**Does anyone here work in any of those fields in the US ?
I’d like to pursue an administrative career in healthcare administration and am looking for any colleges/universities that offer certifications in them.
I’m not looking at the moment for a Master’s degree because I’d like to get the feel of the career first and see if it is what my expectations are of it and therefore would like to do a shorter certification course or preferably an internship in it before I decide if I want to further study it at a Masters Level…
Any help from anyone in this field or with knowledge of internships here in the US would really be appreciated.
Re: Healthcare Management/Hospital/Public Administration in USA
Sheyn,
I think both fkhan2 and Gemini the Great are working in related fields, so they might be able to offer better help.
I know you’ve asked for information in a U.S. context, but I thought I’d drop by with a couple of points since I work at an institution where an MHA (Master of Health Administration) and an MSc. in Health Systems is offered. I’ve been contemplating enrolling in the latter myself, and might get around to it next year inshaAllah.
You’ve asked about certificate type programs, but I’m not sure if there are any programs comprehensive enough to give you a realistic flavor of what health administration entails. Most certificate programs I’ve come across are fairly specialized e.g. Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ). So you won’t exactly be getting a full overview of what health administration is about. Besides, it might be relatively more difficult to secure an internship in a narrower field such as this because it’s mostly the professionals who’re already working in a related capacity who pursue such certifications in the first place.
Having said that, most Master’s programs these days are a year-long and many also offer internship opportunities. The programs at my school are three semester long, and require a 16-week residency before the candidate can graduate, and in many cases, the candidate finds work with their residency sponsor afterwards.
I’m sure others will add their own pointers, but make sure you choose a program where you have a balance of academics and practitioners in the teaching faculty, and also executives in residence whose expertise you can avail.
Re: Healthcare Management/Hospital/Public Administration in USA
sheyn, go visit Temple and ask them about their healthcare administration program, it is supposed to be pretty good, one of my pals went there a few years ago. I also know 2 physicians who went the administration route, and are very happy. one of them got hsi healthvare mba at minnesota, other one in florida.
Re: Healthcare Management/Hospital/Public Administration in USA
let me slide in my own perpsective here based on what I see.
you like technology as well it seems, look into healthcare information mgmt,
it puts business, healthcare and this whole patients records in focus, things like HIPAA, PACs and RIS areas are massive. they are growing PACs from beyond rdiology to other fields as well, and there is a skill shortage. it can be a career in public health policy, consulting, healthcare mgmt and even healthcare software and device manufacturers like GE health, McKesson etc.
I was involved in Dubai with some of the technical aspect of EMR and implementing e-prescriptions as well as on a Committee to move from SMS (SAM) systems to PACs for the The DHA .
let me slide in my own perpsective here based on what I see.
you like technology as well it seems, look into healthcare information mgmt,
it puts business, healthcare and this whole patients records in focus, things like HIPAA, PACs and RIS areas are massive. they are growing PACs from beyond rdiology to other fields as well, and there is a skill shortage. it can be a career in public health policy, consulting, healthcare mgmt and even healthcare software and device manufacturers like GE health, McKesson etc.
Health Informatics is a great field to get into indeed... actually, it's what I'm contemplating with the program I mentioned in my first post. As you've pointed out, there's a lot of potential in the field and based on what I hear from other colleagues, the next 10 years or so are going to be crucial for people wanting to establish careers in the field.
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