Find a Job You Really Want In
Yes, hospital nursing management is a good career path. Healthcare is a huge industry and a major part of both society and the economy. Hospitals aren’t going anywhere, and neither are nurses.
Skilled nurses and managers are going to be in high demand, especially as there are a number of people leaving the medical field at the current time. You can work as a nurse your whole life, and going up into management just continues to add to your experience and value.
Nursing managers mainly work with other nurses, but they also intercede with the hospital administration. So if you prefer working with other managers and employees more than with patients, then it’s an excellent path to take.
Here are 20 great jobs in hospital nursing management:
10 of the Best Paying Jobs in Hospital Nursing Management
All of these jobs are going to require a nursing degree or similar medical degree as well as experience.
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Average Annual Salary: $84,000
A nurse manager manages nurses. They work as a representative of the nurses to implement what the hospital management wants among the nursing staff. It also includes other managerial duties, such as scheduling, budgeting, promotions, and hiring decisions, as well as coordination. It’s a demanding job, but it’s well paid as a result.
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Average Annual Salary: $71,000
This position still works closely with patients, helping to oversee their care. Nurse coordinators make sure that the nursing schedule is set up properly and coordinate with medical teams to ensure they have the staff and information they need in order to properly care for patients.
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Average Annual Salary: $74,000
A registered nurse supervisor is in charge of a team of registered nurses. They are responsible for making sure that everything runs smoothly and that the team has the resources they need to do their jobs properly. Their duties also include scheduling, evaluations, and filling in when there aren’t other nurses available.
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Average Annual Salary: $74,000
Hospital administrators run the administrative side of a hospital. They oversee both the health services as well as the operations side. This job doesn’t require a medical degree, though it is recommended.
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Average Annual Salary: $110,000
This is the highest-ranking nurse in the hospital. Their responsibilities are at the highest echelon. They oversee all the nursing staff, equipment, and organization in the hospital. Someone in this role will also have to work with the other high-level staff in the hospital, both medical and not.
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Average Annual Salary: $88,000
Nurse directors are responsible for the operations of a nursing team. Their focus is more on strategic planning and policies. Budgeting is also an important responsibility, and they’re involved in training and overseeing the nursing staff. Strong communication skills and attention to detail are a must for this position.
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Average Annual Salary: $46,000
Someone in this position is responsible for the supervision and overseeing of the hospital personnel. This isn’t restricted to the medical staff but also includes administrative workers, maintenance workers, and those in the IT department.
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Average Annual Salary: $68,000
Practice administrators aren’t specific to hospitals – they can also run other medical practices. However, they can be responsible for a medical part of a hospital, taking care of the staff and the staff’s needs.
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Average Annual Salary: $93,000
If you’re particular about following the rules, this might be a good career for you. Health services managers make sure that the healthcare given in a hospital meets standards, both in terms of quality and meeting legal standards.
They’re also responsible for making sure that medical tools and equipment are properly maintained and of the appropriate quality for the task.
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Average Annual Salary: $88,000
This is an administrative position that oversees the operations of a medical facility. Clinical managers take care of staffing and the budget and assist with the administrative side of healthcare duties. They need a strong understanding of medical administration, sanitary requirements, and HIPPA regulations.
Management isn’t something you just walk into right away. There are a few exceptions to this with the proper degree, but with nursing management, almost every job requires experience in nursing or a similar medical position before being able to move into management.
10 Entry-Level Jobs in Hospital Nursing Management
With the right degree, you may be able to get hired directly into a management position. However, most of the time in healthcare, they’re also going to want medical experience. So, here are some positions to start with in order to get the requisite experience to go into hospital nursing management.
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Average Annual Salary: $64,000
This is the most obvious place to start. Almost all nursing management positions require experience in nursing. And if you want to work in a hospital, working as a hospital nurse is the best bet to get that experience. Nurses work brutal hours and need to be able to stay polite, attentive, and compassionate the whole time.
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Average Annual Salary: $104,000
Nurse practitioners require a higher level of education than just a nurse. They usually also have the ability to prescribe medications, unlike nurses. The requirements and privileges vary from state to state, so it’ll be different depending on where you live.
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Average Annual Salary: $34,000
The title of this job is extremely descriptive. Medical assistants assist medical practitioners, such as physicians. This can be anything from assisting with examinations, keeping records up to date, administering medications, prepping medical samples for testing, to scheduling appointments.
The vast majority of them have a medical degree of some sort, though not a full medical doctorate.
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Average Annual Salary: $34,000
As the name suggests, phlebotomists specialize in blood. They draw blood for both samples and donations, as well as analyze it in the lab. They specialize in searching for diseases that show up in the blood as well as other ailments, such as malnutrition. They’re also responsible for transfusions and keeping track of blood types.
