The healthcare industry is booming. A variety of online healthcare degrees can prepare students for a career in healthcare offices around the nation. But, which to pick? The answer relies heavily on your career goals.
Bryant & Stratton College Online currently offers three similar healthcare administration degrees with very different career paths: medical administrative assistant, an associates degree, an associates degree in health services administration, and a bachelor’s degree in health services administration.
Here is a closer look at each:
Medical Administrative Assistant
This two year, associate degree program can help students learn to become top notch medical office staff. That career is generally an entry level position that may have potential to grow into a managerial position however that depends solely on the company where a student is hired.
Basic medical office staff members can expect to perform normal administrative tasks such as organize files, schedule appointments, answer phones and speak with insurance providers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median pay for a medical administrative assistant at roughly $ 30,590a year.
The Bureau also expects the number of jobs available in the field to continue to rise every year by about 23 percent, which is considered above average growth.
Graduates who are working in the field and want to move toward earning a managerial role in the office may consider expanding their portfolio by earning a bachelor’s healthcare administration degree.
Health Services Administration
Bryant & Stratton College offers both an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration which allows students to choose the path they wish to follow. Students can learn the foundational knowledge required to work in various managerial and administrative positions within the healthcare industry.
While there is no requirement for students to pursue an associate’s degree before continuing towards a bachelor’s degree, the associate’s degree in health services administration provides vital pieces of framework for success in administrative positions within the healthcare field. Additionally, credits earned in the associate’s degree can be transferred into the bachelor’s degree program upon completion of the first degree.
However, students do have the opportunity to begin their educational career with the bachelor’s degree.
This program gives students a more rounded look at office management to include classes in accounting, business, health administration, anatomy and physiology. Healthcare administrators, also known as health service managers, may manage an entire facility or a specific department within a larger facility. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median pay at $ 94,500, annually.
Jennifer Wozniak, program director – allied health for Bryant & Stratton College Online said employers routinely push for their employees to return to school and learn those valuable skills that will help them be successful in leadership roles.
Current healthcare employees who are seeking to switch their career may also find success with a healthcare administration degree. Current managers, she said, could build on their existing skill set and build a more solid background in specific niches such as legislative changes to the healthcare system and disaster management.
Which health degree program to choose?
Decide first what type of setting and career you want – billing and clerical work or managerial? Once you make that decision, choosing the program is easy.
In either case, Wozniak said the online healthcare administration degree programs allow students to have flexibility as they move to the next level in their career planning.
“You can be a stay-at-home mom or work a full-time job and still study online,” Wozniak said. “The online format allows that.”
For more information about enrolling in a healthcare administration degree, check out our Admissions page.
