Become A Health Director

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Working As A Health Director

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
Developing and Building Teams

Deal with People
Unpleasant/Angry People
Mostly Sitting
Make Decisions
$109,510
Average Salary

What Does A Health Director Do

A Health Director is responsible for developing health programs for disease prevention and the promotion of good health practices. They must keep health records and ensure excellent health facility maintenance.

How To Become A Health Director

Most medical and health services managers have at least a bachelor’s degree before entering the field. However, master’s degrees are common and sometimes preferred by employers. Educational requirements vary by facility.

Education

Medical and health services managers typically need at least a bachelor’s degree to enter the occupation. However, master’s degrees are common and sometimes preferred by employers. Graduate programs often last between 2 and 3 years and may include up to 1 year of supervised administrative experience in a hospital or healthcare consulting setting.

Prospective medical and health services managers typically have a degree in health administration, health management, nursing, public health administration, or business administration. Degrees that focus on both management and healthcare combine business-related courses with courses in medical terminology, hospital organization, and health information systems. For example, a degree in health administration or health information management often includes courses in health services management, accounting and budgeting, human resources administration, strategic planning, law and ethics, health economics, and health information systems.

Work Experience in a Related Occupation

Many employers require prospective medical and health services managers to have some work experience in either an administrative or a clinical role in a hospital or other healthcare facility. For example, nursing home administrators usually have years of experience working as a registered nurse.

Others may begin their careers as medical records and health information technicians, administrative assistants, or financial clerks within a healthcare office.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Medical and health services managers must understand and follow current regulations and adapt to new laws.

Communication skills. These managers must effectively communicate policies and procedures with other health professionals and ensure their staff’s compliance with new laws and regulations.

Detail oriented. Medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail. They might be required to organize and maintain scheduling and billing information for very large facilities, such as hospitals.

Interpersonal skills. Medical and health services managers discuss staffing problems and patient information with other professionals, such as physicians and health insurance representatives.

Leadership skills. These managers are often responsible for finding creative solutions to staffing or other administrative problems. They must hire, train, motivate, and lead staff.

Technical skills. Medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology and data analytics. For example, they may need to use coding and classification software and electronic health record (EHR) systems as their facility adopts these technologies.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

All states require licensure for nursing home administrators; requirements vary by state. In most states, these administrators must have a bachelor’s degree, complete a state-approved training program, and pass a national licensing exam. Some states also require applicants to pass a state-specific exam; others may require applicants to have previous work experience in a healthcare facility. Some states also require licensure for administrators in assisted-living facilities. For information on specific state-by-state licensure requirements, visit the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards.

A license is typically not required in other areas of medical and health services management. However, some positions may require applicants to have a registered nurse or social worker license.

Although certification is not required, some managers choose to become certified. Certification is available in many areas of practice. For example, the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management offers certification in medical management, the American Health Information Management Association offers health information management certification, and the American College of Health Care Administrators offers the Certified Nursing Home Administrator and Certified Assisted Living Administrator distinctions.

Advancement

Medical and health services managers advance by moving into higher paying positions with more responsibility. Some health information managers, for example, can advance to become responsible for the entire hospital’s information systems. Other managers may advance to top executive positions within the organization.

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Health Director jobs

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Health Director Career Paths

Health Director

Nurse

Assistant Director Of Nursing

7 Yearsyrs

Operations Director

Chief Operating Officer

11 Yearsyrs

Nursing Director

Clinical Director

9 Yearsyrs

Safety Director

Director Of Human Resources

Nurse

Medical Director

Operations Director

President Of Operations

11 Yearsyrs

Nursing Director

Regional Director

9 Yearsyrs

Director Of Health Services

Regional Director Of Operations

11 Yearsyrs

Vice President

Vice President And Manager

10 Yearsyrs

Director Of Health Services

Wellness Director

7 Yearsyrs

Average Length of Employment

Director/Operations Manager 4.5 years
Public Health Director 4.2 years
Director Community Programs 3.8 years
Community Health Nursing Director 3.7 years
Director 3.7 years
Health Services Manager 3.5 years
Administrative Director, Behavioral Health Services 3.4 years
Director Of Health Services 3.4 years
Clinical Director 3.4 years
Housing Director 3.3 years
Home Service Director 3.3 years
Health Service Coordinator 3.3 years
Mental Health Program Manager 3.3 years
Health Administrator 3.1 years
Clinical Services Director 3.1 years
Assessment Director 3.1 years
Mental Health Coordinator 3.0 years
Health Director 3.0 years
Community Health Program Coordinator 2.8 years
Health Unit Supervisor 2.8 years
Health Care Coordinator 2.6 years
Assistance Director 2.5 years
Interim Executive Director 1.4 years
Public Health Internship 0.5 years

Top Careers Before Health Director

Top Careers After Health Director

Health Director Demographics

Gender

Female
65.2%
Male
33.7%
Unknown
1.1%

Ethnicity

White
83.0%
Hispanic or Latino
8.7%
Asian
5.7%
Unknown
1.8%
Black or African American
0.8%

