What they do
Medical administrators utilise their medical and clinical knowledge, skill and judgement to coordinate and manage medical programs and clinical services in a hospital or other health services. They manage the day to day business of health services for communities, oversee budgets, and manage capital investments such as buildings and biomedical technologies.
Medical administrators regularly liaise with stakeholders including hospital boards, health departments and ministers to ensure that health services meet the needs of the public. They promote and manage the effective and efficient delivery of medical and clinical patient services.
Working conditions
Medical administrators usually work indoors in an office. They work for private or public hospitals, or community metropolitan or regional health services throughout the State. They may be required to be on-call in case of an emergency in the health service.
Medical administrators often liaise with government departments, organisations and medical services to ensure the smooth running of the health care facility.
Tools and technologies
Medical administrators regularly use computers to coordinate administrative duties such as record keeping, health service planning, reporting and budgeting. They may also consult and reference government and health legislation policies. Medical administrators may require a driver’s licence to visit locations within the health service.
How do I become one?
Education and training
To become a medical administrator, you must first become a qualified medical doctor and then specialise in medical administration.
To become a medical practitioner, you need to study a degree in medicine. Alternatively, you can study a degree in any discipline followed by a postgraduate degree in medicine.
Some universities in Western Australia offer relevant courses. Contact the universities you are interested in for more information.
To specialise in medical administration, doctors must apply to the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators to complete the medical administration-training program and ultimately receive fellowship.
To be eligible for this specialist training, on completion of your medical degree, you must work in the public hospital system for two years (internship and residency).
Required registration and licensing
To work as a medical administrator in Western Australia, you will need to obtain registration from the Medical Board of Australia.