Best certifications for healthcare management students

Running hospitals, clinics and health plans: operations, finance and the rules they work under.

Healthcare Management internships for college students

When healthcare management recruits

1. Freshman–sophomore year — Volunteer or work in a hospital, clinic or health plan. Any time around patient care helps in interviews.
2. Junior fall–winter — Health systems, insurers and healthcare consulting firms post summer internships.
3. Junior spring — Hospitals, physician groups and public health agencies fill remaining summer roles.
4. Senior fall — Apply for postgraduate administrative fellowships at hospitals and health systems; ACHE lists them.

Healthcare management students have few certifications made for them, and none is required for an internship. Employers look for an understanding of how care is delivered and paid for, plus solid Excel and data skills. A revenue-cycle credential, a healthcare management course and student membership in ACHE are the most relevant steps before your first role.

How to choose

• Learn how healthcare is financed: billing, insurance and the revenue cycle come up in most operations and finance internships.
• HFMA’s CRCR is free for HFMA members, and student membership is $50 for full-time students. HFMA recommends some revenue-cycle experience first, so it suits students who have worked in billing or patient access.
• Join ACHE as a Student Associate if your program qualifies; local chapters connect you with health system leaders.
• Build Excel and SQL skills for quality, finance and analytics roles.

Certifications for Healthcare Management majors

• Healthcare Management and Finance Specialization — Michigan · Coursera. Paid: Paid on Coursera (included with Coursera Plus); financial aid available. Three beginner courses on how healthcare managers handle both the administrative and the financial side of the system. No prior experience needed.
• Lead and manage change in health and social care — The Open University · OpenLearn. Free: Free, with a free statement of participation when you finish. The manager's role in leading change in health and social care: why change matters there, the emotion and uncertainty it brings, and a plan for your own change project.
• Excel training paths — Microsoft Learn. Free: Free. Formulas, pivot tables, and Power Query. The single most assumed skill in any business internship.
• CRCR — Certified Revenue Cycle Representative — Healthcare Financial Management Association. Paid: Free for HFMA members (student membership is $50 for full-time students); $399 otherwise. An online course and exam on how hospitals get paid: patient access, billing, claims and collections. HFMA recommends a year of revenue-cycle experience, so it fits best after a healthcare finance job or internship.
• ACHE Student Associate membership — American College of Healthcare Executives. Reference: $75 a year, prorated by the month you join. Student membership in the professional body for healthcare leaders, open to students in health administration or a related program. Local chapters hold events, and ACHE lists postgraduate administrative fellowships.
• CAPM — Certified Associate in Project Management — PMI. Paid: Exam ~$225 for PMI members (membership ~$32 for students), ~$300 otherwise. The student-accessible PMI credential — no work experience required, unlike the PMP.
• Intro to SQL — Kaggle Learn. Free: Free. SELECT through GROUP BY on real tables. Nobody in analytics escapes SQL.
• Introducing healthcare improvement — The Open University · OpenLearn. Free: Free, with a free statement of participation when you finish. What quality improvement means in healthcare, and its six aims: safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable care.
• Google Project Management Professional Certificate — Google · Coursera. Paid: Paid on Coursera (included with Coursera Plus); financial aid available. Traditional and agile project management. Its hours count toward PMI’s CAPM education requirement.
• Medicare Learning Network web-based training — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Reference: Free to take. CMS does not give continuing education credit for these courses. Self-paced courses from CMS, 30 minutes to 2 hours each, on Medicare billing (Forms CMS-1450 and CMS-1500), diagnosis coding and fraud prevention. Useful background for revenue-cycle and compliance roles.

8-week study plan: CAPM — Certified Associate in Project Management

150 questions in 3 hours, 15 of them unscored. Before you sit it you need 23 hours of project management education; no work experience is required.

1. Set up: the 23 education hours and the exam outline
2. Project management fundamentals and core concepts (36% of the exam)
3. Fundamentals, continued
4. Predictive, plan-based methodologies (17% of the exam)
5. Agile frameworks and methodologies (20% of the exam)
6. Business analysis frameworks (27% of the exam)
7. A full practice exam
8. Targeted review and booking the exam

Key terms for Healthcare Management majors

• Accounts receivable
• Revenue recognition
• Key performance indicator (KPI)
• Internal controls
• Lean
• Six Sigma
• Stakeholder
• Project scope

Questions students ask

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