How to Become a Healthcare Administrator in Illinois

Choosing a Bachelor's Degree (BS or BSHCA)

You won't have any trouble finding many Illinois colleges and universities that offer health administration as a major field of study. With Chicago standing as the third largest healthcare market, there will also be plenty of opportunities for internships and entry-level jobs once you graduate. The question now becomes one of selecting the right program for you.

Choose your Field

First, decide which area of health administration you’d like to pursue, such as management, accounting, marketing, communications, or information technology. While you can study these fields separately, a degree like a Bachelor of Health Administration will provide the specific industry knowledge you need. You can also pursue a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration or Healthcare Management. Having a specialized degree shows employers you're focused and dedicated to healthcare, which is more appealing than a general business administration degree.

As you pursue your major field of interest, you will be well-served with a minor to broaden your field of knowledge. You might study accounting as a minor that will help aim you towards the boardroom, or you might augment your learning with technical writing, which might help you find a job writing grants for a university health system.

Core Courses

Your core healthcare administration courses will point you towards a world in healthcare and might include, but not be limited to, the following topics:

Accreditation

When you are researching colleges and universities for a healthcare administration degree, one thing you should first look for is their accreditation. Your school's accreditation is a good indicator of the quality of education they offer. A fully-accredited healthcare administration degree will help you when you apply to graduate school or if you need to transfer credits to another school. A good place to start is to see if the school has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the regional accreditor for Illinois.

Once you have determined that a school is fully accredited, investigate the health administration curriculum. Try to determine whether your goals and interests will be served by that program. For instance, if you are more interested in working as a human resources director, ensure that the program offers a few courses in that area of specialty. Even if they don't, you might find that a faculty member has experience in that area. That could lead to a possible internship under that instructor, or an independent study that enables you to delve deeper into that topic.

Faculty

When it comes to instructors, it's probably wise to look for diversity amongst the faculty. Some may have pure academic experience, where others might have worked for years as hospital administrators or elsewhere in healthcare management. There is no guarantee that experience will pay off regarding classroom experience, but you can at least get a good feel of what you might be facing when you investigate faculty biographies.

Campus Visits

An even better way to familiarize yourself with your desired program is to visit the campus. Taking a tour will likely enable you to sit in on a class or at least talk with some current students to gain insight from their experience. Call the admissions department and see when you can schedule a visit.

Online Programs

On the other hand, you might find that your desired program, whether it is or isn't in Illinois, but not have the opportunity to relocate. It may be that you can still take courses from that program via an online interface. If that is the case, you might find ways to get creative and take your basic core courses locally but complete your major online. Note that you will need to complete a larger portion of courses at a particular school to receive a diploma from it, so proceed carefully and ensure that your education is both logically possible and to your best benefit.

There is always the possibility of completing an entire degree online. This option could free you up to work in your field while studying in your off hours. You might also want to look for employers who might be interested in offering tuition reimbursement or some other form of scholarship. Often such employers will allow you to work limited hours while you study, ensuring that you remain in school and can graduate in a timely fashion.

Read more about a healthcare administration bachelors