Nursing home administration is a field that involves professionals working with patients, their loved ones and employees in a nursing home setting. As people age, they experience medical problems that limit their mobility, and many people suffer from medical conditions that require extra support as well. Nursing homes give the elderly a safe place to live and provides them with everything from regular medical care to appointments with licensed doctors. Administrators working in these positions often need a college degree before going to work.
What Type of Degree Do You Need?
Before you can work in nursing home administration, you need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. While some facilities may accept those with an associate’s degree, those workers will need more experience to make up for their lower level degree. You might study business, management or even medicine as an undergrad. Some colleges offer business degrees with a concentration in health care studies. While enrolled in one of these programs, you might have the chance to do an internship and work directly in the HR department of a nursing home before you graduate.
What Will You Do Daily?
It’s always helpful to look at some of the duties you might perform on the job before deciding on a career. Nursing home administrators are the ones responsible for the daily operations of that facility. They must work within the budget given and ensure that all workers follow both state and federal laws regarding care of the elderly, including seeking medical help when needed and keeping the care of their patients confidential. Nursing home administrators are also responsible for filling any open spots within that facility, including advertising any jobs that come open, interviewing applicants and setting the salaries of new employees.
Can You Work Outside of Nursing Homes?
In addition to working in nursing home administration, you may also work in a retirement home. The biggest difference between these two types of facilities is the activity level of the patients. Patients in a nursing home generally need more care and support. They may have medical conditions that require 24 hour care or have issues that keep them confined to their beds. Retirement homes cater to residents who are more active and need less care. As a retirement home administrator, you’re responsible for the same things but will find that your patients need less help and care from your employees. Retirement homes may even have individual apartments that provide residents with their own kitchens and bathrooms.
Average Administrator Salary
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts nursing home administrators under the same category of medical and health service managers. Also known as the BLS, this government agency found that the median pay among all managers was more than $95,000 a year or more than $45 an hour. Though you do have the chance to make this amount while working as an administrator, you may start out making around $50,000 or less a year. Administrators and managers working in hospitals and specialized centers often make more than those working in retirement and nursing homes do.
Related Resource: Become a Chief Nursing Officer
As an administrator working in a nursing home, you are responsible for ensuring the proper care of your patients and ensuring that employees follow all laws and regulations. Those working in nursing home administration positions are also responsible for budgeting and hiring new employees to work in those facilities.
