Effective leadership helps health care organizations handle crises, navigate evolving regulatory changes and incorporate new technological innovations. Ultimately, strong health care leaders benefit patients by ensuring high-quality care that can improve outcomes.
Various leadership roles can contribute to health care administration at the highest levels. Professionals looking to advance in leadership through education should pursue an advanced degree, such as an Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA). Read on to learn more about health care executive positions and identify how to advance your career.
Common Health Care Executive Positions
Health care executives work to ensure that facilities run effectively to benefit both patients and providers. Their work can involve everything from managing a health care system in its entirety to overseeing nursing staff or supervising informatics.
Top-level health care executives include these C-suite roles:
- Hospital CEO. CEOs oversee every aspect of a hospital or large-scale health care facility. They have the final say in areas such as care strategy, policy and finance.
- Chief operating officer. COOs typically oversee the execution of administrative decisions made by the CEO.
- Chief medical officer. CMOs focus on ensuring optimal care delivery.
- Chief nursing officer. CNOs manage a facility’s nursing staff.
- Chief nursing informatics officer. CNIOs ensure that information technology (IT) systems such as computerized physician order entries (CPOEs) and electronic health records (EHRs) are legally compliant and safe.
While these positions have different emphases, they all aim to deliver the best patient care possible.
Benefits of Growing in Health Care Executive Positions
Health care executive roles offer a host of advantages, and one is compensation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical and health services managers earn a median salary of $104,830 as of 2022. The BLS also reports that these roles are projected to grow by 28% between 2022 and 2032, which is much faster than the 3% growth projected for the average profession.
Another benefit of pursuing health care executive roles is that these positions offer the opportunity to have a real impact on a truly crucial field that’s facing unique challenges. Nursing and physician shortages, an aging population and evolving regulations make effective leadership essential. Those who take on health care executive roles can work to address these challenges and ultimately improve outcomes for patients.
8 Resources for Advancing in Health Care Executive Positions
The path to health care executive positions can be complex. These resources offer insight into high-level administrative professions, the steps along the way and some key concepts that define the modern health care landscape.
1. 6 In-Demand Health Administration Careers
In 2021, U.S. health care expenditures totaled $4.3 trillion — 18.3% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) that year, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Given the massive scale of expenditures, the health care industry needs people who can oversee quality of care, promote efficiency and monitor the business of providing health care. This is where health administration professionals come in. Health administration careers offer variety and potential for growth, and individuals who pursue an Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) degree can be well-positioned to become industry leaders.
While a background in medicine isn’t required for health administration roles, clinical professionals are particularly well-suited for the field. Management professionals with a desire to enter health care are also good candidates for health administration. In this resource, we offer six recommendations for high-demand careers in health administration.
2. 10 Benefits of Online MHA Degrees
Before making a personal investment in continuing education with an EMHA degree, one decision to weigh is whether to choose a traditional master’s program or an online degree.
There are many factors to consider — some obvious, some not. Here are 10 advantages of an online EMHA.
3. What Is Evidence-Based Practice in Health Care?
Thanks to advances in health information technology and the digital transformation in health care, modern health care providers have access to a wealth of information. Health care professionals can quickly and easily supplement their own clinical experience with information from recent studies and trials, leading to care decisions that are statistically likely to yield the best results with the lowest level of risk.
The shift toward using data to inform clinical decision-making is sometimes known as evidence-based practice. Understanding how evidence-based practice intersects with the roles of doctors, nurses and other professionals requires an in-depth knowledge of health administration and processes. One way to examine these questions is by pursuing an advanced education, such as an EMHA degree.
4. Turnover in Health Care: Why Health Care Worker Satisfaction Matters
An aging population and a rise in chronic diseases are affecting turnover rates in health care employees. By investigating why workers are leaving the field, an administrator with an advanced degree in health care administration can find ways to mitigate the ongoing effect of the pandemic while finding and retaining the best health care workers — and keeping them engaged and satisfied.
5. Organizational Culture and Clinical Performance
Organizational culture and clinical performance can play a big role in improving patient outcomes and reducing the cost of care. Explore organizational culture and its impact on executive health care positions, as well as how Mayo Clinic’s mission statement embodies culture.
6. How to Write a Personal Statement for Graduate School
Of all the application requirements, writing a personal statement for graduate school is where you’re able to express your intentions the most clearly and effectively.
Make it count. It’s nothing to fear. Let’s review important things to do and not to do in writing your personal essay.
7. Letters of Recommendation for Graduate School
In reviewing applicants for a graduate school program, a university’s office of admissions wants to feel like it knows a candidate as well as possible.
A resume and list of education and work experience may tell a fairly good story, but well-done letters of recommendation can provide valuable perspective, additional insight and colorful details to help in deciding whether a prospective student is a good fit for the school.
8. How to Write a Resume Like a Health Care Executive
First impressions are important. For most people seeking a new job or applying for a graduate program, the initial introduction comes in the form of a resume.
If you’re a health care executive — or a mid-level career professional interested in becoming one — you need to make that first impression count.
Making your health care resume as effective as possible provides prospective employers or graduate programs with an accurate, detailed insight into your skills, qualifications and accomplishments.
Make a Difference by Pursuing Health Care Executive Positions
USC Price’s EMHA program can help you make a difference by offering the skills and expertise to pursue roles at the highest levels. Learn to be a transformative leader in a critical field with USC’s world-class faculty and executive-level alumni network. Those in health care executive positions must address pressing issues of care quality, health costs and equity.
Find out how USC can prepare you to lead the way.
Recommended Readings
Health Care Economics and the Medical Supply Chain
How to Improve Access to Health Care: Issues & Potential Solutions
7 Reasons to Pursue an EMHA Degree
Sources:
American Association of Colleges of Nursing, “Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet”
American Society for Health Care Human Resources Administration, “Chief Operating Officer Job Description”
Association of American Medical Colleges, “AAMC Report Reinforces Mounting Physician Shortage”
Becker’s Health IT, “How the CNIO Role Has Evolved”
Indeed, “Chief Medical Officer Job Description: Top Duties and Qualifications”
Indeed, “How to Become a Hospital CEO in 5 Steps (Plus FAQs)”
Indeed, “What Is a Chief Nursing Officer and How Do You Become One?”
LinkedIn, “The Importance of Leadership in the Healthcare Industry”
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Medical and Health Services Managers”