According to federal projections, there will be four million healthcare jobs by 2026.
This forecast is important for the following reasons:
- The projected growth rate for healthcare exceeds that of every other US industry.
- The new healthcare jobs will account for one-third of all jobs created in the United States by 2026.
- Healthcare will be the largest industry in the US by 2026.
These trends are advantageous for Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) graduates since the expansion of the healthcare industry and demographic changes like growth of the aging population will create more jobs.
The Fastest-Growing Healthcare Jobs
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) some healthcare jobs expected to grow at a particularly fast rate are:
- Home health aides (47 percent)
- Personal care aides (39 percent)
- Physician assistants (37 percent)
- Nurse practitioners (36 percent)
- Physical therapist assistants (31 percent)
“Healthcare support occupations,” healthcare practitioners and technical occupations will contribute to significantly more to increase healthcare jobs.
Need for Administrators
Administrators are needed to coordinate operations among the jobs listed above.
So more “medical and health service managers” (another BLS term) will be needed. This position is expected to grow to 20 percent by 2026, with more than 72,000 people joining the ranks. Those with a Master of Healthcare Administration will have a competitive edge in this position.
Administrators would potentially occupy the following positions:
- Hospital administrator
- Long-term care facility administrator
- Clinical managers – leading a large department such as nursing, surgery or admissions
- Information technology director
- Home health administrator
In each case, administrators with financial, regulatory, technological, and operational expertise are needed to positively impact healthcare and develop best practices to improve patient outcomes.
Management positions in healthcare are challenging and rewarding at the same time. The BLS, estimates that medical and health services managers across the country earned a median salary of $96,540 in May 2016.
The Need For Leadership in Healthcare
Most medical operations require those who take on administrator roles to have earned a master’s degree. The level of expertise needed, and responsibility shouldered, requires leaders who have dedicated themselves to becoming the best in the industry.
The communication and analytical skills often associated with leadership remain critical. Increasingly, the ability to understand and oversee the deployment of information technology systems is a key responsibility of the healthcare administrator. What started with electronic healthcare records has expanded to a wide variety of software systems that seek to collect, analyze and share patient data between hospitals, emergency workers, medical offices, satellite offices and online platforms.
Geographic Trends For Healthcare Jobs
Healthcare administrators are mostly found in highly populated stated. According to the BLS, there were more healthcare administrator jobs by May 2017 in the following states:
- California – 34,140
- New York – 25,850
- Texas – 23,740
- Ohio – 15,330
- Pennsylvania – 14,540
And those with the highest annual median salaries are:
- The District of Columbia – $143,710
- New York – $136,770
- Connecticut – $132,600
- Delaware – $129,070
- Massachusetts – $128,730
The MHA degree from Boston College produces leaders who are prepared to tackle the challenges of effectively guiding healthcare organizations. The flexible, online 46-credit program is designed for working professionals seeking to balance personal commitments with their full time jobs.
The MHA opens doors to rewarding healthcare jobs in a rapidly evolving and expanding sector.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2018). Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm