Masters in Healthcare Admin or certificate?? Any ideas or suggestions??

[bsinsc]

Hey ya'll....I haven't been on here in awhile. I have been struggling to find a decent paying job still and am thinking of going back to school. I have a BA and AA from TESC and AS from Excelsior-all liberal arts/general studies degrees. I am also a cert. medical asst., cert. ekg tech and cert. nures aide. So, I am thinking I need something to bring what I already have together. I am looking at a masters in healthcare admin. and there's a great program here in SC at MUSC but it's 2 years and expensive. My friend has 1 from there and told me jobs are almost non-existent w MHA. I don't have a lot of $ or time at this point. So, do you think a masters certificate in healthcare admin. might be the way to go? There are 2 I am looking at....1 from Seton Hall....pretty pricey but credits can be used to finish masters. Other 1 is through UGA....only $1800 but ceu's. Again, I live in SC so UGA is definitely better known here. I've been really having a hard time financially and need to work sooner rather than later. Any ideas or suggestions?????

[GoodYellowDogs]

Look at WGU.edu They have a MBA in healthcare. It's competency based and it is possible to finish in one semester if you push. Tuition is about $2500 per semester. So if you could do it in a semester you'd only be paying a little more than for a certificate. I think that would get you more than a certificate in terms of being hired.

Just my two cents - I'm sure others will have ideas as well. cheersmate

[sanantone]

Here are some other reasonably priced options.

University of Southern Indiana
University of South Dakota
Saint Joseph's College
Bellevue University
Clarkson College
Baker College

[rebel100]

What is the end goal? I'm all about Masters degree's and the offering from Western Governors Univ. mentioned above is an option (though it's $3250/semester, with a semester being 6 months long) but I'm not sure how your planning to apply it. You already have a Bachelors and can't find a good job...how will a Masters change this?

I don't mean any offense...please don't take it that way...but where is the value in Nurses Aide/EKG Tech to Masters? I think there is something in between there that you can exploit and not make the jump to a Masters until your in a position to really afford it, and benefit from the knowledge.

Are you working now? Become an expert in joint commission and AHCA compliance. get an entry level hospital job in patient billing/accounting. Go to a tech school and earn the LPN, then turn that into a job, then transition to RN. Maybe there is something in case management that would be attractive and blend your skills better. I don't know, but it sounds like you need a job not a Masters.

I'm just shooting from the hip, and you didn't detail your full circumstance, but there are a couple of things I would recommend. #1 unless your employer or someone else is paying for it...don't do the Masters yet. I don't see the benefit. Your friend said there aren't many jobs with a MHA...I would tend to agree with the exception being that those already in healthcare middle management could see a push to the next level with the added education. BTW, it may vary across the country, but most of the hospital admins I know have some sort of clinical background coupled with an MBA...but that may just be my limited experience.

If money is truly tight I would be leery of trying to spend my way out in the way you seem to describe.

I have a good friend who interned here at my hospital when she was in college, she found a couple of mentors and her internship led to a pretty good job when she finished her Bachelors. She became an expert...truly an expert in hospital regulatory compliance. While working she was able to use tuition reimbursement for her Masters. She was recently headhunted to a new position at a physicians group...she parlayed an internship/networking and her strong work ethic into her dream job.

[marianne202]

I have to say I agree with Rebel. I recently completed my MHA at Bellevue. I chose them because I wanted a certified, approved program. I have 22 yrs of experience in acute patient care, experience in hospital admissions, healthcare insurance experience as well as medical bill auditing, claims review, precertification and case management. So for my vast experience an MHA was a much better fit than an MBA. I also have 12 yrs experience teaching allied health classes including EMT, medical coding, sports medicine and healthcare management. An MHA alone without significant healthcare experience isn't going to net you a job. You may be able to get a job as a clinic manager, home health company manager or similar, but if you want to get into a hospital you will need to work your way up.

I agree that you should look at a job you already know or something similar such a patient care tech in a hosp. Then let the hospital tuition assistance help pay your costs. A Master's in anything will net you far more than a certificate. If you have a Master's then get a grad certificate that is a different story, but without a Master's you can't get a top management job, which it seems you want. Your other option is you could teach in areas you already have experience in, not CNA since you usually have to be an RN, but your other allied health areas. It would be a way to earn an income and set your own schedule while in school. Teaching isn't for everyone, but it is an option. Just realize in today's economy no degree is a guarantee of a great job or any job for that matter. Most employers have the luxury of considering only those that have experience plus the degree in the area of specialization they need to fill.

While Rebel suggesting billing as an entry area, I would say that might be very difficult as I have student who have graduated from a medical coding & billing program of study along with passed their national credentialing exam having a hard time without experience finding entry level jobs in billing and coding. If you don't have either it will be almost impossible, but you could do registration or clerical work, but I would venture to say those would pay less than the other jobs you are already trained to do. Stick with what you know and find out just want it takes to get the job you really want by doing some research. Since you have moved around a lot in healthcare, that tells me either you truly love it or you hate it. Figure that out before you enroll in a 2+ yr Master's program only to find out you hate the industry. My Bellevue MHA was an 18 month accelerated program and it was a lot of hard work and expense, so make sure you know what you really want, not what seem the easiest use of previous work, but rather what you want to do for many years to come, otherwise you won't see any return on your expense. Just my 2 cents, which now days isn't worth but 1 cent! Good luck!

[sanantone]

While I agree with Rebel for the most part, the OP's degrees are in liberal arts/general studies. Those degrees are known for not leading to good paying jobs on average.

