Are you fascinated by the behind-the-scenes operations that allow healthcare organizations to maintain patient care quality standards? Do you wish to contribute your skills to healthcare innovation without pursuing a medical career? You’re not alone. The healthcare sector attracts millions of non-medical professionals with savvy business skills with the promises of job security and financial stability.
Serving as the chief financial officer or an executive hospital administrator is a dream many aspire to achieve. But how does an aspirant or entry-level healthcare manager map out a game plan to reach the C-suite? It all boils down to investing in your education and training, acquiring advanced skills, and developing leadership acumen.
The healthcare sector is ripe with non-medical opportunities as organizations seek skilled financial experts, seasoned administrators, resource procurers, and communication specialists. You can explore multiple career paths, such as medical coding, patient advocacy, community health work, and supply chain management.
Keep reading to explore some lucrative and rewarding non-medical career prospects for business graduates.
In this article
1. Hospital Administration
Despite their spiritual esteem and community significance, hospitals and clinics are businesses that must maintain profitability and break even. Healthcare facilities, medical centers, research facilities, nursing homes, and mental health centers hire administrators to run their affairs. Hospital administrators manage the day-to-day operations, oversee financial planning, and devise organizational strategies.
It’s an executive-level role that demands a combination of higher education and extensive experience serving managerial positions. Suppose you’re serving as an entry-level manager, aspiring to lead your department and climb higher to secure executive roles. In that case, you can start working in that direction with an online MBA with a healthcare concentration to pursue professional development.
An MBA in healthcare administration or management will instill advanced knowledge in managing healthcare facilities. It will introduce you to the dynamics of healthcare budgeting, supply chain management, vendor relationships, patient satisfaction, and insurance handling. An online program offers numerous advantages over classroom learning, primarily accessibility, affordability, and a healthy work-life balance.
Administrators are entrusted with the overall operational efficiency of a healthcare facility. They design organizational strategies to address staffing shortages, plan recruitment drives, embrace disruptive health technologies, and implement patient-centric models. Their duties include introducing innovative medical procedures, preparing budgets, complying with governmental regulations, and managing public relations.
Adding an MBA in healthcare management to your resume will mark the first step toward an executive administrative position. However, you must gain extensive experience rotating in multiple departments to understand their diverse challenges.
Hospital administrators are among the highest-paying non-medical career paths, with professionals earning an average salary of over $92,000 annually.
2. Healthcare Informatics
Healthcare is one of the most rapidly innovating and advancing industries worldwide. Technology is transforming healthcare procedures and eliminating barriers between healthcare practitioners and their patients. The advent of innovations like electronic health records (EHRs), Telehealth, and AI-powered medical devices is transforming medical care as we know it.
Hospitals are struggling to promote digital literacy across their employees while embracing emerging healthcare technologies. The advent of digital tools and EHRs accompanies governmental regulations on patient privacy and data security. There’s a growing demand for healthcare information technicians and IT experts to help healthcare facilities develop digital literacy.
Healthcare information technicians and IT experts improve patient care processes with digital efficiency, enhancing accessibility and connectivity. They protect sensitive and confidential patient information from cybercriminals and hackers looking to prey on vulnerabilities. Aside from ensuring the accuracy and security of electronic health records, IT technicians also analyze data to predict treatment outcomes.
3. Health Services Management
As the name implies, these professionals manage health services for practitioners, clinics, associations, institutions, insurance providers, and private sector firms. A health services manager can serve any organization, such as a group of surgeons, corporate businesses, government agencies, or medical facilities.
Their responsibilities include managing the healthcare needs of certain people, organizations, or communities.
They provide communities with insurance products, healthcare services, lifestyle products, disease prevention programs, and health enhancement services. Some professionals dedicate their careers to research and developing programs for disease prevention and promoting healthy lifestyles. Others work closely with healthcare facilities to help them implement IT solutions and healthcare technologies with early adoption advantages.
Professionals can choose to specialize and devote their careers to areas that align with their core interests and spiritual callings. Suppose you’re interested in helping seniors fight chronic illnesses to enjoy life quality and independence. In that case, you can manage senior healthcare and arrange staff to ensure quality care for their medical concerns. Adding an MBA to your resume will help you secure rewarding employment opportunities as a health services manager.
4. Medical Coding
Medical or clinical coding is a crucial aspect of ensuring the security and financial processing of patient health records.
Medical coders serve as a vital link to the healthcare finance chain. They convert medical records, doctor’s observations, and patient information into specially generated codes. These codes are shared with insurance providers, who use them to create accurate billings for the services patients obtain.
Serving as a medical coder carries the enormous responsibility of protecting patient confidentiality. Medical coders have access to sensitive and confidential patient information, and any violation can lead to severe repercussions. Professionals who choose this field need acute knowledge of governmental regulations on healthcare privacy and managing EHRs.
It may seem straightforward, but transforming patient records into specialized codes demands extensive IT training and coding skills. It also requires a well-organized mind, a detail-oriented personality, and the ability to balance continual learning with professional growth.
5. Community Health Work
Are you more passionate about serving underprivileged communities than working in a state-of-the-art private hospital? In that case, consider pursuing a career in community health work. These professionals are dedicated to the health and well-being of specific communities in underserved or marginalized regions.
Community health workers connect patients with healthcare practitioners and provide medical resources to at-risk communities. They assist community leaders with disaster mitigation and preparedness and examine health risks affecting large populations. Promoting health awareness and fighting misinformation around vaccines and medications is also an integral responsibility of a community health worker.
Final Thoughts
If you have your sights set on a healthcare career, it’s wise to gain exposure to find your true calling. Reflect on your core interests and talents that constitute your leadership strengths. For some, these strengths include problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, while others capitalize on their technical and financial skills.
The ideal career path is one that aligns with your core talents and leadership strengths. Financial experts and tech wizards willing to invest in continual learning can explore numerous healthcare opportunities to enjoy financial stability.
