An MHA degree offers broad-spectrum appeal to leadership-minded professionals with and without health care experience. As such, the program focuses on the business, managerial, and technical aspects of day-to-day operations for a medical organization, as well as the social and ethical aspects of health care delivery. Specific learning outcomes include:

• An understanding of health care business technology
• The ability to manage and develop a multidisciplinary team
• Problem-solving, customer service, and marketing proficiencies
• Strong financial abilities such as budgeting, planning, billing, and more
• Basic knowledge of health care law and regulations

In a 2014 article titled “Wanted: Hospital CEOs Without Health Care Experience,” U.S. News & World Report uncovered a trend toward hiring executives from business, banking, finance, insurance, and other non-traditional sectors. As the health industry goes through major changes with board members expecting quantifiable results, skills sets in productivity, business development, and financial management are in great demand.

Health care remains one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy, continuing to outpace previous performance and thriving in an atmosphere of innovation and disruption. The health care sector now accounts for 15.3 million jobs, including nearly five million in hospitals, which means that an MHA degree can prepare you to work in an industry that shows no signs of slowing down. [1]

• Earning Potential: Average median salaries for health administrators range from $94,500 per year, with the highest 10% earning more than $165,380 (May 2015 data). [2]
• Career Advancement: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a projected 17% growth rate from 2104 to 2024 in the job category of medical and health services managers, a category that includes health administrators.
• Career Shift: A Master of Health Administration can be a natural fit for those outside of health care. Many programs are open to undergraduates who have degrees and/or experience in the worlds of business, communication or technology.
• Job Security: The entire health sector created a record 474,700 new jobs in 2015, a 53% increase over 2014. The first six months of 2016 saw 234,600 new health care jobs created, equating to nearly 25% job growth. Hospitals reported 172,200 payroll additions in 2015, a 306% increase over 2014.
• Create Change: By becoming a leader in the world of health care, you’ll have the opportunity to create change within an organization or in the industry as a whole.

Hospital administration is essentially the leadership, management and administration of a health system or organization. Health administrators fill many roles within the world of health care. Careers for those with a degree in health administration reach beyond simply becoming an executive or entering leadership in a hospital, health system or clinic. Opportunities include but are not limited to roles in government, policy-making and regulatory agencies, nonprofit, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, insurance, technology, organizational development, and more.

The Master of Health Administration is designed for health, business, and technology professionals from a diverse range of educational backgrounds who want to build a career in leadership or management within the growing field of health care. The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates a 17% growth rate from 2104 to 2024 in the job category of Medical and Health Services Managers, a category which includes health administrators. Earning an MHA presents an opportunity for career advancement for those already working within the world of health care as well as those in other industries who are looking for a shift.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates a 17% growth rate from 2104 to 2024 in the job category of Medical and Health Services Managers, which includes health administrators. In fact, the entire health sector created a record 474,700 new jobs in 2015, a 53% increase over 2014. [1] As of May 2015, the median salary for Medical and Health Services managers was $94,500, with the highest 10% earning more than $165,380. [15] According to the BLS, Medical and Health Services managers earned a median salary of $94,500 per year as of May 2015.

Typical MHA courses will focus on change management, accountability, professionalism, performance measurement, analytical thinking, communication, strategic thinking, human resource management, finance, and process improvement. While every online MHA degree is structured differently, there are foundational courses that frequently appear in the core curriculum: [4]

• Health Care Economics
• Health Care Ethics
• Health Care Policy
• Health Care Law
• Health Care Research
• Business Analysis
• People Management
• Organizational Dynamics
• Leadership Effectiveness

Most MHA programs will consist of a combination of business and leadership courses put into the framework of health care. Much of the degree program will focus on building leadership competencies, improving technical skills, and preparing students to think about health care at both an organizational and a systemic level.

Experiential-based learning opportunities will depend on a student’s area of specialization but typically involve the implementation of health administration methods and concepts through practical application.

