Millions of jobs in medical healthcare are made available in response to the growing need for healthcare among the elderly across the country. This section of population continues to increase among hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers as years pass. Longer health care is expected from this population as multiple health issues brought by old age need more attention. Injuries also become a normal health concern among old people which leads to more and longer attention for healthcare. Retirement of health practitioners as well as other reasons for leaving their jobs will also add up to more opportunities for other qualified people in medical healthcare work.
The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports a 22 percent projected rate for medical healthcare jobs covering the period of 2008 to 2018. Ten percent of these jobs will be absorbed in hospitals while 46 percent will be in various home healthcare facilities. Employment concentration will be in larger metropolitan areas even as medical health work can be found everywhere else around the country. Professional jobs such as surgeons and physicians, registered nurses, dentists, social workers, and physical therapists; health technicians and technologists who assist in diagnostics and treatments and medical equipment operations; and professional service occupations such as nursing aides, medical assistants and home care aides combine the 76 percent of the medical healthcare work industry. Administrative and office-based workers are at 18 percent, while management, financial, and business operations and other occupations account for 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Home health aides are seen to make the fastest employment growth in the industry at a rate increase of 50 percent from the same covered period. Medical assistants follow with 34 percent; physical therapist assistants at a 33 percent rise; while physician assistants will come around by a 39 percent increase. Medical healthcare jobs in the support services is promising due to the same factors of opportunities as well as the lesser amount of education and training involved to start with the jobs. Registered nurses also are consistently in demand in the medical health work environment.
Other service workers such as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) and home health aides may need six to twelve weeks of training and further education before they can be certified to take on their jobs. They and other service workers such as building cleaning workers, dental assistants, personal and home care aides, and medical assistants who wish to advance in their jobs in medical healthcare can do so with more education and training. Their experience in the medical settings can already boost their chances in obtaining higher-level medical healthcare work.
Physical therapy assistants and respiratory therapy assistants need associate degrees relevant to their jobs as well as the completion of practical and written licensure examinations. Rehabilitation specialists like speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists must have completed bachelor's degrees plus training, and licensure and written exams. The same goes for physicians and surgeons who will need to complete their degree in a specialized field and internships. Registered nurses can acquire an associate degree or complete a diploma program. Medical health work for higher level professionals is often supplemented with more trainings and academic exposure as part of their practice. Often, conferences and seminars are attended by the physicians and other professionals for enhancement of their specializations. For professionals who are looking at making a serious career of their medical healthcare occupation, a post-secondary education will be an advantage. In-house training can also be taken advantage of.
Overall, most of these medical healthcare jobs do not require the four-year bachelor's degree, but higher education is highly recommended to physicians, surgeons, and their assistants.
Earnings will always vary by type of occupation, healthcare establishment, size as well as geographic locations. Large hospitals and private group practices have higher salaries for most medical healthcare occupation while residential or home health care services have lower rates. Professional health workers and managers get the highest rates compared to the other workers, but the level of training and education and degree of responsibilities can also influence the salaries for every worker.
Generally, the prospects for jobs in medical healthcare in the country are very good. From the professional service to the support service levels, judging from the requirements for most of these jobs, getting into the industry should be easy. Along with the high annual pay compared to most other industries, perks and bonuses such as in-house trainings and seminars, tuition assistance for those who plan to accelerate their position through additional education and trainings; and the geographical accessibility of these jobs from workers' home states all add up to a better deal for many people.
Getting that dream job should be easy now as the employment growth continues. To begin the journey, let HealthCareCrossing.com help. Thousands of listings are available for your browsing and consideration. A FREE trial today will just be the beginning of that career you have always wanted to have, so let's get started!
