Career Corner

The Health Professionals Network sited that seven of the top ten fastest growing jobs in the US are:

• Medical Assistant
• Physician Assistant
• Social and Human Service Assistances
• Home Health Aides
• Medical Records and Health Information Technician
• Physical Therapist Assistant

http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/stud_rs.htm#search

Health Care Employment

Taken from the website of the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics: Career Guide to Industry http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs035.htm

Settings. Most allied health jobs are available in hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, private physician and dentist offices, other praticitioners offices, home health care, outpatient care centers, other ambulatory health care services and medical and diagnostic laboratories.

Hours. Average weekly hours of nonsupervisory 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 Patient Care Technicians. Many health care workers hold more than one job.

Work environment. Health care workers involved in direct patient care must take precautions to prevent back strain from lifting patients and equipment; to minimize exposure to radiation and caustic chemicals; and to guard against infectious diseases, such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Home care personnel who make house calls are exposed to the possibility of being injured in highway accidents, all types of overexertion when assisting patients, and falls inside and outside homes.

Training and Career Advancement

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.

The health care industry also provides many job opportunities for people without specialized training beyond high school. In fact, more than half of workers in nursing and residential care facilities have a high school diploma or less, as do a fifth of workers in hospitals.

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 offered on site are more limited and employees must search for their own opportunities. Check for scholarship programs at your local community college in allied health.

Some hospitals provide training or tuition assistance in return for a promise to work at their facility for a particular length of time after graduation. Many nursing facilities have similar programs. Some hospitals have cross-training programs that train their workers through formal college programs, continuing education, or in-house training to perform functions outside their specialties.

Health specialists with clinical expertise can advance to department head positions or even higher level management jobs. Medical and health services managers can advance to more responsible positions, all the way up to chief executive officer.