Often considered one of the most rewarding executive careers in the healthcare industry due to its higher level of direct patient interaction, nursing administration is a highly chosen career path for registered nurses who are seeking leadership roles within their organization. With more advanced training and experience in the nursing field, nurse administrators are responsible for managing the nursing staff members in a wide variety of healthcare facilities. Nursing administration plays a prominent role in the operations of hospitals, nursing homes, physician offices’, home healthcare services, clinics, residential care facilities, urgent care centers and more. If you are considering jumpstarting an upper-level leadership role with advanced practice duties, read on to learn more about the fascinating world of nursing administration.
Responsibilities in Nursing Administration
As pivotal leaders in healthcare, nursing administrators are given the responsibility of managing a team of nurses or a specific nursing unit within their healthcare organization. Since nurse administrators are more fully trained in the effective implementation of medical procedures and therapeutic treatments, nurse administrators manage nursing services to ensure every staff member is held accountable for their actions. According to the Cleveland Clinic, on a typical day in the life of a nurse administrator, they will be involved in establishing nursing procedures, promoting professional development of nursing staff, budgeting, maintaining nursing standards, communicating with health executives, analyzing diagnosis decisions, creating work schedules, supervising team-building activities, offering employee counseling, and giving performance reviews.
Benefits of Working in Nursing Administration
For those willing to take on the challenge of acting as an intermediary between nurses, physicians, patients, executives, and other department leaders, entering nursing administration can come with a long list of advantages. With a much higher paycheck than registered nurses, nurse administrators often receive a starting salary of $70,000 to $90,000 before earning a mid-career average salary in the six figures. Nursing administration also comes with the emotional rewards of being extremely gratifying. On a daily basis, you will be involved in working with nursing staff members to improve healthcare services and potentially save countless lives. Furthermore, nursing administration opens up many professional avenues for advancement. Since the healthcare industry is expected to create 5.6 million more jobs by 2020, nursing administration comes with unparalleled levels of job stability that are difficult to find elsewhere, according to The Huffington Post.
How to Start a Career in Nursing Administration
In order to first fill your dues as a registered nurse, you will generally need to have a bachelor’s degree in nursing from an accredited institution and receive a passing score on the NCLEX-RN examination within your state. Beyond the baccalaureate level, you can receive the best job prospects by pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Nursing Administration. With this nursing specialty, you will take courses related to finance, management, health planning, health policy, nursing research, leadership, and even accounting. Next, you will want to pursue certification related to nursing administration through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) by achieving the Nurse Executive-Board Certified (NE-BC) credential with experience in graduate-level nursing administration.
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Overall, nursing administration has many in-demand and lucrative leadership positions available in the respected role of managing nursing staff to enhance a healthcare institution’s chances of success in delivering high-quality patient care. With a career in nursing administration, you will have the unique opportunity to be at the forefront of the nursing leadership team to address a myriad of issues in today’s rapidly evolving healthcare environment.
