Departmental Administrator |
Career OverviewThe major responsibility of the departmental administrator is to ensure the complete flow of services from the specific department to the patients or staff in the hospital that are served by the department.
This means that the departmental administrator may assist with scheduling, completing necessary reports and database development, ensuring inventory and supplies are adequate, and assisting with developing new protocols and procedures that make the department more effective.
A departmental administrator is a middle management position and usually reports to the management team in various formats. These reports can be in the form of written copy or oral presentations. Usually the departmental administrator is also responsible for assisting with staff evaluations and keeping personal files and other paperwork current and correct.
A departmental administrator must have a good background knowledge of the department to be an effective administrator. In addition they should be aware of any hospital policies that may impact the department in decision making or procedural changes. The departmental administrator needs to have effective communication skills as well as being able to work in team environments with staff members.
Depending on the size of the hospital or healthcare facility and the nature of the department the departmental administrator may have to work weekend or evening shifts or may have normal business hours. There are usually no overtime or off-shift hours required for departmental administrators.
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Career RequirementsEach department may have specific requirements in a departmental administrator, however most will require at a Bachelors and preferably a Masters degree in a related field. That is to say that a departmental administrator in the finance department should have a background in accounting or bookkeeping whereas a departmental administrator in the food service department may have a food science or related degree.
A departmental administrator will usually have at least 5 years of experience working within the department before assuming an administrative position.
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Job OutlookAll areas of hospital and healthcare administration are expected to have a better than average growth rate until at least the year 2014. The United States Department of Labor indicates that new hospital and healthcare facilities plus movement into other management positions and retirement of current departmental administrators will result in more job vacancies over the next several years.
Since a departmental administrator requires several years of actual working experience there will be more entry level jobs created as more senior staff move into departmental administrator roles.
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Career TrackDepartmental administrators with a Master level education in healthcare, business or a related field often can easily move into management positions both within departments and in larger areas of the facility.
Many departmental administrator transfer into director positions or may even work as key participants on management teams, depending on the size and structure of the various facilities.
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CompensationThe average yearly salary for a departmental administrator is between $52,000 and $60,000 in a medium to large size department and facility. Those departmental administrators in government hospitals and treatment facilities often make slightly less that their counterparts that work in private hospitals and care centers.
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