5 Reasons to Study Healthcare Management Online in 2021

The demand for qualified healthcare management professionals is increasing around the world. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there’s a lot of pressure on healthcare providers to be as efficient as possible in their service provision.

Having knowledgeable healthcare management personnel to plan activities and allocate resources can help healthcare providers in this endeavour.  

Healthcare management professionals are also essential because they’re the ones who drive the profession towards a more innovative future. Technological advancements can improve treatment time and health-related outcomes, and it’s the healthcare managers who are behind this change.  

Below, we’ll take an in-depth look at what healthcare management is all about and discuss why you should consider studying it online in 2021:  

What is Healthcare Management?

Healthcare management focuses on the administration, supervision, or management of healthcare facilities. These facilities may be of any size, ranging from small clinics in far-flung rural areas to large hospitals in metropolitan cities.  

Healthcare management is for healthcare facilities in both the public and the private domain. Management may only be required for a single facility, or it may have a much larger scope that covers a network of facilities across the country.  

What Does a Healthcare Manager Do?

A healthcare manager’s primary responsibility is to ensure that all departments of the healthcare facility are working smoothly. They ensure that patients receive excellent care and medical treatment and devise ways to improve the system where needed. They coordinate service provision and oversee the daily operations of their facility.  

Healthcare managers also deal with issues related to budgeting, planning, and recruitment. They make sure that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare personnel are providing high-quality treatment to patients. They may also address patient complaints, grievances, and queries if and when deemed necessary.

Why Study Healthcare Management Online?

There are a few reasons why healthcare management should be studied online:  

1. You Set The Pace

The biggest advantage of undertaking online healthcare management studies is that you can study at the pace that’s most comfortable for you.  

Education is becoming more personalized than ever, and online studies are a great way of studying what you want without having to face other pressures that come with higher studies. Level 6 and Level 7 diplomas in healthcare management are assessed through coursework assessments, summative assessments, and research projects.  

2. No Time Clashes with Other Commitments

Conventional studies can take a huge chunk of time out of your day. Waking up early in the morning, commuting to your college or university, then returning home after classes all require significant amounts of time.  

This is not the case with online studies. If you’re studying online, you can study whenever and wherever you get some time to yourself. This flexibility is sorely missing from in-person education. It’s extremely appealing to students who are looking after a parent, raising children, or have other personal responsibilities that prevent them from spending their day on campus.  

3. You Can Study While You Work

All working students end up juggling the demands of their job with their studies. This is a dilemma that results in overworked students who often can’t perform as well as full-time students.  

Online studies resolve this problem. You can easily complete healthcare management short courses without having to overwork yourself or take time off work. Continue working full-time and study on the weekends, or make your own study schedule. If you’re already working in the healthcare sector, studying healthcare management will let you use your practical knowledge of the field.  

4. You Can Polish Your Time Management

Time management is a vital skill that helps you succeed regardless of your profession or industry. But it’s especially important in the healthcare sector because people’s lives and well-being depend on it.  

As a healthcare manager, you won’t just be managing your own time but also ensuring that your team is effectively managing theirs. It’ll be up to you to remove any obstacles getting in the way of efficient treatment. What better way to do this than by practising your time management skills early?

As an online student, you’ll have to make your own schedule and stick to it. You’ll be balancing your studies with work and other obligations every day. Ultimately, you’ll become more proficient at this than your peers who aren’t enrolled in online education programmes.  

5. It’s More Affordable than In-Person Programmes

Online studies are known for being cost-effective and budget-friendly. Finances are a major concern for any student pursuing higher education today. Student loans can take years to pay off, and these repayments can take a toll on a student’s financial situation.  

Online education is much more affordable than in-person education at a college or university. You can rest easy knowing that you can pursue your career goals and supplement your knowledge without having to spend a small fortune on educational expenses. In addition to the low enrolment or tuition costs, online students also enjoy great savings on accommodation, transportation, meals, and textbooks.  

Lastly, online education programmes also offer interest-free instalment plans that you can avail without going through a credit check.

Why is Healthcare Management Important?

The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a crisis not just for frontline workers around the world but for the healthcare industry as a whole. Despite this enormous challenge, healthcare is one of the most rapidly growing industries worldwide.  

The main problems faced by the healthcare industry are sustainability and innovation.  

Sustainable growth has to be prioritized in the industry because of shifting demographics. People are living longer than they used to, so there’s a need for medical interventions that can improve the quality of life for seniors.  

The population is booming in almost every country in the world. The average global population growth is at about 81 to 83 million people annually. According to the projections by the United Nations, the world population will grow to around 8.5 billion in the year 2030.  

With these figures in mind, new healthcare facilities must be developed to keep up with the healthcare requirements of a burgeoning global population. Healthcare managers will be at the forefront of meeting these requirements since they’ll be responsible for resource allocation, planning, and coordination.  

