Top 7 Reasons to Go For an MHA

The US healthcare sector is riddled with multiple private hospitals and countless new public hospitals investing in technological advancements. These help the medical industry respond to the growing population and demand for improved healthcare, keep up with evolving infectious diseases, and maintain a steady budget in a shifting economy. Therefore, while medical practitioners like doctors and nurses are pivotal for hospitals, so is an effective management team. 

A competent administrative team is the core of a successful healthcare system. Your choice to do a master of healthcare administration makes you a valuable asset to most hospitals. Whether you want to run the hospital, manage teams, bring new doctors on board or bring more patient-centered policies, you can achieve all this with a master’s degree. If you feel on the fence about going for an MHA, don’t be. Here are some reasons why you need to get an MHA:

You Get A Competitive Edge Over Other Administrative Workers

The healthcare administration is the most sought-after position. The BLS predicts that the employment rate will grow upward of 30% over the next decade, making this career significantly in demand. However, more demand means more applicants, and if you wish to outshine them, you need more than the basic qualifications on your resume. 

While a bachelor’s in healthcare administration can help you set one foot in the sector, a master’s degree takes you to the top of the chain. You can quickly start as a manager and build an administrative team of your choice. You need to get an online MHA to get the necessary skills, knowledge, and training that shape you into a certified professional and give you a competitive edge. In a bottleneck economy where it is getting harder to find a good job, having qualifications that make you stand out is always an excellent idea. 

A High Earning Potential

Financial stability is an essential factor while working in any profession. You want your hard work to earn a stable salary, especially if you put in long hours. Getting an MHA puts you in an advantageous position, where getting a high income is possible. According to PayScale, you can earn anywhere between upward of $80,000 and $116,000 annually. Your pay grade also depends on the size of the healthcare organization you work for, industry experience, and your position as an administrator.

The Degree Teaches You Practical Skills 

An MHA degree teaches skills like legal and ethical knowledge, where you understand the legal implication of dealing with patient data and privacy. You pick up on finance prowess like forecasting a hospital’s financial growth, making budget statements, and looking at investment opportunities to expand the healthcare sector. 

The degree will also walk you through healthcare policies which include patient advocacy, the role of insurance companies, and the federal drug policies to ensure that prescription pills do not get abused. 

Marketing is also part of the MHA degree. You learn about using technology to advertise a hospital’s facilities while minding the HIPAA rules. This includes understanding the importance of setting up a telehealth service, emailing patients about healthcare services, and running selective ads to showcase high-end facilities such as robotic surgery.

Range Of Careers To Explore

You can take over different roles within the healthcare sector with an MHA degree, such as hospital administrator or connecting patients with the relevant healthcare facilities while ensuring a robust medical team is always available. 

A practice manager is another field for you to explore. You will oversee the daily medical operations, provide the medical staff with a reasonable schedule, and ensure ethical clinic practices get followed. 

As a clinical director, you can hire and evaluate new medical practitioners, design training programs and establish new departments within hospitals. You can even branch out and become an informatic manager. You will collect, transfer and store healthcare data in electronic health records. This allows both patients and practitioners to access the correct data at the right time. 

Your Soft Skills Get Refined

Soft skills make for imperative transferable skills. These include communication, leadership, work ethic, and flexibility. The numerous internships, talking to patients from different cultural backgrounds, and managing a diverse team of medical practitioners will chisel your skills into sharp traits. You will learn how to handle diverse patients, deal with an uncooperative staff, and speak to higher authorities like the board of hospital directors. 

While supervising teams, you can arrange for workshops, training programs and even mentor a recruit. If a healthcare worker cannot show up or needs time off, you can quickly shuffle their schedule and rearrange the workload without missing a beat. This keeps the healthcare sector running smoothly and prevents the absence of one practitioner from shattering the delicate balance you created. 

During crises, such as an unprecedented pandemic, you may also be an asset where you mind the budget, utilize PPEs effectively, and secure a backup supplier to provide resources to the medical staff.

You Make A Difference 

As an MHA professional, you understand the amount of work you will need to handle, from ensuring the hospital maintains high levels of sanitation to integrating technological resources. The care, support and help you provide to the healthcare industry make a difference to the sector. Without a proper structure, hospitals cannot operate, and patients cannot get the help they need. 

Your ability to manage costs, make patient care a priority, and design transparent healthcare policies is the glue that will keep the healthcare sector in one piece. Your efforts will not go unnoticed by your colleagues and your boss. This will lead you to get awarded immensely for your service to the healthcare sector. There is no better feeling than knowing your work needs you. It makes you feel useful, respected and gives you a sense of accomplishment. 

Shed Light On The Growing Old Population

By 2039, most of the baby boomer population in the US will be over the age of 65. Old age leads to numerous diseases such as chronic conditions and a slowed cognitive response. Senior patients need high levels of care, gentle guidance, and more instructions than the average patient. You can acknowledge this older demographic group as a certified MHA by creating a senior facility. 

You may hire more geriatric specialists, provide more inpatient facilities such as more nurses, and provide printed discharge papers detailing aftercare instructions. The older population will have no trouble comfortably enjoying retired life with a lucrative healthcare sector watching their back.

Final Thoughts

The healthcare sector is one of the largest and most booming industries. The medical industry is not limited to doctors and nurses but also has a pressing need for solid administrators, which you can fulfill. By attaining an MHA degree, you can become an asset to this diverse sector. Your degree will make you indispensable and give you the edge you need over other applicants who are fresh out of college. A higher degree also leads to a better pay grade, giving the sense of financial security you need. 

You also pick up transferable skills such as communication, work ethic and become flexible in balancing the workload. An MHA degree also opens many career opportunities for you, letting you explore informatics and even allowing you to run a clinic. Don’t underestimate the difference you will make in the sector, and relish all you can accomplish.