What is healthcare administration?

When I first heard about Healthcare Administration as a degree option, I had no idea what it meant. I thought it sounded like someone who would be administering healthcare, which I was clearly wrong about. 

The first site I used to find out more about the major and line of work was the Bureau of Labor and Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. It's listed there as Medical and Health Services Management, and I've realized that there isn't currently a universal term that describes healthcare administration. That makes searching for job opportunities a little more difficult, because there isn't a search term you can use that will catch all the monikers for healthcare administration. 

Let's look at the etymology, or word origin, of administration. The word administrate comes from the Latin word administratus, which translates to "managed."  Healthcare administration can be literally be translated to "healthcare management".

administrate (v.) 

1630s, from Latin administratus, past participle of administrare (see administer). In modern use a back-formation from administration. Related: Administrated;administrating.

Healthcare administrators, also called medical and health services managers, manage entire or parts of healthcare operations. When we think of a manager, we think of someone who is planning, directing, and coordinating processes. That's exactly what a healthcare administrator does--they plan, direct, and coordinate health services in the institution they're employed with.

Healthcare administrators can be employed in a variety of settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and group medical practices. They are usually located in the office of such a setting because they're not doing medical work, they're doing administrative work. 

The field of healthcare is one that requires employees to quickly adapt to shifting circumstances and knowledge. Managing healthcare is no different--when managing healthcare, you are (in a sense) managing and leading change, hence the name of this blog. Keep checking back for more posts about my interest in and pursuit of a degree in healthcare administration! 

Source: Online Etymology (2013). "Administrate." Retrieved from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=administrate