Healthcare Jobs / Jobs in Healthcare / Careers in Healthcare

Career Guide to Healthcare

Healthcare jobs are one of the highest paying jobs in the country today!

Healthcare combines medical technology and the human touch, the health care industry administers care around the clock, responding to the needs of millions of people—from newborns to the critically ill.

For people who have a degree in health or have any kind of experience in the health care field, especially those registered nurses, finding a job should not be much of a problem. There is a great demand for health care employees all over the country. If you take a look at the classified ads section of any newspaper, you can easily find hospitals, clinics and other medical establishments that are looking for healthcare professionals such as nurses. There is no shortage for health care careers in the United States. In fact there are more jobs than the present number of healthcare professionals. The shortage of nurses in the United States have prompted most hospitals in the country to outsource nurses and other health professionals from other countries mostly those from around Asia.

Due to the high demand for healthcare professionals and the fact that there are only few who are qualified to take the job, the cost of hiring healthcare professionals have increased considerably over the years. Yet, why is it that despite the fact that health care careers are paying really well, there are only a handful of people who would plunge into this type of career? According to some studies, despite the growing need for healthcare professionals and the fact that the pay is really good, only a few would want to work in hospitals and other medical institutions. Most people have some kind of aversions to diseases and sufferings, that they would rather not work in hospitals and other medical institutions where they will have to deal with tragedies and diseases everyday. Hospitals and other medical institutions are such disease-prone places that many people would find it really very stressful to work in them.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, then a career in Healthcare might be for you!

In the rapidly changing health care industry, technological advances have made many new procedures and methods of diagnosis and treatment possible. Clinical developments, such as infection control, less invasive surgical techniques, advances in reproductive technology, and gene therapy for cancer treatment, continue to increase the longevity and improve the quality of life of many Americans. Advances in medical technology also have improved the survival rates of trauma victims and the severely ill, who need extensive care from therapists and social workers as well as other support personnel.

In addition, advances in information technology continue to improve patient care and worker efficiency with devices such as hand-held computers that record notes on each patient. Information on vital signs and orders for tests are transferred electronically to a main database; this process eliminates the need for paper and reduces recordkeeping errors.

Average weekly hours of non supervisory workers in private health care varied among the different segments of the industry. Workers in offices of dentists averaged only 27.1 hours per week in 2006, while those in psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals averaged 35.7 hours, compared with 33.9 hours for all private industry.

Many workers in the health care industry are on part-time schedules. Part-time workers made up about 19 percent of the health care workforce as a whole in 2006, but accounted for 38 percent of workers in offices of dentists and 31 percent of those in offices of other health practitioners. Many health care establishments operate around the clock and need staff at all hours. Shift work is common in some occupations, such as registered nurses. Numerous health care workers hold more than one job.

What Education/Certifications do you need for:
Healthcare Jobs / Jobs in Healthcare / Careers in Healthcare

Most workers have jobs that require less than 4 years of college education, but health diagnosing and treating practitioners are among the most educated workers.

A variety of programs after high school provide specialized training for jobs in health care. Students preparing for health careers can enter programs leading to a certificate or a degree at the associate, baccalaureate, or graduate level. Two-year programs resulting in certificates or associate degrees are the minimum standard credential for occupations such as dental hygienist or radiologic technologist. Most therapists and social workers have at least a bachelor’s degree. Health diagnosing and treating practitioners—such as physicians and surgeons, optometrists, and podiatrists—are among the most educated workers, with many years of education and training beyond college.

Other qualifications. Some health care establishments provide on-the-job or classroom training, as well as continuing education. For example, in all certified nursing facilities, nursing aides must complete a State-approved training and competency evaluation program and participate in at least 12 hours of in-service education annually. Hospitals are more likely than other facilities to have the resources and incentive to provide training programs and advancement opportunities to their employees. In other segments of health care, the variety of positions and advancement opportunities are more limited. Larger establishments usually offer a broader range of opportunities.

Current & Future Job Outlook for:
Healthcare Jobs / Jobs in Healthcare / Careers in Healthcare

Job prospects. Job opportunities should be good in all employment settings because of high job turnover, particularly from the large number of expected retirements and tougher immigration rules that are slowing the numbers of foreign health care workers entering the United States.

Occupations with the most replacement openings are usually large, with high turnover stemming from low pay and status, poor benefits, low training requirements, and a high proportion of young and part-time workers. Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, and home health aides are among the occupations adding the most new jobs between 2006 and 2016, about 647,000 combined. By contrast, occupations with relatively few replacement openings—such as physicians and surgeons—are characterized by high pay and status, lengthy training requirements, and a high proportion of full-time workers.

 Employment change. Wage and salary employment in the health care industry is projected to increase 22 percent through 2016, compared with 11 percent for all industries combined (table 3). Employment growth is expected to account for about 3 million new wage and salary jobs—20 percent of all wage and salary jobs added to the economy over the 2006-16 period. Projected rates of employment growth for the various segments of the industry range from 13 percent in hospitals, the largest and slowest growing industry segment, to 55 percent in the much smaller home health care services.