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Average Annual Salary: $44,000
Medical coders work in medical billing. They have to be both familiar with medical procedures as well as insurance and reimbursements. They translate medical procedures into numeric codes, which are used to determine medical necessity.
Medical coders have to be comfortable with computers, detail-oriented and have a good memory.
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Average Annual Salary: $62,000
Psychiatric nurses have all the same duties as nurses, save that they specialize in psychiatric care. Like any other type of nurse, they have to be patient, attentive, compassionate, and excellent at communication.
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Average Annual Salary: $32,000
This is a low-level administrative position. For most people who enter a hospital, the medical receptionist is going to be the first person they see. It requires knowledge of the hospital so that you can properly guide patients, as well as being able to remain calm in an emergency situation.
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Average Annual Salary: $64,000
While not a traditional management position, this does get you started in that direction. Nurse case managers are in charge of a patient’s case, making sure that they get the right medical treatment and that the different medical professionals assigned to them have what they need.
It requires experience as a nurse, but it’s a good stepping stone into higher management positions.
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Average Annual Salary: $60,000
Nurse liaisons liaise with medical staff on behalf of the patient. They make sure that the medical team and the patient understand one another. Their main duties are to make sure that the patient is properly cared for and gets what they need.
They are also the first point of contact in terms of answering questions, setting up appointments, and keeping track of tests and treatments.
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Average Annual Salary: $83,000
Epic is the most popular program that hospitals use to keep track of medical records and other information. This job requires teaching medical professionals about new updates to the program, as well as introducing it to those who haven’t used it before.
Someone in this position has to be patient, excellent at communication, and very comfortable with technology.
Not all those careers are guaranteed to lead right into management positions, but they’re a good place to look for experience. They are also excellent careers in their own right, so if you decide that you’re happy and fulfilled in one of these positions, there’s no need to look any further.
Why Choose a Career in Hospital Nursing Management?
Hospital nursing management is a demanding but necessary field. Someone needs to take care of the managerial and administrative duties so that nurses and doctors can focus on their patients. If you think you might want to work in hospital nursing management, here are some qualities to consider.
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You’re a people person. Being in management, in general, requires working with people more than actually accomplishing things. Not that you don’t accomplish a great deal in the position, but it isn’t something that you can hold up and say, “I made this”
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While you’re interested in medicine, practicing directly isn’t a priority. Once you go into nursing management, the amount of time you spend with patients decreases dramatically. It makes sense: there’s no possible way someone can manage and fulfill the duties of a nurse, too.
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You’re patient with bureaucracy. The majority of hospitals are large, complex institutions. And even beyond that, there are numerous very strict government rules regulating the field of medicine. You have to both be familiar with those rules and willing to enforce them.
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You’re good at seeing the big picture. Most managerial positions are more about the bigger picture and finished product than smaller pieces. So if that comes through clearly to you, going into management is a good choice.
Not all positions are the same, of course, but the majority of them require working with people to get things accomplished. There isn’t very much hands-on work the higher you climb, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a fulfilling and satisfying job.
Education and Certification Requirements for a Career in Hospital Nursing Management
Education is going to be a requirement for almost any position in management. There are a few hospital positions you can get into without a degree, but they’re unlikely to lead to a managerial role.
Here are some degrees to consider:
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Nursing. This is the most obvious and versatile degree for going into nursing management. There are different types of nursing degrees as well as different levels. The highest level of education is likely to serve you the best.
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Health Sciences. This degree is very broad, allowing you to focus on what you’d like. There are associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s in it, depending on what level you’re aiming for.
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Hospital Management. This degree prepares you to go directly into hospital management. It isn’t a medical degree, but it does cover what you need to know about it. With this degree, you’re more likely to end up as a hospital supervisor than a direct nursing manager.
If you’re going to be a nurse, you need to be certified. All medical professionals need certifications in order to practice legally. This will vary depending on the type of medical professional you want to be and where you are – different states have different requirements.
What Do People Working In Hospital Nursing Management Do?
People in hospital nursing management manage the nursing side of the hospital. Most of the people in nursing management were nurses themselves earlier in their career and now have moved up to management positions.
Nursing management involves both taking care of patients and taking care of the nurses who work in the hospital. They’re assigned where they’re needed and when they’re needed. Depending on the position, it’s also nursing managers’ job to advocate for their subordinates and make sure they’re getting everything they need.
Nursing hospital management isn’t something you just step into. It requires medical knowledge and usually experience in nursing before becoming a manager. However, because of that, there is both good compensation and job security. Nurses work hard – their hours are long and irregular. Nursing managers have to be there for their people.
Author
Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.
