I was really excited to interview a nursing home administrator. Nursing home administration seemed to appeal to me more as the baby-boomer population is going to be living longer and growing. When I was interviewing the nursing home administrator I learned a lot from the experience. The first thing I learned was that it was a very challenging environment. My prior perception was that being a nursing home administrator would be easier than other areas of health care administration positions; you just check on seniors and make sure they have everything they need. I stood corrected. The first thing I learned is that being a nursing home administrator requires an extra certification to practice in a nursing home …show more content…
Specifically, this entails looking over billing of the residents and in a lot of cases the families of the residents because that is where the money is coming from. She also had to go through the procedures of bookkeeping for cash flow. She would also look over payroll for the facility. She would also come up with budget suggestions and correspond with other healthcare administrators on her team to identify where donations or contributions should be invested to make the most of facilities and patient care. One of the challenging points was that she would need to come up with a project idea show how it will be paid for. Again, this goes back to my threaded discussion how we are to be stewards of money and how we are looking at time value of money (Baker & Baker, …show more content…
However, prior to being and administrator, she was a Social Services Administrator and a Captain in the US Army Reserve. She told me that these experiences translated very well into the nursing home profession. Why? She is able to manage people with medical issues and react in difficult situations. As a Social Services Director, she was able to handle patients with psychological issues. In my opinion, I think this would have been the most valuable training regarding someone who did not get a degree in Healthcare Administration. She got her degree in Social Work. In my opinion, it was not the degree that makes someone prepared for a position in healthcare administration but the experience they have received. One of the Pros she said of being a nursing home administrator is making a difference in the lives of the patients by investing in facilities and processes. Overall, I thought it was a really informative interview. I am fortunate to have spoken to someone before jumping in without knowing the specifics of nursing home administrator field. As far as the financial impact, I was learned that the nursing home administrator has a lot to manage, almost being an accountant on the side of managing the well being of all the patients. They have to wear many hats. I would say that I am not deterred but have a more realistic picture of what to