Becoming a Nursing Home Administrator

In the world of senior care jobs, few are as demanding - or as rewarding - as nursing home administration. If you are interested in nursing home administrator jobs, you should know that the road to becoming one isn't simple. A great deal of education and experience is generally required if you want a fair chance at making this dream a reality. That said, nursing home administrator jobs are highly rewarding and can pay very well. If LPN jobs and other nursing home jobs aren't for you, and you'd like to pursue a career as a nursing home administrator, check out the following steps.

Step #1: Get a Job in a Nursing Home -
You can't hope to qualify for a job as an administrator at some point without having any nursing home experience. Look for senior care jobs that appeal to you and apply for them. Ideally, you'll be able to find a job that allows you to learn many different aspects of assisted living facilities.

Step #2: Get an Education -
While working your nursing home job, whether full-time or part-time, hit the books. For best results, you are going to need two main things: a bachelor's degree and a clinical license. Ideally, the bachelor's degree should be in health care administration; the clinical license should certify you as a BSN, an RN, a PT or the like. Your education will be the stepping stone that will allow you to move up in the world of nursing home jobs. A Bachelors Degree, and ideally and advanced degree like an MBA or Masters in Healthcare administration shows you understand the business side, while a clinical degree like an RN, BSN, or PT designation shows you also have knowledge regarding the clinical side including Oasis, MDS 3.0, etc.

Step #3: Get Licensed in Your State -
Licensing requirements vary by state. Do some research to find out the specific requirements of the state in which you'll be looking for nursing home administrator jobs. Most of the time, you will have to take a test in order to become licensed. Make sure to study for the test so that you don't have to retake it in the future.

Step #4: Start Applying! -
Now that you've covered all of your educational, work experience and licensing bases, it's time to go out there and find a job. Like LPN jobs, administrator jobs are highly in demand. Many times, people fail to stick with them because of how demanding they are. As long as you understand that your job will be quite demanding, before going into it, you should be fine. There's always a chance that you could find a job at an assisted living facility that you've worked for in the past. Otherwise, you shouldn't have any trouble finding work elsewhere. This is one industry in which there's not a whole lot of ebb and flow - good administrators are always in demand.