Upon completion of the degree program, graduates should be able to demonstrate vision, provide direction, innovate, influence change, and improve and optimize organizational performance from a position of leadership within a health organization. Additionally, graduates should be able to communicate effectively, manage relationships, and demonstrate an overall knowledge of the health care systems and policy.

Health care employers value internships/experience (38%) over academic performance (30%). The Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) offers a short list of high-profile internships that are available for MHA students. These include: [8]

• American College of Health Care Executives: Diversity Internship
  Three-month rotational opportunity
• Health Administration Case Competition
  Capstone experience
• The Institute for Diversity: Summer Enrichment Program (SEP)
  Ten-week paid internship
• Medical Group Management Association/American College of Medical Practice Executives: Internship-Residency Program
  Didactic coursework structure

Master of Health Administration programs will typically require between 45 and 70 semester credit hours, depending on your program’s residency requirements and other conditions for graduation. Your program’s composition will vary, but likely components of the curriculum include required or core courses, elective courses, and a capstone or experiential learning option.

Even within a particular school’s degree program, the number of courses required may vary based on the concentration you choose, your prior work experience, your number of transfer credits, or other such factors.

Some colleges and universities offer accelerated “fast-track” MHA online course schedules through Executive MHA (EMHA) programs that can be completed in as little as one year.

These EMHA programs are restricted to students who demonstrate top academic performance, a high level of business savvy, and leadership potential within their current health care career. Studies are far more intense because of the compressed length, and courses typically require a greater commitment of time and effort over the short term.

With the popularity of online Master of Health Administration degrees on the rise, schools are receiving applications from potential students who have diverse employment backgrounds. In many instances, hands-on work or internship experience in the health care or business sector is an expectation of admissions officers, particularly for top-quality MHA programs that have strict enrollment requirements. Not all programs will require prior experience, but most will require you to get experience via an internship or residency before you graduate.

Roles in accounting, technology, human resources, marketing and other functional areas may provide some of the practical experience and transferrable skills that MHA degree programs demand. Active membership in professional organizations, volunteer activities, certificate courses, and in-house continuing education can also prove beneficial.

The position of health administrator does not typically require licensure. The one exception is in the long-term care sector, where nursing home administrators must be licensed in the state in which they are employed.

Nursing home administrators are licensed by the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB), which oversees licensing, credentialing, and regulation throughout the sector. There are two types of licensure available via an exam process: Nursing Home Administrator (NHA) and Residential Care/Assisted Living Administrator (RC/AL). [9]

NHA licensure has been administered for decades, with more than 2,000 professionals sitting for the exam each year. RC/AL licensure was made available in the year 2000. Hundreds of long-term care professionals working in states that require licensure sit for the exam each year, along with others who voluntarily take the exam to improve their credentials.

Exam requirements vary by state in terms of required degree and number of contact hours. Information for your state can be found on the NAB web site.

When we think of a hospital or health care, we tend to think of the doctors and nurses who provide direct patient care. There are, however, myriad people who work in health care organizations mostly behind the scenes making sure health services are available and accessible. The growth of health administration as a career field has run tangential to the development of medical science and the growth of hospitals in the United States.

According to the book Careers in Healthcare Management: How to Find Your Path and Follow It, by Cynthia Carter Haddock, Robert C. Chapman, and Robert A. McLean, “Early hospital administrators were called ‘superintendents’ and typically had little specific training for their jobs — many were nurses who had taken on administrative responsibilities.” [19]

This trend continued through the late 1800s and early 1900s until the number of hospitals had grown so significantly that the need for trained professionals became critical to the success of health systems across the United States. According to the book, “In 1929, Michael Davis [proposed] a two-year graduate degree curriculum in hospital administration. The first year of this curriculum was centered on coursework in accounting, statistics, management, economics and the social sciences, and the history of hospitals and the health professions, with limited practical observation. The second year was mostly spent in practical work with some coursework in business policy, public health, and labor relations.” [19]

Awareness around the need for health administrators was evident and shortly thereafter, graduate programs in health administration began popping up across the United States throughout the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Today, two-year MHA programs are common in universities across the world.