I know each of these degree have a slightly different focus whether its: health policy, administrative or business focus. I was wondering for people who have already been working in hospital administrative jobs whether you felt your specific degree has hindered or helped your growth and opportunity in the hospital setting? Did you feel to need to get another degree or combine degrees to advance your career? Did the name or prestige of your program help you with your career. Any input or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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MPH, MHA or MBA for health administration career
- Thread starter ucd
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I'm working in an administrative area in a healthcare system so I can share my observation/experience which certainly can vary from place to place.
I have an MBA in healthcare admin which unfortunately was not AACSB because I didn't know what that was at the time. In terms of employment in my local area, having the graduate degree was all that mattered. Some employers offset years of experience requirements with the equivalent years from a graduate degree. I have not found it helps salary-wise compared to a candidate without a graduate degree, only in the sense HR might allow progression into the next level more quickly, again due to offsetting the years of experience requirements. Other than that, prestige or accreditation does not carry much weight here, at least so far, and this has been true through observing those in management positions as well. Years of experience is weighted MUCH more highly than degree program and there are several senior leaders and executives who do not have graduate degrees.
In terms of career progression, I have not found a distinction is made between these degrees. Having any of them will fulfill a preferred/required Master's degree for management or senior management positions. Some positions may specify "graduate degree in business or healthcare administration" (especially for something like finance, a MBA or MHA may be preferred) but more and more degree requirements are flexing toward a more holistic review of candidates. Once you're in a senior leadership position, networks and reputation seem to be prioritized and those leaders are often recruited for positions based on connections and experience.
The place where a Top 10 MHA may be especially helpful is in obtaining an administrative fellowship slot and interestingly that holds true even in a system that does not otherwise recruit many administrators with prestigious degrees. Top-ranked CAHME-accredited MHAs are the most popular option for admin fellowships, so that's something to consider. I do think administrative fellowships are a very valuable experience given the exposure and variety involved. Having worked in healthcare administration for several years, the internal path to a leadership position can be a long one without an organization dedicated to intentional leadership development and succession planning.
The admin fellowships can open a door for you. But that's not to say that finding an organization with strong internal career development or having a willingness to relocate to keep progressing is not even more valuable once you obtain those first few years of experience. While you learn a lot in a graduate degree, there is no substitute for working in the field and in that way, I do not think any of these degrees will prepare you better or worse for the real work environment in a hospital/health system.
That all being said, I'm considering going back for another degree(s) myself. A CAHME-accredited MHA could strengthen my resume and a CEPH-accredited MPH could add a different facet to my background and is of personal interest. I like the process of formal learning and having the credential brings a sense of accomplishment. Still, not every interviewer or organization is going to value that highly. Some just want to know you will do a good job and don't care about future aspirations to become a thought leader, moonlight in academia, or become a CEO.
There are managers and individual contributors in my organization with all three degrees, MBAs being the most common. As you might expect, MPH is more common on the operations side, MBA on the finance side, and MHA in general administration. But switching it up based on your interests or getting multiple degrees can make you a unique candidate and round out your skillset, especially if you aren't sure what you want to be doing.
I have an MBA in healthcare admin which unfortunately was not AACSB because I didn't know what that was at the time. In terms of employment in my local area, having the graduate degree was all that mattered. Some employers offset years of experience requirements with the equivalent years from a graduate degree. I have not found it helps salary-wise compared to a candidate without a graduate degree, only in the sense HR might allow progression into the next level more quickly, again due to offsetting the years of experience requirements. Other than that, prestige or accreditation does not carry much weight here, at least so far, and this has been true through observing those in management positions as well. Years of experience is weighted MUCH more highly than degree program and there are several senior leaders and executives who do not have graduate degrees.
