Before making up your mind about whether to pursue a career in healthcare management, you may want to take a closer look at a typical clinical manager job description. This job title typically refers to a professional who is in charge of managing a specific department within a hospital or a standalone clinic. However, some employers may use this job title to refer to a manager who is responsible for overseeing all of the departments within a hospital.
The specific, day-to-day tasks of a clinical manager will vary, depending on the type of organization they work for and whether they are managing a department or a whole facility. In general, however, these professionals may do any of the following:
- Draft or revise the goals, mission and vision of the department or the entire healthcare organization
- Stay on top of the latest healthcare regulations and compliance requirements, and ensure the facility remains in full compliance
- Develop departmental budgets and continuously monitor departmental spending to ensure that departments stay within budget throughout the fiscal quarter
- Attend board meetings, investor meetings and, occasionally, community meetings to represent the department or facility
- Liaise with staff, including heads of departments and hospital personnel
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of the department or facility
Typically, it’s the responsibility of healthcare administrators to handle staffing issues. However, at some facilities, this may fall under the list of clinical manager duties. For instance, managers may need to recruit, train and oversee the activities of staff members, and they may also be responsible for developing shift schedules. Note that at some facilities, healthcare administrators are also charged with keeping track of the budget, whereas at other facilities, managers may be responsible for this.