[bsinsc]

Thanks for all of the replies. This helps me to put it all into perspective. Marianne hit the nail on the head! I got out of the healthcare field in 2003 becuse I couldn't stand working in the office with so many nasty, angry ppl.(not the patients-but coworkers). It was truly miserable. I took some time off from the field to raise a child w special needs. He is now in middle school and doing much better. I honestly never thought I would go back into healthcare b/c I was making a living elsewhere, but I knew I had it fall back on. Since being in the healthcare field, I've owned 2 small businesses and I've been doing some real estate investing-flipping. I also worked for a non-profit doing outreach and case mgmnt. Unfortunately, my last biz failed during the economic downturn 2 years ago. The non-profit I worked for has been cut to the bare bones, so no job there. Now I find myself trying make a living with what education I have and cannot do it!

So, the only job I can seem to land now is from my cert. medical asst. credential. Unfortunately, it pays crap. I have 7 years of experience in this field, but none recent other than my 50 ceu's to recertify last year. I've been offered less $ in that field than I made 10 years ago! Yes, I can go teach medical assisting, but have no experience doing this and don't know if this could be any kind of fit for me.

I have tried and tried to find a nursing school to get into w no luck. All are full and are taking app's for 2 years from now. This has been the story of my life here. Somehow the RN has eluded forever. That's how I ended up w the CMA credential when I was waiting to get in an RN program 17 years ago. Long story, but at the time CMA's were making almost as much money as RN's here. Not the case now. We do the same work as LPN's, so there's no benefit of getting an LPN other than bridging to RN but that would take too much time and $ to make it worthwhile. There is no CMA to RN bridge anywhere. I would have to start from scratch if I get in. I feel like this door is closed for me.

So, I am trying to put together something. Maybe the masters isn't the way to go and maybe I am grasping at straws. I thought maybe some sort of masters or certificate might blend everything I already have together. I am 41 yrs. old w responsibilites and just cannot take any entry level job. I cannot survive on that. I had hoped that by getting the BA (along with having clinical experience) I would get a job doing pharm sales, but that field has been cut big time. My cousin is a big whig in a pharm co and even he cannot help me w a job since he just laid off half of his staff.

I am open to any suggestions. Thanks so much!

BA and AA-General Studies TESC 2012
AS-Liberal Arts- Excelsior 1999
Certified Medical Assistant- 1996 (recertified 2012)
Nationally Certified Guardian-2012
Victim Advocate-2009
Master Gardener-2002
Ekg Technician-Trident Tech-1995
Certified Nurse Aide-Trident Tech-1994

[sanantone]

LPNs/LVs make a lot more money than CMAs. Have you thought about going into an alternative teacher certification program? Some states even have a health science certification. I took health science technology in high school; it was a cool course. Depending on the courses you took for your liberal studies degree, you might have the background for other certifications such as language arts, mathematics, social studies, or science. Most of the demand is going to be for mathematics, science, technology, ESL, special education, and technology and other vocational programs.

[marianne202]

I've been around healthcare long enough, that I kinda figured what was going on. I have a few suggestions. First if nursing is something you truly want to do, look into the Excelsior nursing program. You should have your gen eds out of the way and you could just focus on the nursing exams so you could complete it fairly quickly. As far as teaching you could try teaching a few continuing education courses to get a taste of teaching. You could do some CMA CEU courses or you might even teach something through the small business center such as working with non-profits, starting your own business etc. These are usually paid based on your degree level. This would let you know if you like teaching or not. The other suggestion I can make for a possible short term fix is you could add to your CMA by taking a course in medical coding. That would make you double valuable to a medical office because you could use your coding skills more effectively since you have the CMA practical background. That might also set you up to be an office manager since you would have a degree, CMA experience and you would know the coding or financial side. If you can get your coding certification you should make about 50% than most CMA's. If you can get into a mangement position it should be double the CMA salary. You have a good skill set to work towards medical office management, but you need to frame it correctly on your resume, which could also be a problem you could be encountering. If you aren't listing your transferable skills you are doing yourself a great disservice. It might not be what you want to do long-term. I know all too well about the office drama and politics in a medical office, but it could be a bridge until you complete your nursing degree. I'm not sure where you live, as there may be other options such as working as a patient care tech in a hospital, which usually pays more and has less drama than at the office level. The pay isn't great, but if you work through a temp agency or pool it can pay more. The suggestion about teaching at the high school level is also a possibility. We have schools of health and life science in our area which teach a wide array of health science classes, but most will require a master's degree or nursing degree. These are just some thoughts. Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions or if you think I can offer any other help. I know it is hard when you feel the pressure to provide for your family and if you have been out of the traditional work force for a while. I wish you luck in finding something that fits for you.

[clep3705]

Wanting to be nurse isn't a good enough reason to go to nursing school. New grads are finding it extremely difficult to get hired as detailed here: For nursing jobs, new grads need not apply - Jan. 14, 2013

If you're inclined to say that nurses make a lot of money, that doesn't apply to or help an unemployed new graduate, of which there are many. This has been true for years.

This video isn't an exaggeration, it is painfully true: new grads and the nursing shortage - YouTube

Most new grads do find work. But that doesn't help the 43% still unemployed after 18 months. Some will say that the lack of jobs is mainly because most new grads are ADNs instead of BSNs. Click the picture in the CNN article and you're taken to another article with a picture of an unemployed new grad. Her purple and white cords indicate that not only does she have a BSN, she is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau national nursing honor society.

Just because the national nursing organizations say more nurses are needed doesn't mean hospitals are willing to pay for them. School teachers say we need more teachers, but governments don't want to pay additional salaries.