Medical Database Administrator - Career Profile |
Career OverviewThe role of a medical database administrator is to manage and maintain the various medical databases used in research and study of various issues regarding patient care, treatment or diagnosis or hospital or healthcare facility operations.
The medical database administrator is responsible for ensuring that data is entered correctly into the database, and that it is easy to store, retrieve and use by researchers. The medical database administrator may actually develop the database using specific software or may administrate an already developed database.
This position requires excellent communication skills both in written and oral form. The medical database administrator must be familiar with the various aspects of data storage and retrieval and should constantly monitor the rapidly advancing technology around data to ensure that the database is current and effective.
The medical database administrator also indicates what users are able to access the information in the database. This involves setting security protocols, adding and verifying new users, and ensuring the adequate levels of privacy are maintained on the database and the users. Understanding IT security issues is very important for a medical database administrator.
Usually a medical database administrator will work from a central office location and will have little need to travel. Some evening and weekend shifts may be required to complete data entry within the required timeframe and to ensure that any difficulties with the database are resolved as quickly as possible. Good typing and keyboarding skills as well as a high level of accuracy and ability to attend to details are important for a medical database administrator.
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Career RequirementsMost employers will request medical database administrators to have a Bachelors degree in management information systems, computer science or informatics. Some medical database administrators may achieve their position by work experience starting in data entry and working through the various levels.
Currently this work-experience route is not common as colleges now offer two to four year practical based programs that are considered by most employers to be more desirable since there is both a practical and theoretical approach to information management taught.
Some medical database administrators may have Masters level training or even PhDs in medical information systems, healthcare management or IT.
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Job OutlookThe demand for trained and qualified medical database administrators will continue to increase at a rate higher than the average employment rate. This is largely due to the dramatic increase in databases in research involving the healthcare field.
The new advances in technology have made sharing of vast amounts of research and data as easy as a few clicks on the mouse. The response of researchers and hospital or healthcare facilities worldwide has lead to a significant demand for medical database administrators.
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Career TrackMedical database administrators may choose to work with several different databases to administer the programs. In addition he or she may open their own consulting or data management company and contract to manage medical databases.
Some medical database administrators may also move into direct management of informatics or information within a hospital or healthcare facility. Development of new software or technologies for databases may also be a career choice of some medical database administrators with strong IT backgrounds.
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CompensationThe salaries for medical database administrators vary widely based on the type of employment and the size of the database being managed. The average income for a medical database administrator is $60,650. Some medical database administrators with Masters level training or above and significant experience in managing databases may earn up to $95,500 per year.
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