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Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor

A program that prepares individuals, under the supervision of nursing or medical service administrators, to supervise and coordinate the operations of one or more patient care units in hospitals or other health care facilities. Includes instruction in planning and initiating administrative procedures, personnel supervision, interpersonal skills, general and/or specialized health care operations and procedures, and consultation with other medical, nursing, and administrative team members.

Types of Degrees Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	38

What Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Administration and Management — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Personnel and Human Resources — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Complex Problem Solving — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.6 / 7
Working with Computers	4.6 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.5 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Teams	Project management software	—
Intuit QuickBooks	Accounting software	—
McKesson Horizon Ambulatory Care	Medical software	—
Henry Schein Dentrix	Medical software	—
R	Object or component oriented development software	—
AcuStaf	Calendar and scheduling software	—
CliniTrend	Analytical or scientific software	—
Integrated development environment IDE software	Development environment software	—
ConceptDraw	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition	Business intelligence and data analysis software	—
Delphi Technology	Financial analysis software	—
Apache Pig	Data base management system software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor graduates include:

• Public Health Director
• Health Care Coordinator
• Clinical Director
• Occupational Health Nursing Director
• Clinic Director
• EMS Coordinator (Emergency Medical Services Coordinator)
• Long Term Care Administrator
• Health Unit Coordinator
• Laboratory Manager (Lab Manager)
• Nursing Services Director
• Clinical Manager
• Nursing Home Administrator
• Hospice Administrator
• Physical Therapy Director
• Hearing Therapy Director

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	46.4%
Master’s degree	21.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	10.7%
Postsecondary certificate	7.1%
First professional degree	3.6%
Post-doctoral training	3.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.6%
Some college courses	3.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 97.4% of Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	37	97.4%
Men	1	2.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5	13.2%
Hispanic or Latino	4	10.5%
Black or African American	20	52.6%
Two or More Races	6	15.8%
Race Unknown	3	7.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$36,041
4 years	$36,054
5 years	$40,847

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $40,847 — roughly 13% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor graduates earn a median of $36,054 four years after completion — about 5% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Health and Medical Administrative Services	90,166
Health/Health Care Administration/Management	28,347
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	11,963
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	11,828
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder	10,171
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary	7,771
Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	3,494
Health and Medical Administrative Services, Other	3,168
Medical Office Management/Administration	2,900
Health Information/Medical Records Administration/Administrator	2,781
Health Services Administration	2,629
Community Health and Preventive Medicine	2,571

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.