Common Titles of Hospital Administrators

Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 5:34 am

Working at a hospital is the dream of some people. But what they don’t know is the stress that comes with working in a medical facility. It takes a long education, dedication, and effort to succeed in the medical field or any field in that matter. When you dream of working in a hospital, it’s impossible to hope to become a maintenance staff. You’re possibly thinking of becoming a doctor or someone who works at the top of the administrative ladder.

In order to do that, you would first have to get a degree in health care. It’s much better if you could finish a master in health administration; it’s a real edge when applying. There are many openings for executive work, but most would require you start at the bottom. But just to give you an idea of what you could become in the future, the top ten administrative jobs are listed below.

Administrator/President/CEO – The job of a CEO is very hard. Of course, the benefit is worth it, as they earn the most among all the other jobs. Being a CEO requires you to be a good decision-maker. The future of the hospital depends on your ability to make the right choices. It takes years and even decades before someone can become a CEO, since it takes a long experience before you can have the skills needed in this job.
Associate Administrator/ Chief Operating Officer (COO) – Also called senior vice president, COOs work with more interaction to the staffs of the institution. The tasks of a COO include supervising the sales, marketing, and human resource problems. Because a COO still works below the CEO, you will have to report to the CEO so that he can decide whatever needs to be decided.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) – A CFO primarily handles all the finances of the hospital. The CFO also analyzes data and has to keep the institution from getting broke. Together with the CEO and COO, they are the backbone of the whole institution. Without them, a hospital will be much disorganized and improperly managed.
Hospital administrator – The hospital administrator is like a supervisor, only this is an executive position too. Their work requires them to be involved with patients to make sure that they receive top-of-the-line care. Hospital administrators execute the policies of the hospital and are also part of decision-making that comes with patient care.
Director of human resources – The work of a director in human resources is to supervise not the staff themselves, but the departments related to the staff. They ensure that these departments do the work accordingly, so he can report to the executives. Those who work under him are the managers in different areas of human resource.
Employment and placement managers – They are in charge of managing the recruitment and hiring of the employees. Not only that, but they also work with other recruitment and placement specialist since they take note of their performance.
Recruitment specialists – For me, being a recruitment specialist is the most fun. They do a lot of traveling, though it’s limited to job fairs and college campuses. They try to look for people who would do well for the institution. However, the job of a recruitment specialist is not easy. They have to know everything about their hospital so they can answer questions job seekers want to ask.
Employee assistance plan managers. Sometimes called employee welfare managers or work-life managers, they are responsible in making sure that the employees are well-taken care of in every aspect of their work. Their job entails them to make counseling sessions or planning recreational activities for the employees. This is important so that the employees can reach their potential and not always be bored.
Director of industrial relations – The job of a director of industrial relations is in making policies for the good of the hospital. They are in charge in negotiating with the bargains and the complaints made by the patients. They work together with other managers and directors, especially those that are related to human resource.
Nursing unit Manager – The nursing unit manager takes charge of all the nurses in the hospital. They schedule the duty hours and day offs of the nurses. They order the nurses to their respective jobs and organize them into being better workers. If needed, nursing unit managers work hand-in-hand with the nurses, especially when there are employee shortages.