Best Online Healthcare Management Degree Programs (BA)

The cost of a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management is highly variable, mainly because tuition varies so widely across the US. The main factor in figuring out how much your degree will cost is the educational institution you choose. Disregarding fees, book costs, housing, and other expenses, the yearly tuition costs of college in the US will run anywhere from $6,000 to $50,000+. That being said, almost half of students are charged a base yearly tuition somewhere between $6,000 and $12,000.

Another thing you should consider when choosing a school is the fact that some institutions prioritize students from within their home state. This means you may end up paying a considerable amount more than state residents if you choose to go to a school in another part of the country.

Lastly, it pays to be mindful of the many different types of financial aid you might qualify for. Scholarships are a popular way of lowering the cost of schooling, and there are many to choose from. Depending on your socioeconomic status, high-school academic or extracurricular achievements, ethnic background, choice of major, contest winnings, and more, you can apply for as many scholarships as you like, and get your schooling paid for with just a little added effort. Federal grants through FAFSA.gov are also an invaluable resource for students. You can remove a great amount of cost from your tuition based on your current socioeconomic status just by applying. And with programs like scholarships and grants, you don’t even need to worry about paying them back, making the whole process relatively risk-free.

Though particular institutions may vary in their exact degree requirements, there are particular topics of interest that most schools will cover in healthcare management bachelor’s degree programs, as well as those of similar majors. Once general education courses are completed, below are some areas you can expect to study, should you pursue one of these degrees.

Business

Business courses will cover the many aspects of starting, running, or participating in a business. These include the financial, technological, and human elements that affect the way a business is run, and the strategies and skill sets needed to clear those hurdles.

Business Management

Spanning various topics, such as project management, operations and supply chain management, cultural and emotional intelligence, and more, these classes deliver the tools and skills that allow managers to effectively perform administrative tasks for their businesses and lead their employees in ways that show respect and get results.

Human Resources

Employers and managers should have a thorough grounding in the principles and concepts of organizational leadership and workforce planning. Human resources-centered courses give students a better understanding of these concepts, as well as an understanding of the important laws and regulations regarding hiring, the working environment (EEO, ADA, OSHA, and others), and matters of compensation and benefits packages.

Healthcare Management

These courses fold the principles learned in business management courses into the industry-specific training of the healthcare world. Students learn about the uniquely challenging world of healthcare and how to manage teams in a healthcare environment. They also learn an overview of the techniques, technology, regulations, and values that are necessary for work in the healthcare space.

Clinic Manager

Clinic managers are in charge of outpatient facilities, and run the everyday operations of their clinic by working alongside patients and healthcare professionals and helping to organize patient care paths. They also handle financial decisions for the clinic and may delegate tasks to employees.

Community Health Center Manager

This is a functionally similar role to clinic manager but within the environment of a community health center. Community health centers are non-profit facilities that provide more affordable healthcare for underserved communities, and also provide a variety of enabling services and education to better the overall health of their communities.

Healthcare Consultant

Healthcare consultants observe and analyze the way a medical facility runs, then discuss their findings with facility administration to help optimize healthcare operations and create more efficient workflows.

Health Services Manager

Health services managers supervise the processes of one or more medical teams, directing the teams for a more organized approach. This role sometimes oversees teams located at more than one clinic or facility.

Hospital Administrator

In charge of the personnel and health services provided at a hospital, a hospital administrator also oversees the financial concerns of the hospital, liaises with professionals in different departments, and provides quality assurance of patient care.

Nursing Home Administrator

A nursing home administrator is a leader within a nursing home, primarily concerned with managing the facility’s operations. These administrators coordinate the different teams throughout the facility, monitor and plan the facility’s finances, and make hiring decisions.

• Health services coordination bachelor’s degree
• Health information management bachelor’s degree

A healthcare management bachelor’s degree produces graduates who are not only well-versed in the fields of business and management, but also have a strong understanding of the healthcare business and the unique considerations needed to keep healthcare facilities running smoothly. Below are some of the reasons students might consider a future in healthcare management.

In-Demand Careers With High Pay

Careers in healthcare management are in high demand, with a BLS projection of 18% growth from 2018 to 2028. There is lots of room for growth for new graduates to enter the field and find success. Healthcare management professionals also take home higher-than-average salaries, with a median pay of about $100,000 a year.

A Technology-Savvy Career

If you enjoy being surrounded by technology and learning the new and interesting applications of cutting-edge technology, both in the medical world and in the world of business, healthcare management can be a mentally stimulating career. Healthcare managers are required to stay up to date with technological advancements in the business and healthcare spaces, so having a natural inclination toward those subjects is a definite plus.

Helping Patients

An aspect of the job that draws a lot of people toward healthcare-related professions is the very fulfilling nature of the work. In most parts of the medical field, there is a tangible relationship between the work you do and a visible benefit to other people and their quality of life. Though healthcare management professionals don’t always have direct contact with patients, they do get to take part in the overall wellness process and enable it through their leadership. Watching that process play out can be a very powerful experience if your mind finds that idea appealing.

One word of caution, however, is that those high points do often come with a fair amount of lows, not only from the extreme circumstances of losing a patient but also from certain tedious aspects of the job. Be forewarned that healthcare career paths come with a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy. If, all things considered, the science, altruism, and stimulating challenge of a career in healthcare management still appeals to you, the positives of the work can more than outweigh the negatives.

Leadership

With “management” in the title, it goes without saying that leadership is an important trait to have in healthcare management careers. In one way or another, everyone exercises some form of leadership in their lives, big or small. However, not everyone is comfortable with the idea of holding certain levels of leadership, especially because of the responsibility implied. To be certain, careers like healthcare management do have high stakes involved. Being responsible for several hundreds of patients can be a sizable burden.
But for certain personality types, large-scale leadership can be quite fulfilling. The process of coordinating a large group of people to take on a complex, multi-faceted project and sharing in the success of something bigger than yourself is very satisfying to take part in.

Detail-Oriented

The complexities of the healthcare world are a big part of the job. Each patient’s health concerns a complex web of interrelated factors. There are also intricacies of managing multiple patients at once, compounded with managing a large group of healthcare professionals. Each of those professionals has their own patients to work with, and access to the healthcare facility’s technology and resources needs to be managed, scheduled, and divided amongst them. Though there are many technological resources that help managers track those resources, it is nonetheless a lot to keep track of. For that reason, healthcare management professionals should be detail-oriented individuals.