As president of a hospital executive professional association, I’ve met many individuals with experience in other industries such as IT and finance who are seeking positions in healthcare administration.
Healthcare administration is a rewarding career path and, with the right preparation, anyone with solid leadership skills, a passion for helping others, and great work ethic can find fulfilling work in administration roles in hospitals and healthcare systems.
Individuals who are successful in transitioning into healthcare from other industries have followed these steps:
- Join and volunteer with your local chapter of a healthcare professional association. The American College of Healthcare Executives (www.ache.org) is a 35,000 member professional association with chapters across the country.
- Hold informational interviews with hospital administration professionals serving in various functions such as operations, IT, finance, physician services and other departments.
- Revise your resume and cover letter to connect the dots between your current industry and the healthcare industry. With the right format and wording, you can translate past experiences into a compelling platform to convince a healthcare hiring manager that you’ll be an asset to their organization.
Years ago, I spoke with a former Vice President of bank who was seeking a second career in healthcare. I was so impressed with his search strategy. He made a strategic decision to pursue an executive MBA in healthcare administration. He volunteered with the local chapter of a healthcare association and also volunteered his time and expertise in finance at local hospitals. He was successful in securing a role in administration at a hospital in an incredibly short period of time due to his creativity and persistence. The healthcare industry needs talented individuals with non-healthcare experience. Non-healthcare perspectives will help shape the future of healthcare.
