coming field. With that comes the need of more data analysts etc. My job is really interesting and i really like it. Healthcare isn't going anywhere and its a great field to get into. If you have any other questions, I'd be more than happy to help!

wow that sounds amazing, and i wish i read your reply before I replied to the person above you haha, just curious (very similar question i asked the person above) how in depth is the IT sector that you're learning right now in your masters degree? I like computers but i'm not looking to be an IT or MIS guy, is the IT direction something you decided to take yourself or is it just sort of how things turned out because of the way the healthcare industry is starting to turn? do you think if i got a MBA/masters in healthcare admin (your undergrad degree) i would be able to get a pretty decent job?

Originally Posted by cooh23

I totally agree. Business Intelligence in health care is key. With the health reform taking full effect in a few years, this is going to be a big field. BI analysts are in demand right now but only a few have a background in healthcare.

BI analysts work with every department of the hospital and it really gives you a broader view of the organization.

by BI analyst you mean (two?) having a knowledge of IT as well as healthcare admin? hm.. seems like it's time to start taking a few IT classes..