Jeremy Kaplan
If you are interested in a career in healthcare then you might have come across several specific career paths that you can take. One of these might be healthcare consulting, a career built around making healthcare as good as it can be for patients and as cost-effective and efficient as possible for healthcare institutions. Have a read through our article to understand what a career in healthcare consulting means and whether it could be the right role for you.
What is healthcare consulting?
Healthcare consulting is a management role that oversees the provision of healthcare in a setting such as a hospital or other healthcare organisations throughout the industry, be that with pharmaceuticals or health insurance companies. It is a role that could see you employed in a large organisation permanently to ensure that they are running as efficiently as possible or could see you working in organisations for a short amount of time to help reorganise their infrastructure for optimised efficiency and levels of care. This is a career which will require you to have studied up to degree level, you can check other requirements online.
What are the rewarding parts of the job?
What could be more rewarding than finding a way to make healthcare work for more people? Healthcare consulting can be a challenging career, with complex problems to solve and ever-evolving healthcare needs but those who love problem-solving and breaking up tasks do tend to find the role extremely rewarding. People who enjoy this role also typically like to move on from one challenge to another. If you think this might be the career for you why not head to the education section of our website and see if there is any advice to help you get onto the right course.
What are some more challenging parts of the job?
Healthcare consulting can often involve a lot of pressure and can also be very fast-paced. There has been a shift towards value based contracting which counteracts this slightly. It allows consultants to set their providers targets, with some of their potential payment being tied up in them meeting these. It certainly gives consultants more tools that they can utilise to improve healthcare provisions.
Is consulting meant for PhDs?
You don’t necessarily need a PhD to become a healthcare consultant but many do find that a scientific background does help them understand the role fully and gives them access to better solutions to problems. If you do want to study towards a PhD, here is a guide to consulting careers available to scientists with this qualification.
Do I have to stick with consulting in the long-term?
Many who move into healthcare consulting find that they love it and often stick with it for the duration of their career. There are other options, however, if you find that you want a new challenge. You could, for instance, go onto work in the commercial team of a pharmaceutical company or with a biotech startup. Your experience will be useful within any organisation that needs a combination of both science and business acumen to succeed.
