How To Become A Medical Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a medical manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Pawn Johnson-Hunter MS, RN, AGPCNP-BC, GERO- BC, CM/DN

Medical managers, also referred to as healthcare executives or health managers, prepare, guide, and organize medical and health services. They oversee a whole hospital, a single therapeutic area or department, or a medical practice with a group of physicians. Medical managers see that there are improvements in health legislation, policies, and technologies.

On a daily basis, medical managers improve reliability and consistency in delivering healthcare services and developing departmental priorities and objectives. They ensure that the building in which they operate is up to date and complies with the laws and regulations. They are also in charge of preparing and reviewing budgets and expenditures to ensure all agencies run under funding limits.

Medical managers usually require at least a bachelor's degree to enter the profession. Master's degrees are, however, popular and often favored by employers. Graduate studies generally last between two and three years and can include up to one year of supervised management experience in hospitals or healthcare consultancy facilities.

What general advice would you give to a medical manager?

Pawn Johnson-Hunter MS, RN, AGPCNP-BC, GERO- BC, CM/DN

Nurse Educator, Nclex Mentor/Coach

A few ways to maximize earning potential as a new graduate nurse is through skillful negotiations and previous experience in healthcare, such as degree level, nurse externships, phlebotomy skills, or certifications. Many, if not all, employers appreciate that new graduates are equipped with clinical skills that are strongly recommended for the practice area. While many nurse certifications require experience, some are for entry-level, such as advanced life support (ACLS and PALS) and IV insertion. There are also some specialty practice certifications that new grads can obtain without years of experience; although they may recommend the experience at times, this is optional. All of this demonstrates the applicant's commitment to the profession and interest. Other ways are to work overtime hours, learn about clinical career ladders, or continue formal education.

ScoreMedical ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.4

Avg. Salary $129,941

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 8.21%

Black or African American 10.70%

Hispanic or Latino 14.86%

Unknown 4.28%

White 61.22%

Gender

female 73.76%

male 26.24%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a medical manager

Explore medical manager education requirements

Most common medical manager degrees

Bachelor's

45.0 %

Associate

21.7 %

Master's

12.4 %

Start to develop specific medical manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Healthcare	18.69%
Patients	17.27%
Patient Care	8.57%
Home Health	4.65%
Quality Care	3.93%

Complete relevant medical manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New medical managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a medical manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real medical manager resumes.

Gain additional medical manager certifications

Medical manager certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific medical manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for medical managers include Medical Assistant and Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS).

More About Certifications

Research medical manager duties and responsibilities

Accomplish patient assessment, vital sign and cardiac monitoring, phlebotomy, post-surgical evaluation, ventilator maintenance and physical therapy.
Assist in discharge planning for post hospitalization patients by arranging for require services at home or rehabilitation facility.
Maintain all personnel, medical records and documents within HIPAA confidentiality standards.
Subject to FDA audits with outstanding results in procedures, qualifications, documentation and credentials.

Prepare your medical manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your medical manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a medical manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable medical manager resume templates

Build a professional medical manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your medical manager resume.