8 Career Goals In Health Care Administration (With Tips)

Setting career goals can help you further your professional success and job satisfaction. If you work in health care, you may create patient-centered goals or objectives to improve your work environment. Learning about common goals for people in health care administration can help clarify and give you ideas on how to set goals for yourself.

In this article, we define healthcare administration, share eight career goals for this role, and provide tips for setting more achievable goals.

What is health care administration?

Healthcare administration is a career field for people who manage healthcare systems. This includes overseeing operations and developing strategies to improve patient care. People in health care administration also work in a financial capacity by allocating funds, reviewing department budgets, and managing staff payroll. Health care administration offices often are responsible for ensuring medical staff complies with are oftenapplicable regulations.

Here are some common roles in health care administration:

• Hospital’s chief executive officer

• Nursing home administrator

• Healthcare policy specialist

• Medical office business manager

• Facility operations manager

• Health information manager

• Healthcare information administrator8 career goals in health care administration

Developing career goals can help you achieve more success professionally and personally. If you work in health care administration, here are some goal ideas you can use to advance in your career:

1. Optimize resource allocation

Administrators in the health care system are responsible for allocating funding for each department in a medical center. They also invest in new medical technology and search for opportunities in research and development. A goal that prioritizes improving the allocation of resources, such as funding and new equipment, can help departments provide better patient care.

You may optimize resource allocation by identifying the needs of each department and analyzing where to make the most effective improvement in the medical facility’s environment. For example, the research lab may require additional funding to extend its research projects, or the emergency medicine department may benefit most from hiring additional employees.

2. Create services that focus on patients

It’s important to prioritize patient care in medical settings. Setting a goal to create services that center on patients may improve patient outcomes, patient and staff satisfaction, and the medical center’s success. People in health care administration rarely interact with patients, but still strategize to improve patient care.

One way to develop services that directly benefit patients is to allow people in the community to take part in planning meetings or sponsor health events. Offering educational resources and increasing access to health care can also show that you prioritize patients and their well-being.

3. Increase workplace diversity

Workplace diversity is a goal health care administration strives for because diversity can increase innovation, improve patient relations, and attract top talent to the medical facility. If you focus on hiring processes to increase diversity, you can develop a culturally diverse workforce. This may increase patient comfort and help resolve issues such as language barriers.

For example, if you can hire bilingual staff members, they can help interpret for patients who speak other languages. When treating patients, it’s helpful to work with a team of diverse people to gain multiple perspectives and determine the best treatment plan for the patient.

4. Improve problem-solving processes

Health administrators manage various issues and conflicts in a healthcare setting. A goal to innovate your problem-solving process may help resolve problems quickly and maintain a positive and safe environment for staff and patients. Consider being more creative with your problem-solving approach or developing a method for tracking problems and their solutions. These techniques may improve your ability to resolve staffing issues, resource shortages, and patient concerns.

Evaluating the current process you use to solve problems can help improve and strategize new processes. You may innovate your process by involving additional personnel in problem-solving, or you can develop better assessment tools to identify and prevent issues.

5. Reduce the cost of patient care

In health care administration, reducing care costs for patients can make medical treatment more accessible. This also is a way to prioritize patients and create patient-centered services. Strategizing to reduce hospital stays, lower medical costs, and provide affordable options to patients and their families can help reduce the cost of patient care.

Relieving some of the financial burdens on patients may also have a positive impact on their recovery. You may achieve this goal by finding funding for patients, creating relief programs, and investing in technology that enables physicians to use noninvasive methods when treating patients.

6. Organize the administration office

Keeping a clean space in the administration office can lead to greater efficiency. Improving organization can help administration employees focus and complete work tasks, making it easier for staff to find information. Ensuring that you document and safely store patient records, financial documents, and operational data may help perform your job duties better.

You can achieve this goal by designating a place physically or digitally for all office documents and information. It’s also helpful to learn organization habits like time management, decluttering, labeling objects, and tracking your tasks.

7. Advance your education

You can work in health care administration with a bachelor’s degree, but setting a goal to advance your education may help you earn a senior role, such as a hospital administrator. You can work toward this goal by earning certifications, getting a master’s degree, or taking courses to learn more about the healthcare system. Here are examples of certifications to consider:

• Certified Healthcare Financial Professional

• Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management

• Certified in Healthcare Compliance

• Registered Health Information Administrator

• Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems

8. Earn pay raises

Additional credentials, such as an advanced degree or becoming certified in a discipline relating to health care administration, can help you earn wage increases. Employers often value employees who dedicate time to advancing their knowledge because this can help improve the quality of their work, so if you earn a certification, you may earn more.

Salary increases are common goals for people in many industries. You also may earn a pay increase or bonus for loyalty to a company after working there for several years. Employers often offer performance bonuses, so improving your efficiency at work can help achieve this goal.

Tips for setting career goals in health care administration

When creating your career goals, here are some tips you can use as guidance:

Make a physical list of your goals

Writing a list of what you want to achieve can help you organize your goals and visualize them. Having a physical list also may help you track goals because you can cross goals off when you achieve them. When writing your goals, you can organize them by priority and create a visual representation of which goal you’re working toward first. It’s also useful to keep your list where you may see it often to help you remember to focus on your goals.

Plan specific outcomes to achieve

Try to be specific when creating your goals and determining what to accomplish with your goal. Planning a specific outcome can help identify which steps to follow to achieve this goal. Specific outcomes also help determine whether your goal is realistic. You can make your goals specific by using metrics to measure your performance or center your goal on a physical outcome. For example, a physical outcome might be a health care administration certification or a certain dollar amount for your wages.

Focus on one goal

Try to focus on one goal at a time. Doing this can increase the efficiency at which you accomplish your goals because your actions benefit one specific outcome, rather than dividing your time between competing tasks. You can focus on the order to accomplish your goals so that by achieving one, you can start on another. For example, organizing the health care information in the administration office may make it easier for you to optimize resource allocation. If you’re advancing your education, you might focus on earning a master’s degree in healthcare information systems before requesting a raise from your employer.

Reward yourself

Rewarding yourself when you accomplish a goal is a good way to maintain motivation. Consider celebrating your achievements before working on another goal, which can help you adjust and refocus on the new goal. You can reward yourself with something large, such as a vacation or a gift. You can also give yourself small rewards to stay positive, such as a snack or a new household item you want.

Set deadlines

Setting deadlines for your goals is important because this creates a timeline, helps organize your tasks, and provides accountability. Ensure you plan a deadline for each goal you set and milestones to measure your progress. For example, if you’re earning a certification in health care finances, a milestone may be learning new modules each week to study for the exam. If you’re trying to improve patient care with a new initiative, you can design surveys for patients to complete to help you track the progress of the improvements.

I hope you find this article helpful.