In terms of career progression, I have not found a distinction is made between these degrees. Having any of them will fulfill a preferred/required Master's degree for management or senior management positions. Some positions may specify "graduate degree in business or healthcare administration" (especially for something like finance, a MBA or MHA may be preferred) but more and more degree requirements are flexing toward a more holistic review of candidates. Once you're in a senior leadership position, networks and reputation seem to be prioritized and those leaders are often recruited for positions based on connections and experience.
The place where a Top 10 MHA may be especially helpful is in obtaining an administrative fellowship slot and interestingly that holds true even in a system that does not otherwise recruit many administrators with prestigious degrees. Top-ranked CAHME-accredited MHAs are the most popular option for admin fellowships, so that's something to consider. I do think administrative fellowships are a very valuable experience given the exposure and variety involved. Having worked in healthcare administration for several years, the internal path to a leadership position can be a long one without an organization dedicated to intentional leadership development and succession planning.
The admin fellowships can open a door for you. But that's not to say that finding an organization with strong internal career development or having a willingness to relocate to keep progressing is not even more valuable once you obtain those first few years of experience. While you learn a lot in a graduate degree, there is no substitute for working in the field and in that way, I do not think any of these degrees will prepare you better or worse for the real work environment in a hospital/health system.
That all being said, I'm considering going back for another degree(s) myself. A CAHME-accredited MHA could strengthen my resume and a CEPH-accredited MPH could add a different facet to my background and is of personal interest. I like the process of formal learning and having the credential brings a sense of accomplishment. Still, not every interviewer or organization is going to value that highly. Some just want to know you will do a good job and don't care about future aspirations to become a thought leader, moonlight in academia, or become a CEO.
There are managers and individual contributors in my organization with all three degrees, MBAs being the most common. As you might expect, MPH is more common on the operations side, MBA on the finance side, and MHA in general administration. But switching it up based on your interests or getting multiple degrees can make you a unique candidate and round out your skillset, especially if you aren't sure what you want to be doing.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience! This is such wonderful insight into healthcare administrative work. Are you personally leaning more towards the MPH or MHA? When you say MPH is more for operations and MHA more for general administrative what is the difference between these 2 areas? Thanks
I'm leaning more towards the MPH at this point since my background is finance-heavy and it would lend more variety. I also enjoy business/admin & more clinical/scientific studies equally which is not true for everyone.
MHA is more general administrative but provides a solid foundation for both operations and finance depending on how you use it. The MPH is a whole different model or view of looking at health systems from a population basis and gets more into SDOH, health behaviors, etc. than the MHA will.
The MHA is more intended for managing systems that deliver clinical patient care and the MPH for managing systems that support the framework around and outside of care delivery. There are people with MPHs in health systems but they are more common in government agencies, non-profits, and the like. The MPH will also depend on the concentration since those vary widely. An MPH with an administration emphasis will be most similar to the MHA but the largest difference will be in the MPH core courses which tend to cover biostatistics, epidemiology, enivronmental health, health behavior, and administration/policy.
Healthcare is moving more toward converging the two so I think an understanding of both will only be more helpful in the future.
MHA is more general administrative but provides a solid foundation for both operations and finance depending on how you use it. The MPH is a whole different model or view of looking at health systems from a population basis and gets more into SDOH, health behaviors, etc. than the MHA will.
The MHA is more intended for managing systems that deliver clinical patient care and the MPH for managing systems that support the framework around and outside of care delivery. There are people with MPHs in health systems but they are more common in government agencies, non-profits, and the like. The MPH will also depend on the concentration since those vary widely. An MPH with an administration emphasis will be most similar to the MHA but the largest difference will be in the MPH core courses which tend to cover biostatistics, epidemiology, enivronmental health, health behavior, and administration/policy.
Healthcare is moving more toward converging the two so I think an understanding of both will only be more helpful in the future.
D
deleted462159
From what I've seen, it depends on the geographic market you're in. I got my MPH with a concentration in health management in San Diego, and there are a lot of people in hospital administrations with MPH degrees here. So it doesn't appear to be a hindrance. But I have encountered some people from other locations who highly prefer MHAs or MBAs due to those being more business-centric. I will say that in my observations, MHA programs do place greater emphasis on finance, an area I found lacking in MPH curricula, including my own experience.
