Undergraduate Students

Exploring Careers

Career Paths for Business Students Interested in Healthcare

Career Description

The healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, and most students are unaware of the incredible breadth of rewarding career opportunities. Healthcare organizations are continually looking for people with business backgrounds to manage their financial, logistical, technical, and marketing operations. There are opportunities in Healthcare "provider" organizations such as hospitals, health systems, clinics, medical groups, academic medical centers, hospices, home health agencies and nursing homes. There are also opportunities "payer" organizations including health plans (e.g. HMOs, PPOs) and governmental payers (e.g. Medicare or Medicaid). Healthcare Consultants, who work for private consulting firms, provide support to many of these organizations.

There are also opportunities for individuals with business backgrounds in many prominent organizations that provide products or services to healthcare organizations, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, medical equipment and supplies. The D.C. metro area is conveniently located among a number of biotechnology and medical firms, such The Human Genome Project, Advancis Pharmaceutical Corporation, and Avalon Pharmaceuticals, to name a few.

Sample Career Opportunities

Auditor – A number of healthcare organizations hire internal auditors. Risk assessment is a key skill for healthcare auditors. Risk assessment is used to identify, measure, and prioritize risks so that the greatest effort is used to address the auditable areas of greatest significance. Risk assessment is one means of allocating resources to meet the auditing needs of the organization.

Controller – A controller for a healthcare organization is responsible for managing the recording and reporting of financial activities including budget processes and cash flow in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Controller also provides financial analyses to support the needs of the organization.

Consultant – Healthcare consultants often work for private firms and are serviced by healthcare organizations to assist in long and short range strategic planning/implementation, management problem solving, regulatory compliance, revenue cycle management, organizational restructuring, and marketing.

Marketer – Healthcare providers require marketing to reach consumers. Additionally, there has been significant growth in marketing within the biopharmaceutical industry. Marketing personnel are expected to implement a wide range of promotional tools and programs targeting general consumers, physicians or nurse audiences. Candidates must possess the ability to proactively problem solve, implement tactical programs, and design metrics to measure business impact. Excellent leadership, communications, networking, and presentation skills are extremely important when marketing in this industry.

Treasurers and Finance Officers – direct the organization’s financial goals, objectives, and budgets. They oversee the investment of funds and manage associated risks, supervise cash management activities, execute capital-raising strategies to support a firm’s expansion, and deal with mergers and acquisitions.

Credit Manager – Credit managers oversee the firm’s issuance of credit. They establish credit-rating criteria, determine credit ceilings, and monitor the collections of past-due accounts.

Healthcare Administrator – Health care administrators are responsible for development and implementation of policies that effect the populations they serve and/or the financing and delivery of services provided by healthcare organizations. Administrators may be responsible for one or more of the following functions: operations, patient care, finance, human resources, information technology, public relations, policy analysis, marketing, provider relations, clinical services, business development, contracting and facilities and support services.

Skills Needed

Health care organizations hire students with diverse backgrounds and a range of business skills. Strong communication and leadership skills are highly valued in this industry, and a general knowledge of bio-sciences is helpful.

Healthcare Employers at Smith

Resources for Further Research

Online Resources

• http://library.thinkquest.org/15569/car1.html - You can investigate healthcare careers at this site in several different ways. You can focus on a specific career using the Alphabetical Career Listing, answer a few questions in the Interactive Career Finder to generate a list of career links, or browse through the Medical Career Clusters.
• http://www.healthmanagementcareers.org/ - This Internet resource guide will assist you in exploring a career in the healthcare management field and provide you with information so that you can make a more informed career decision.
• Salary Expert- salary, bonus, cost-of-living, and benefits data for US, Canadian and international jobs: http://www.salaryexpert.com

Print Resources

• Cynthia Carter Haddock, Robert C. Chapman, Robert A. McLean.  Careers in Healthcare Management: How to Find Your Path and Follow It .
• Robert F. Wilson. Careers in Healthcare.
• Cheryl Jean Hancock and Brigit Dermott. Healthcare Career Starter.
• Vault Career Guide to Biotech.
• The WetFeet Insider Guide to Careers in Biotech and Pharmaceuticals.