Healthcare consultants are just like business consultants in that they help hospitals and other medical facilities maximize their organizational efficiency. A healthcare consultant works directly for a consultancy or privately run practice to consult with clinics, doctor's offices, or large government-owned hospitals.
Healthcare consultants primarily act as business analysts. They examine the processes in a hospital to determine its efficiency, profits, and overall structure. Based on their findings, they make recommendations. When a facility hires a healthcare consultant, they have a problem that needs solving. The healthcare consultant proceeds by identifying the problem, conducting research, and evaluating the currently available data. After providing recommendations, they either stay to oversee implementation or follow-up periodically.
You need a bachelor's degree in management, marketing, economics, or a related subject to become a healthcare consultant. Prior experience in the healthcare industry is also required. While additional certifications are recommended to be a competitive job applicant, it's not required.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Healthcare Consultant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $40.48 an hour? That's $84,208 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 118,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Healthcare Consultants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Interpersonal skills, Problem-solving skills and Time-management skills.
If you're interested in becoming a Healthcare Consultant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 61.7% of Healthcare Consultants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 20.6% of Healthcare Consultants have master's degrees. Even though most Healthcare Consultants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Healthcare Consultant. When we researched the most common majors for a Healthcare Consultant, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Healthcare Consultant resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Doctoral Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Healthcare Consultant. In fact, many Healthcare Consultant jobs require experience in a role such as Staff Nurse. Meanwhile, many Healthcare Consultants also have previous career experience in roles such as Consultant or Registered Nurse.