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What is a senior healthcare consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Angela Grotto Ph.D.,
Tom Fullerton

Senior healthcare consultants are management analysts employed by the healthcare industry. They examine the efficiency, profits, and structure of the organization, then offer suggestions on methods of improvement. This position often interfaces with senior leadership as well as regular contact with internal team members.

Some of the functions that they perform in this capacity include analyzing, synthesizing, and interpreting data to inform stakeholder recommendations, leading information-gathering efforts, helping develop a project's approach, strategies, and work plans, and presenting final reports and recommendations to seniors. This career requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree, though a master's degree is generally preferred. Certification is recommended but not required such as Certified Management Consultant (CMC) designation. This may give applicants an advantage over other candidates applying for the position. In addition, since this is a senior position, the higher the credentials, the likelier the chances of landing this job.

The average hourly pay for the position is $40.64, which amounts to $84,531 annually. The career is expected to grow substantially in the near future and create various new job opportunities across the United States.

What general advice would you give to a senior healthcare consultant?

Angela Grotto Ph.D.Angela Grotto Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of Management, Manhattan College


  1. When job searching, be active and persistent - Network by setting up Zoom informational calls with professionals (alumni, people with whom your family work) to learn about jobs that you are interested in or to learn about organizations where you would like to work and then follow up with them; have someone you trust who is a professional review your resume and social media profile pages; carve out time every day to apply to jobs; use Handshake and LinkedIn as a resource; keep sending out applications; while job searching, volunteer or start your business project that showcases your skillset and then discuss it during your interviews.
  2. When interviewing, be creative - Use experiences from your academic career to demonstrate your capabilities. There are many skills you learn in class that are transferrable to the professional world. For example, as a student, you likely had to pivot to full remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than seeing this as a disadvantage, discuss how the new learning format has prepared you to work remotely as an employee, how small group projects have primed you to collaborate on a virtual team, and how small classes have equipped you to use technology such as Zoom.
  3. When deciding on a job offer, be open-minded - Your first job may not be the one you had imagined or hoped for upon graduation. Still, it may be a stepping stone to your ideal career or a way to build your network of professional connections. You create meaningful and valuable relationships with others who may one day help you get the job you want.
  4. When you land the job, be flexible - Show your employer or your boss that you're willing to step outside your comfort zone and do tasks that you were not necessarily trained for or are unrelated to your degree. Also, when circumstances at work change, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, show that you are willing to step up and do a different job, do someone else's job, or work on another project or team. This flexibility will demonstrate your versatility and how you can adapt to new and unpredictable situations. Lastly, embrace the "gig" economy - be willing to start as a temporary or contract worker with a company to get your foot in the door and build more professional connections.
ScoreSenior Healthcare ConsultantUS Average
Salary
6.9

Avg. Salary $88,362

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
6.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.0
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 12.16%

Black or African American 8.20%

Hispanic or Latino 8.99%

Unknown 4.51%

White 65.97%

Gender

female 52.81%

male 47.19%

Age - 43
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 - 43
Stress level
6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
2.2

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Senior healthcare consultant career paths

Key steps to become a senior healthcare consultant

  1. Explore senior healthcare consultant education requirements

    Most common senior healthcare consultant degrees

    Bachelor's

    65.7 %

    Master's

    17.7 %

    Associate

    8.9 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior healthcare consultant skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Project Management12.24%
    Client Relationships9.31%
    Medicaid9.09%
    Client Facing6.68%
    SQL5.88%
  3. Complete relevant senior healthcare consultant training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior healthcare consultants 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 senior healthcare consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior healthcare consultant resumes.
  4. Research senior healthcare consultant duties and responsibilities

    • Develop policies and procedures to ensure regulatory compliance and to achieve quality standards as set forth by CMS and JCAHO.
    • Manage design and development of cloud-base billing application for streamlining payroll and invoicing, as well as offering real-time business analytics.
    • Process patient identification algorithm to determine patients who possibly have a rare chronic condition by running SAS and SQL programs.
    • Prepare, review and analyze Medicare and Medicaid cost reports for hospice, home health agencies, and senior nursing facilities.
  5. Get senior healthcare consultant experience

    Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior healthcare consultant. The most common roles before becoming a senior healthcare consultant include consultant, senior consultant team lead and senior project manager.
  6. Apply for senior healthcare consultant jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior healthcare consultant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior healthcare consultant job

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Average senior healthcare consultant salary

The average senior healthcare consultant salary in the United States is $88,362 per year or $42 per hour. Senior healthcare consultant salaries range between $68,000 and $114,000 per year.

Average senior healthcare consultant salary
$88,362 Yearly
$42.48 hourly

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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019
Cons

I DON'T LIKE DOING MISTAKES WHEN AM WORKING


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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