The other challenge is innovation. Technology—specifically medical technology—is evolving at a rapid pace. It’s changing how clinical practices and activities are performed. Technology is reshaping best practices in all aspects of healthcare provision—from patient intake to evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and discharge.  

Here, again, the onus is on healthcare managers to embrace technological innovation and use it to elevate the facilities where they work. The responsibility of introducing new technologies and making sure that adequate training is provided to the people using them will fall on the shoulders of healthcare managers.  

Why Now Is the Right Time to Join Healthcare Management

The rapid growth being experienced by the healthcare sector is accompanied by a need for educated professionals who can manage it properly. A knowledgeable manager is the difference between growth that occurs in fits and starts and growth that’s consistent.  

Joining the healthcare industry as a manager leads to a highly fulfilling career. You’ll be improving the services and treatment rendered to patients every day, without facing the gruelling training, education, and demands faced by core medical personnel such as doctors and nurses.  

You’ll be helping to make lives better for your community. Not just the patients, but also the healthcare providers that you’ll be responsible for. Working in healthcare management is a satisfying position where you get to enact positive change through your work.  

Healthcare is also an extremely dynamic industry at the moment. You’ll be learning about new technologies and their proper implementation. You’ll be familiarizing yourself with digital solutions for everyday problems in the industry, and advocating for their wider use. This exciting aspect of your job will go hand-in-hand with the personal fulfilment it’ll provide to you.  

Some examples of this technological innovation include wearable medical devices, implantable medical devices, telehealth, artificial intelligence in healthcare, and optimization through data analysis.

The Skills You Need as a Healthcare Manager

Healthcare managers deal with a variety of situations in their day-to-day work, and you’ll need to develop your skillset accordingly. These are some of the traits you’ll need to be a successful healthcare manager:  

Attention to Detail

Healthcare managers aren’t only focused on the bigger picture. They’re also aware that big pictures are composed of small details that need to be in order, which is why you need to be good at weighing information from multiple sources to make the best possible choice.  

Regulatory Knowledge

The healthcare industry is highly regulated. Various laws and rules have to be followed at all times, and a healthcare manager needs to know every one of them. These regulations will directly affect how you design your policies, so staying up-to-date on them is wise.  

Communication Skills

As a healthcare manager, you’ll be communicating every day with personnel at all levels of the organization you’re in. Strong communication skills will help you convey your message effectively and inform your team about new rules or policy changes as needed.  

People Skills

Healthcare managers have to listen to the concerns and complaints of their team and take corrective measures as necessary. This often means balancing the demands of different departments, which is where your negotiation and people skills will come in handy.  

Good with Numbers

Healthcare managers frequently have to deal with budgeting issues, deal with large amounts of data, and analyse the statistics of their organization to see where improvements can be made. Being good with numbers is critical to your work as a manager.  

Problem-Solving Skills

This is almost self-explanatory. Healthcare settings are fast-paced environments and mistakes can have drastic consequences. Problems come up often and need to be resolved quickly, so you should be able to think on your feet and come up with solutions on the fly.  

Good with Technology

If you want to do well as a healthcare manager, get comfortable with using technology and staying on top of it. You might not be operating every bit of technology yourself, but you’ll need to know how they work so you can put them to work.

Healthcare Management at Oxford Learning College

At Oxford Learning College, we offer accredited diplomas online, including Level 6 and Level 7 Diplomas in healthcare management. These qualifications are awarded by the Awards for Training and Higher Education (ATHE) and are open for enrolment throughout the year.  

Entry into the Level 6 diploma is contingent on prior study of healthcare management, or another relevant qualification, at a higher education institution. Relevant work experience is beneficial but not mandatory. You’ll be undertaking personal study of about 480 hours for this 120-credit qualification.  

The Level 6 diploma consists of ten units, all of which must be completed with their assessments for you to be eligible for receiving the diploma. You’ll be studying healthcare policy, quality management, service delivery, leadership and management, financial management, HR management, strategic planning, and equality and diversity. In the last unit, you’ll complete a research project.  

After successful completion of the Level 6 diploma, you can enrol in the Level 7 diploma. The Level 7 diploma is also open for students who hold a prior degree in healthcare or associated subjects or have equivalent international qualifications.  

Similar to the Level 6 diploma, the Level 7 diploma also has a duration of one year. You’ll undertake personal study of about 420 hours to complete the ten units of this diploma and their assessments.  

The Level 7 Diploma covers a range of topics related to healthcare management. Some of the topics you’ll be studying include organizational behaviour, finance management, international healthcare policy, organizational improvement, organizational vision, strategic direction, resource management, quality management, and service delivery. During the last unit, you’ll perform independent research by using the appropriate research techniques.  

After completing the Level 7 diploma, you may continue with your studies by joining an MBA or a similar programme. You may also choose to start doctoral studies in the field.  

Enrol in one of the programmes at our online study college today and contact us for more information.