What Is a Nurse Administrator?
Nurse administrators are responsible for the management of administrative duties within the nursing department as well the management of the nursing staff. On the administrative side, this involves developing department policies, procedures, and objectives and implementing strategies to carry them out. They also may manage medical supply inventories, maintain medical records, keep up with insurances, and fill out billing forms.
Nurse administrators also supervise the nursing staff which means they coordinate staff activities, organize work schedules, designate nursing assignments, provide training opportunities, observe work performance, and address any important staff issues. Nurse administrators work closely with other health professionals like physicians, managers, assistants, and other nurses to coordinate activities within and outside of their department.
They typically work in healthcare facilities, usually hospitals, and may spend much of their time in an office. Most administrators work during regular business hours and may often work evenings or weekends as well, as it is not uncommon for them to be on call in case of an emergency.
How to Become a Nurse Administrator
Those interested in becoming nurse administrators must first become registered nurses and earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing. In nursing programs, students learn about the nursing practice and gain clinical experience working at health care facilities. Common courses include anatomy and physiology, complex nursing, chemistry, health assessment, pathophysiology, adult nursing, pharmacology, psychology, and childbearing-family nursing. They then must pass the NCLEX-RN to earn a license to practice.
Those who want to advance to administrative roles should then earn a graduate degree in health services administration or nursing administration. In these types of graduate programs nurses will learn about the business procedures and management operations involved in health services and take courses like healthcare administration, healthcare policy, human resources management, and healthcare law.
Strong candidates for administrative positions in nursing will have effective leadership and communication skills and be able to exercise good judgment. Many nurses start out in assistant or supervisory positions within nursing departments before advancing to administrative positions.
Nurse Administrator Career Outlook & Salary
As the field of healthcare grows, there will be a higher demand for nurses which in turn will create a need for administrators who can manage them. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of registered nurses is projected to increase by 22% within the next decade. This is due to an increasing amount of technological advances in patient care, more of an emphasis on preventative care, and a growing elderly population.
The most job growth is expected within the offices of physicians, home healthcare services, and nursing care facilities. Even though there will be plenty of job opportunities within the field of nursing, much competition is expected for jobs at physicians’ offices and outpatient care center due to their comfortable working environments.
Candidates with bachelor’s degrees and advanced practice specialties are expected to have the best job prospects. The Bureau reported that the median annual wages of registered nurses was $62,450 in May 2008.
