Nature of Work
Health care policy and management offers some of the most rewarding and challenging career opportunities available today. Health services administrators are employed at the top, middle and entry levels of various types of health care organizations.  Top-level administrations provide leadership and strategic direction, work closely with the governing board, and are responsible for the overall success of the entire organization.  Middle-level administrators have leadership roles for major service centers or departments such as outpatient, other specific patient services, marketing, finance, quality, etc. Their jobs involve planning and coordinating, organizing human and physical resources, directing and supervising, operational and financial controls, and decision making.  Entry-level administrators may function as assistants to mid-level managers.  Their jobs may involve supervision and oversight in the operations of a departmental unit.

Employment
Careers in health services include opportunities across a vast array of health care settings, insurance and payer organizations, governmental agencies, research and consulting organizations, public health departments and voluntary health agencies.

Job Outlook
The health care industry continues to expand and there are a wide variety of career paths available.  The rate of growth in new jobs in health care occupations is projected to be around 29% between 2000 and 2010. The health care industry is one of the few areas expected to expand in the next 30 years.

Earnings
The American College of Healthcare Executives provides a report on a survey of recent graduates from accredited master’s level programs in healthcare management.  The positions and corresponding salaries can be found at http://www.ache.org/newclub/career/grads_salary.cfm

Links
http://healthmanagementcareers.org/