Ashford....Health Care Admin

[perrik]

It appears that EC's Health Sciences program is similar to its Nursing program, in that it's geared towards those already in the field who need a degree for career advancement.

Since you're coming into the field from scratch and don't want to deal with the patient care side of things, your best bet is a degree in healthcare administration or business administration with a healthcare administration specialization. Finding these programs online is not easy - especially since so many online learning information sites just tout the usual for-profit places. It's a struggle to identify online programs at state or private non-profit universities, but they're out there.

I used to work in a large department of a major teaching hospital. Most of the new hires with freshly-minted BSHCA degrees came in from a particular university's mandatory internship program. As permanent employees, they generally started off as administrative assistants. Your mileage may vary, of course, but just keep in mind that the BS is no guarantee of landing a higher-level administrative position! FYI, focus on the finance courses, and even if your program doesn't require it, take a full year's worth of accounting. If you understand the financial aspect of HCA, you will greatly increase your marketability. (the two AAs with strong finance skills moved up into administrator roles quickly)

Okay, I've done some research. (I do that a lot here, but it's fun!) Here's a plan: get an associates degree or amass the credit equivalent thereof. Apply to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center's online degree program for the BS in Clinical Services Management. Click that link, then download the catalog and viewbook for more information. Tuition for the online program is a flat $250/credit hour for non-residents ($150 for Texas residents). The curriculum looks solid, and hey, you can continue on to get their MS in Clinical Practice Management.