Clinical Manager Jobs & Career Guide

What is a Clinical Manager?

Clinical managers maintain the responsibility of initiating the administrative duties of medical clinics and outpatient facilities, while overseeing the day-to-day management of them.

They coordinate with patients and healthcare professionals to develop patient care plans, in addition to proactively addressing and rectifying clinical issues to improve the flow of care. A clinical manager’s ultimate goal is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of patient care.

Clinical Manager Responsibilities & Duties

The general tasks of a clinical manager consist of implementing new or current policies and procedures and developing work schedules for clinical personnel. Additionally, they recruit and relieve staff members, along with monitoring medical budgets.

Clinical Manager Responsibilities further include:

• Informing and updating healthcare professionals of new regulations.
• Administering training for new hires.
• Conducting performance evaluations for current staff.
• Directing and organizing external and internal communications between departments and other clinical facilities.
• Acquiring and managing billing systems for obtaining/returning medical inventory.
• Supervising purchases, maintenance, and service of healthcare equipment.
• Auditing clinical operations.
• Creating objectives and goals for the overhead department.

Clinical managers are healthcare workers that are unspecified to a domain to operate within. They are known to maneuver across various subfields of healthcare including:

• Human Resource and Personnel Benefits
• Service Management
• Financial Planning and Performance
• Strategy Management

Where Do Clinical Managers Work?

Majority of clinical managers work in small to mid-sized health care facilities or medical treatment centers. Managers are hired at hospitals at the private, local, and state levels, throughout the nation, predominantly in the northeastern region.

Other work environments for clinical managers are:

• Physician office
• Nursing and residential care facilities
• Government agencies
• Outpatient care centers
• Medical device companies
• Insurance companies
• Pharmaceutical companies

Clinical Managers are typically hired at hospitals in metropolitan areas across the nation. Larger cities have more opportunity for clinical managers to work due to public and government resources and sponsorships. Suburban locations can have both public and private facilities for healthcare managers, with private facilities being less abundant due to financial upkeep.

Clinical Manager Degree and Education Requirements

Clinical manager positions require a bachelor’s degree at minimum from an accredited public or private college or university and takes approximately four years to obtain. The job requires a degree that is related to medical and health service management such as:

• Health Administration
• Health Information and Technology
• Public Health
• Business Administration
• Business Management

Added coursework in related fields like health law, economics, budgeting, medical terminology, medical billing, and clinical informatics, law and ethics, and human resource administration is a more effective strategy for entering the field with a singular bachelor’s degree.

To increase chances of entering and scaling in the occupation, a master’s degree is helpful and sometimes preferred by employers. Graduate programs are conducted for two to three years before obtaining the graduate degree and may require a one-year supervised internship for completion.

Graduate degrees for clinical managers can include:

• Master of Public Health (MPH)
• Master of Health Administration (MHA)
• Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a healthcare concentration.

Some universities have the option of engaging in a hybrid bachelor’s/master’s program in health administration to reduce time and save money.

Although not required, several employers admire those who have obtained licensure or certification within the clinical manager realm that proves expertise in related fields. Certifications exhibit long-term dedication in the career path and competency of different subfields of clinical management.

Some of these certifications are:

• Medical Assistant
• Certified Nurse Assistant
• Certified Manager Certification
• Certified Case Manager
• Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse

Work Experience

Many employers may require prospective clinical managers to have some work experience as a clinical manager or within an administrative role in a medical setting.

Before becoming a clinical manager, many prospects may start their career as an administrative assistant, financial clerk, health information or medical records technician, or registered nurse.

Employers also search for key clinical manager traits when onboarding clinical managers. Some of these qualities are:

• Healthcare technical skills
• Analytical ability
• Interpersonal skills
• Detail-oriented
• Exceptional communication
• Leadership

Competency of these traits can be proven through relevant or previous work history. They are required by medical and healthcare facilities to showcase capabilities in following regulations, organizing large amounts of information, coordinating with other healthcare professionals, and motivating staff to ensure mastery of success with patients.

How Much Money Does a Clinical Manager Earn?

Beginning clinical managers earn approximately $35 as an hourly wage, with a range of $31 to $41. The starting median annual salary for a clinical manager is $75,000, with a salary range that typically falls between $64,000 and $85,000.

Initial salary is based on many important factors including education level, certifications, work experience, and additional skills related to the position. Those with significant work history, education, and certification tend to earn on the higher end of $90,000 to $110,000, with the top ten percentile in the U.S. averaging between $122,000 and $145,000.

Northeastern states, along with Texas and California, have the most optimal earning potential. Depending on the need for clinical managers, signing and performance bonuses are available to those who qualify.

Job Outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of clinical managers is estimated to grow 32% between 2020 and 2030, which is approximately 22% faster than any other occupation due to projected illness and further potential pandemics.

Since quality and affordable healthcare is in high demand, the need for stellar clinical managers is necessary. Approximately 51,000 openings are projected annually and are expected to replace those who exit the labor force or retire.

The healthcare industry is constantly searching for supervisors that can coordinate all the aspects of the medical facility, which is why clinical managers are imperative to the overall functionality of their place of employment.

Alternate Career Options

Related careers include human resource manager, social and community service manager, or healthcare administrator. These options also operate based on the ability to delegate tasks and manage entire medical facilities, like that of a clinical manager

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