Historically Black Bowie State University in Maryland is offering students another route to a career in the medical field with a new bachelor’s degree program in health services administration, which is designed for students who want to work in healthcare but may not want to enter as a physician or nurse. As people live longer, the need for healthcare services increases and current medical professionals across the industry are experiencing burnout as they work to meet the demands of an aging population. As a result, the industry is experiencing personnel shortages at almost all levels as people exit the industry faster than they can be replaced.
Medical and health services managers are among the nation’s fastest-growing occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2022, medical and health services employed 509,500 people, and the number of jobs is projected to increase to 654,000, a 28.4 percent growth, by 2032. Those positions include case managers, nursing home administrators, and patient service representatives among a host of other jobs that the health services administration program is designed to prepare students for in the coming years.
“The students who graduate will be able to step in and help impact the shortage that is being experienced,” said Dr. Birthale Archie, a nursing professor who designed the program along with College of Professional Studies Dean Cheryl Blackman. “It helps to address a number of the positions to improve the delivery of healthcare services to consumers in a hospital setting and the community.”
