Masters in Healthcare Admin or certificate?? Any ideas or suggestions??

[marianne202]

I've been around healthcare long enough, that I kinda figured what was going on. I have a few suggestions. First if nursing is something you truly want to do, look into the Excelsior nursing program. You should have your gen eds out of the way and you could just focus on the nursing exams so you could complete it fairly quickly. As far as teaching you could try teaching a few continuing education courses to get a taste of teaching. You could do some CMA CEU courses or you might even teach something through the small business center such as working with non-profits, starting your own business etc. These are usually paid based on your degree level. This would let you know if you like teaching or not. The other suggestion I can make for a possible short term fix is you could add to your CMA by taking a course in medical coding. That would make you double valuable to a medical office because you could use your coding skills more effectively since you have the CMA practical background. That might also set you up to be an office manager since you would have a degree, CMA experience and you would know the coding or financial side. If you can get your coding certification you should make about 50% than most CMA's. If you can get into a mangement position it should be double the CMA salary. You have a good skill set to work towards medical office management, but you need to frame it correctly on your resume, which could also be a problem you could be encountering. If you aren't listing your transferable skills you are doing yourself a great disservice. It might not be what you want to do long-term. I know all too well about the office drama and politics in a medical office, but it could be a bridge until you complete your nursing degree. I'm not sure where you live, as there may be other options such as working as a patient care tech in a hospital, which usually pays more and has less drama than at the office level. The pay isn't great, but if you work through a temp agency or pool it can pay more. The suggestion about teaching at the high school level is also a possibility. We have schools of health and life science in our area which teach a wide array of health science classes, but most will require a master's degree or nursing degree. These are just some thoughts. Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions or if you think I can offer any other help. I know it is hard when you feel the pressure to provide for your family and if you have been out of the traditional work force for a while. I wish you luck in finding something that fits for you.