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31 January 2024
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Why You Should Study Health and Social Care Management?
Are you considering becoming a future leader or manager in health or social care? If so, getting a health and social care management degree increases the chances of long-term employment prospects. Besides, health and social care are among the fastest-growing sectors as they constantly evolve. In this article, I come up with several valid reasons why you should study health and social care management.
Why You Should Study Health and Social Care Management?
There are more than 250 healthcare professionals in the medical world. Why should you choose health and social care management? Is it just because you can show care, support, and compassion towards people? Let's figure out why!
01. Provide Urgently Needed Services
Medical and health service managers work for various healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics. They plan, direct, and coordinate the business activities. Overseeing the administrative aspects of healthcare facilities is a part of their job responsibilities.
They are essential in ensuring smooth and efficient operations for day-to-day tasks. These extremely detail-oriented people maintain everything from judicious budgeting to strategic personnel management. Overall, medical and health service managers provide urgently needed healthcare organization services.
02. More Than Average Salaries
Of course, not all countries provide the same salaries for medical and health services managers. But we can't deny it is one of the highest paying jobs than some other professions in the health sector. The average annual income of a medical and health services manager is around $108,904 in the United States.
According to BLS, around 10% of medical and health service managers earn around $190,000 to $210,000 annually. The more work experience a healthcare professional has, the more money they will make. Of course, you must recognize the size of the healthcare organization and its rules, regulations, and policies.
03. Additional Benefits
Apart from high-paying salaries, medical and health service managers get additional benefits. One of the most notable ones is health, dental, and eye insurance. You need to pay a portion of premiums to get this insurance. Some healthcare organizations may offer free health, dental, and eye insurance. After serving a healthcare company for years, they will provide stock options and retirement packages.
Besides, medical and health service managers will get special employer-provided life insurance, free or lower than regular life insurance. Vacation time and sick time as PTO are available for them. It is generally 22 days per year at maximum. Some healthcare organizations also offer sign-on bonuses for their company.
04. Increased Job Opportunities and Career Growth
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for medical and health service management will likely increase to 28% from 2024 to 2032. A growing number of people are facing long-term physical health conditions, mental health barriers, and disabilities. Hence, more healthcare management professionals are required to deliver effective healthcare.
There are currently around 330,000 healthcare managers, including 30,000 patient care managers, who are employed in the United States. 83% are women, and 17% are men.
05. Various Workplace Options
Medical and health service managers have options to work in a wide range of workplaces. Around 50% of healthcare professionals work in hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. However, they also work in ambulatory care centers, health insurance companies, mental health centers, community health centers, healthcare consulting firms, government health agencies, etc.
They also work in group medical practices, where physicians provide medical care and share resources. Most medical and health service managers do full-time jobs. There are some part-time jobs available for healthcare professionals. They still work more than 40 hours per week. Besides, studying health and social care management allows you to become a full-time or part-time educator.
06. Collaboration with Other Professionals
Do you love to work with professionals from different backgrounds? It can help you increase productivity, boost creativity, and become an expert in problem-solving. Medical and health service managers must often collaborate with physicians, nurses, facility managers, and housekeepers. Cooperating and interacting with other professionals in a healthcare organization will improve staff performance, satisfaction, and patient outcomes.
A healthcare manager needs to perform a wide range of jobs, such as analyzing data, communicating with different groups of people, delegating tasks, etc. They must anticipate and proactively address challenges to maintain a smooth-paced healthcare environment and achieve the organization's success.
07. Moderate Educational Requirements
A bachelor's degree is enough to start a medical and health service management career. However, some medical organizations may be asked for additional internships or experience if the job is complex. However, having a four-year bachelor's degree is optional. People who want to manage data or information in a healthcare organization may need a computer science degree. But you can start as a financial healthcare manager with an accounting or business administration degree.
For example, a two-year undergraduate degree might be enough to start your medical and health service management career if you want to work in a small physician's practice. However, when it comes to high-paying jobs and faster career advancement in large organizations, you may need additional degrees and a bachelor's degree.
08. An Ever-changing Sector
Health and social care management is crucial in ensuring a better quality of life for every person and community. Like the technology world, the healthcare sector is continuously evolving for various reasons, such as technological advancement, disease pattern changes, aging populations, and demographics. The expectations and needs of patients are also changing. Whether it is physicians, nurses, or healthcare managers, everyone must continuously learn and adapt to new changes to keep pace with them.
For instance, a large number of innovative digital solutions are introduced daily. If healthcare managers fail to cope with them, the overall performance of staff will lag. Healthcare professionals must learn from their day-to-day tasks. Besides, it is necessary to have a proper idea about the industrial trends. You may need additional training to manage your tasks efficiently and smoothly.
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09. Job Satisfaction
A medical and healthcare service manager oversees, directs, and coordinates the planning and operations of healthcare facilities. They also set goals, policies, and procedures to maintain a smooth workflow process for the entire department and better collaboration among various departments. They have to deal with various challenges daily.
Fulfilling the expectations of the patients leads to job satisfaction. The work and commitment of medical and health service managers help maintain a smooth-paced healthcare environment. Properly doing your duties is rewarding and fulfilling, bringing smiles to others' faces. You are making a significant impact on others' lives.
10. Master Leadership
Mastering leadership skills is the best part of studying health and social care management. Medical and health service managers coordinate the entire healthcare team, keep them focused on the organization's goal, and provide quality healthcare to their patients. Healthcare leaders will develop decision-making and problem-solving skills by working in challenging situations.
Medical and health service managers learn evidence-based leadership from this sector, which they can utilize to prepare the workforce for ambiguous adjustments and changes. It will help them maintain a healthy, well-functioning healthcare organization.
11. Character Development
A medical and health service manager must have some elements in their character, such as respect, integrity, ethical behavior, humility, inclusivity, honesty, kindness, perseverance, etc. All are part of their character development. You don't develop them overnight. It will take years or even a decade to become a trustworthy healthcare leader.
Going through the experience of trial and suffering is a must to develop complex social, behavioral, and intuitive wisdom. These professional challenges, adversity, and hardships will help you make what you are and ensure personal growth.
12. Gain Problem-Solving Skills from Real-World
When it comes to medical and health service leadership, problem-solving skills in the workplace are a must to identify the problem, address risks, and manage time effectively. It helps the healthcare manager evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information and make critical decisions for the patient's and organization's best interest.
Medical and health service managers will be exposed to challenging and risky situations. It will help them determine the best solution based on facts, data, and evidence. They can implement these experiences even in their personal life.
Conclusion
Working in health and social care management doesn't only allow you to make positive differences in people's lives. You will also develop a unique set of transferable skills by communicating and collaborating with various medical professionals. Besides, it allows you to earn a good amount of money per year to lead a good life. You don't need an extremely high-level education to start your career as a unique set of transferable skills. A bachelor's degree is enough to begin this promising career. Hopefully, the above article gives a clear overview of why you should study health and social care management.
