Healthcare management careers blend the demanding job of running clinical operations with strategic business leadership, creating dynamic roles that keep healthcare organizations running efficiently while delivering high-quality patient care. The demand for qualified managers who can handle this combination of skills has been growing sharply.
Fitchburg State University’s MBA in Healthcare Management is an affordable online degree program that can help you develop the skills you need to implement effective solutions in the evolving healthcare industry. This article covers what medical and health services managers do, the career outlook driving demand, the core competencies the field requires and how an MBA-level curriculum prepares you to succeed in this growing career field.
What Does a Medical and Health Services Manager Do?
Medical and health services managers, also called healthcare executives or healthcare administrators, plan, direct and coordinate the business activities of healthcare organizations from hospitals and physician practices to long-term care facilities and biotech firms. Professionals in this field oversee everything from staffing and regulatory compliance to budgeting, technology implementation and process improvement initiatives. They bridge the gap between medical teams focused on direct patient outcomes and the administrative side that ensures financial sustainability, operational excellence and long-term growth.
Graduates with an MBA in Healthcare Management will be ready for a variety of roles including hospital administrators, clinical managers, health information directors and quality assurance managers. These roles all require both operational expertise and business acumen.
Healthcare Management Career Outlook
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical and health services management jobs are projected to grow 23% between now and 2034, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. This translates to about 142,900 new jobs over the decade and roughly 62,100 openings per year on average, driven by an aging population, expanding healthcare services, regulatory complexities and the need for efficient operations amid rising costs.
The median pay for medical and health services managers in 2024 was $117,960. This figure reflects the high value organizations place on professionals who can bridge clinical operations with strategic business leadership.
Core Skills in Healthcare Management
The National Institutes of Health Library of Medicine features a review of management skills that form the core competencies healthcare executives need. They note that management skills and leadership skills differ but overlap. At a basic level, “the necessary skills of healthcare managers involve planning, organizing, implementing, monitoring and evaluation skills.”
In addition, healthcare management professionals are expected to handle financial oversight, regulatory and legal literacy, organizational leadership, decision-making under complexity, stakeholder communication and ethics. Leaders need to demonstrate an understanding of system structures, funding mechanisms and the organizational structure of healthcare services. The International Hospital Federation, in its 2023 Leadership Model, lists six competencies healthcare executives need to have:
- Values: Personal, professional and organizational guiding principles that inform decision-making.
- Self-Development: Focus on continuous learning and improvement.
- Execution: Clarifying, implementing and monitoring the direction of action.
- Relations: Listening, understanding and supporting the individual needs of the people one works with, and inspiring and having a positive influence on others.
- Transformation: Leading systemic changes and advancing healthcare services based on need, common vision and trust.
- Context Management: Managing across one’s sphere of influence both within the hospital and beyond the organization.
Challenges facing healthcare managers include managing the ongoing shift from traditional fee-for-service to value-based care, workforce shortages and interdepartmental operations, compliance with evolving policies, and escalating operational and labor costs. An MBA-level curriculum is designed specifically to build the skills needed to address each of these challenges.
How an MBA in Healthcare Management Builds These Skills
The online MBA in Healthcare Management curriculum from Fitchburg State University prepares you to meet those challenges with core MBA courses in organizational behavior, corporate finance, marketing management and strategic management. The three-course healthcare concentration covering policy, legal and ethical issues, healthcare management, and financial issues in healthcare delivers the sector-specific depth employers value.
This online MBA in Healthcare Management can be completed in as few as 12 months, with six annual start dates and fully asynchronous delivery designed for working professionals. This makes it an ideal option for healthcare professionals looking to move into management without putting their careers on hold.
Prepare for a Leadership Role in Healthcare Management
Many healthcare leaders report ongoing challenges in finding skilled talent, with over 60% noting it’s harder than the previous year, pointing to a tight labor market for qualified professionals who combine clinical understanding with business acumen. Professionals with advanced degrees, such as an MBA in Healthcare Management, are particularly sought after.
The online MBA in Healthcare Management program from Fitchburg State University will position you to take advantage of these career opportunities. The combined focus on management, business, leadership and the influence of social, political and economic factors on illness in the industry will prepare you for a variety of leadership and management roles in the healthcare industry including hospital systems, physician practices, long-term care and biotech.
Learn more about Fitchburg State University’s online MBA in Healthcare Management program.