Languages Spoken

Spanish
50.6%
French
10.4%
Arabic
9.1%
Italian
5.2%
Russian
2.6%
German
2.6%
Portuguese
2.6%
Japanese
2.6%
Chinese
1.3%
Vietnamese
1.3%
Czech
1.3%
Cantonese
1.3%
Greek
1.3%
Carrier
1.3%
Slovak
1.3%
Hindi
1.3%
Tagalog
1.3%
Mandarin
1.3%
Korean
1.3%

Health Director

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Health Director Education

Schools

University of Phoenix
18.8%
Capella University
8.9%
Walden University
7.8%
University of Missouri - Columbia
6.3%
University of Washington
5.2%
University of Southern California
5.2%
George Washington University
4.7%
University of Florida
3.6%
Harvard University
3.6%
Liberty University
3.6%
Kaplan University
3.6%
Western Michigan University
3.6%
New York University
3.1%
Michigan State University
3.1%
Arizona State University
3.1%
Temple University
3.1%
Nova Southeastern University
3.1%
West Virginia University
3.1%
University of Kentucky
3.1%
Eastern Kentucky University
3.1%

Majors

Degrees

Masters
40.4%
Bachelors
24.8%
Other
13.7%
Doctorate
9.0%
Associate
7.4%
Certificate
3.2%
License
0.8%
Diploma
0.7%

Health Director

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Real Health Director Salaries

Job Title	Company	Location	Start Date	Salary
Director, Institute for Health and Social Policy	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Sep 01, 2013	$225,000
Director, Institute for Health and Social Policy	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Jan 09, 2013	$225,000
Health Economics Director	Amgen Inc.	Thousand Oaks, CA	Nov 07, 2011	$210,000
Health Economics Director	Amgen Inc.	Thousand Oaks, CA	Oct 01, 2012	$190,000
Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality Director	KR Wind Inc.	Rosharon, TX	Sep 30, 2015	$185,000
Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality Director	KR Wind Inc.	Richardson, TX	Sep 30, 2015	$185,000
Health Economic Director	Amgen Inc.	Thousand Oaks, CA	Aug 15, 2013	$183,000
Health Economic Director	Amgen Inc.	Thousand Oaks, CA	Jul 02, 2012	$177,654
Health Economic Director	Amgen Inc.	Thousand Oaks, CA	Oct 31, 2012	$177,654
Employee Health Physician Director	St. Agnes Healthcare, Inc.	Baltimore, MD	Jul 01, 2013	$175,579
Director of Health	The Elma Philanthropies Services (U.S.) Inc.	New York, NY	Jan 22, 2013	$169,200 - $185,000
Director of Mental Health	Palm Integrative Health Saint Louis, LLC	Saint Louis, MO	Feb 10, 2015	$165,000
Director of Mental Health	Palm Integrative Medicine, PC	Saint Louis, MO	Jun 16, 2015	$165,000
Maternal and Newborn Health Director	The Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Jan 09, 2016	$162,900
Director of Marketing, Solazyme Health Sciences	Solazyme, Inc.	South San Francisco, CA	Jan 09, 2012	$161,500
Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality Director	KR Wind Inc.	Rosharon, TX	Sep 30, 2012	$160,000
Director of Health	The Elma Philanthropies Services (U.S.) Inc.	New York, NY	Dec 22, 2014	$150,000 - $250,000
Director of Health Policy and Practice	International Medical Corps	Washington, DC	Sep 14, 2014	$147,420
Director, Health Policy	Research Triangle Institute	Washington, DC	Sep 03, 2015	$143,416 - $185,554
Health Analytics Director	Carilion Services, Inc.	Roanoke, VA	Nov 01, 2016	$143,000
Maternal and Newborn Health Director	The Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Jul 07, 2015	$140,050
Associate Health Economics and Outcomes Director	Shire Pharmaceuticals Inc.	Wayne, PA	Jan 09, 2012	$138,000
Maternal and Newborn Health Director	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Sep 01, 2013	$137,300
Director of Oral Health	Ironton Lawrence County Area Community Action ORGA	Ironton, OH	Dec 20, 2012	$135,655
Director of Health Policy and Practice	International Medical Corps	Washington, DC	Sep 14, 2011	$135,000
Maternal and Newborn Health Director	Johns Hopkins University-Homewood Campus	Baltimore, MD	Sep 01, 2010	$130,000
Nutritional Health Director	Victus, Inc.	Florida City, FL	Oct 01, 2012	$120,000
Nutritional Health Director	Victus, Inc.	Miami, FL	Feb 11, 2015	$120,000

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Top Skills for A Health Director

Top Health Director Skills

Ensure Compliance
Procedures
Safety

You can check out examples of real life uses of top skills on resumes here:

Maintain spa is up to date on staff reviews and ensure compliance.
Overhauled and standardized clinical record keeping processes and procedures.
Led division to continuous safety performance improvements year over year.
Hired and trained instructors for the Pharmacy Technology, Medical Assistant and Health Care Management students.
-Analyzed, recommended upon and implemented mental health programs for both active duty USAF, ANG and USAF reserve service members.