HOT JOBS:Business background helps director of ambulatory services

Randy Murphy didn't start off as a nurse. He got his bachelor's degree in business, with a focus on information systems, and joined his family's computer business in Augusta.

"I had wanted to go to college for medicine but followed my heart and my now-wife to Georgia Southern [University] and got my business degree," said Murphy, director of ambulatory services at MCG Health in Augusta. "I had grown up working since age 9 in my father's pharmacy business, so I knew the field. My heart kept coming back to medicine."

Murphy, RN, BSN, married his high school sweetheart, Deanne, and the couple moved back to Augusta.

He never lost sight of his dream of working in medicine. He enrolled in Augusta State University's nursing program, earning his associate degree and then his bachelor's degree in nursing.

While he was in nursing school, Murphy worked as a primary care assistant at MCG Health. He moved up , working in the epilepsy unit before becoming an assistant nurse manager and then a neuroscience practice site coordinator. He was recently promoted to his current position , in which he oversees 80 outpatient clinics and 300 employees.

"I've been able to combine both my love of nursing and my education and experience in business," Murphy said. "Although I'm in administration now, I still interface regularly with staff and patients. I'm often on the floor, talking with people to get feedback and determine ways to improve delivery of care and to

help the staff have what they need to do their jobs better."

Murphy, 43, splits his time between managing the clinics and working with the organization's entire administrative team. He serves on several committees that oversee such issues as managing staff, procuring equipment and ensuring that MCG Health is in line with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

Salaries range from $70,000 to $100,000, depending on the size of the facility and the number of staff members one supervises.

Murphy is pursuing master's degrees in nursing and business administration.

"I look back on the path my work life has taken me, and it's all led to this," he said. "By taking a career path that included business and clinical work, it prepared me for administration. It gives me the perspective to interface with patients and staff and to be a meaningful member of the excellent team here at MCG Health."