How To Become A Practice Administrator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a practice administrator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Bill McGinley

Practice administrators track day-to-day operating procedures and care personnel. They endorse business management strategies, administer medical services' budgets, carry out recruiting processes, and track enforcement practices in the health sector legislation. They may operate with medical associations or in offices of physicians and dentists. They also supervise workers, contribute to corporate development schemes and manage the finances of the facility. Besides, they may also need to liaise with outside parties.

You should show an experts' understanding of realistic management and hold expertise with a comparable medical facility to ensure success as a practice administrator. An outstanding administrator in medical practice would be someone whose management experience helps deliver excellent patient care.

Most of the practice administrators holding decent experience make an ample amount of money. If you can attain some familiarity, you would also probably earn up to $202,184 a year and $97 an hour.

What general advice would you give to a Practice Administrator?

Bill McGinley

President & CEO, American College of Health Care Administrators

LTC administrators should have at least a bachelor's degree in business or a healthcare-related field. A well-rounded internship that exposes the future administrator to all aspects of the operation is essential. Needed skills include business, marketing, finance, operations, management and leadership.
Post pandemic opportunities will be nationwide in this field with a greater need in rural areas.
Technology will continue to play a big role in the field. Computerized medical records, census management, and all clinical areas will continue to dominate. Online meetings are liable to continue as well, as employers realize that there is a savings to be gained by not having people travel to meetings and conferences.

ScorePractice AdministratorUS Average

Salary

6.1

Avg. Salary $78,493

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.1

Growth Rate 28%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 7.13%

Black or African American 12.76%

Hispanic or Latino 14.34%

Unknown 4.26%

White 60.79%

Gender

female 75.05%

male 24.95%

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 practice administrator

Explore practice administrator education requirements

Most common practice administrator degrees

Bachelor's

56.3 %

Master's

17.7 %

Associate

16.1 %

Start to develop specific practice administrator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	14.33%
Patient Care	7.22%
Customer Service	5.50%
Payroll	4.72%
Practice Management	4.41%

Complete relevant practice administrator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New practice administrators 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 practice administrator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real practice administrator resumes.

Gain additional practice administrator certifications

Practice administrator 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 practice administrator certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for practice administrators include Medical Assistant and Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE).

More About Certifications

Research practice administrator duties and responsibilities

Lead the hospital through a successful CMS validation survey.
Manage multiple SharePoint sites by adding and editing accurate data for each team within the department.
Deploy, configure, and manage enterprise systems; monitoring, windows, linux, aws, vmware.
Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable activities using QuickBooks and online banking applications.

Prepare your practice administrator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your practice administrator 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 practice administrator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Practice Administrator Resume templates

Build a professional Practice Administrator 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 Practice Administrator resume.