That said, it varies by the quality of the school/program. A strong MPH program is clearly better than a mediocre MHA program, even to people who have that bias. And ultimately, the most important thing is your professional experience. I now work for a large academic medical center. If you have the skills, experience, and talent they need, it doesn't really matter what your degree was in.
That said, it varies by the quality of the school/program. A strong MPH program is clearly better than a mediocre MHA program, even to people who have that bias. And ultimately, the most important thing is your professional experience. I now work for a large academic medical center. If you have the skills, experience, and talent they need, it doesn't really matter what your degree was in.
russwest413
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I agree to the upmost, atleast speaking from my organization nobody gives a crap about the CAHME accreditation. All they care about is whether or not you have the degree and experience. During my interview, they were more intrigued with my experience and having the degree was just the icing on the cake. Healthcare Administration is usually merit based when it comes to job opportunities. Yes, having a formal education gives you an edge but most organizations want to know if you can handle complex situations and come out successful. This can only be gained through experience which is why having good experience in health admin is paramount.I'm working in an administrative area in a healthcare system so I can share my observation/experience which certainly can vary from place to place.
I have an MBA in healthcare admin which unfortunately was not AACSB because I didn't know what that was at the time. In terms of employment in my local area, having the graduate degree was all that mattered. Some employers offset years of experience requirements with the equivalent years from a graduate degree. I have not found it helps salary-wise compared to a candidate without a graduate degree, only in the sense HR might allow progression into the next level more quickly, again due to offsetting the years of experience requirements. Other than that, prestige or accreditation does not carry much weight here, at least so far, and this has been true through observing those in management positions as well. Years of experience is weighted MUCH more highly than degree program and there are several senior leaders and executives who do not have graduate degrees.
In terms of career progression, I have not found a distinction is made between these degrees. Having any of them will fulfill a preferred/required Master's degree for management or senior management positions. Some positions may specify "graduate degree in business or healthcare administration" (especially for something like finance, a MBA or MHA may be preferred) but more and more degree requirements are flexing toward a more holistic review of candidates. Once you're in a senior leadership position, networks and reputation seem to be prioritized and those leaders are often recruited for positions based on connections and experience.
The place where a Top 10 MHA may be especially helpful is in obtaining an administrative fellowship slot and interestingly that holds true even in a system that does not otherwise recruit many administrators with prestigious degrees. Top-ranked CAHME-accredited MHAs are the most popular option for admin fellowships, so that's something to consider. I do think administrative fellowships are a very valuable experience given the exposure and variety involved. Having worked in healthcare administration for several years, the internal path to a leadership position can be a long one without an organization dedicated to intentional leadership development and succession planning.
The admin fellowships can open a door for you. But that's not to say that finding an organization with strong internal career development or having a willingness to relocate to keep progressing is not even more valuable once you obtain those first few years of experience. While you learn a lot in a graduate degree, there is no substitute for working in the field and in that way, I do not think any of these degrees will prepare you better or worse for the real work environment in a hospital/health system.
That all being said, I'm considering going back for another degree(s) myself. A CAHME-accredited MHA could strengthen my resume and a CEPH-accredited MPH could add a different facet to my background and is of personal interest. I like the process of formal learning and having the credential brings a sense of accomplishment. Still, not every interviewer or organization is going to value that highly. Some just want to know you will do a good job and don't care about future aspirations to become a thought leader, moonlight in academia, or become a CEO.
There are managers and individual contributors in my organization with all three degrees, MBAs being the most common. As you might expect, MPH is more common on the operations side, MBA on the finance side, and MHA in general administration. But switching it up based on your interests or getting multiple degrees can make you a unique candidate and round out your skillset, especially if you aren't sure what you want to be doing.
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