Health Care Careers Offer a Path to Job Security, Professional Advancement and Personal Reward
By Nancy Kennedy
Choosing to pursue a career in the healthcare industry is one of the best decisions a person can make in 2022. The healthcare industry offers an enormous range of careers, along with job security, opportunities for advancement, excellent pay potential and personal satisfaction. Whether one becomes a physician, therapist, nurse or medical social worker, there will be daily opportunities in the health care setting to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
Healthcare is the most in-demand employment sector in the United States today. Even in the face of an economic recession, fluctuating job market and the pandemic, the healthcare industry continues to grow and expand each year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare sector is projected to add more jobs than any other occupational groups. Specifically, between the years 2020 and 2030, employment in healthcare careers is projected to grow 16%, adding an estimated 2.6 million new jobs to the healthcare field.
The demand for healthcare workers is increasing due to a combination of factors. Among the contributors is the nationwide shortage of healthcare professionals, the aging of the population and advances in medical technology and science. The COVID pandemic and the aging of the healthcare workforce took many experienced health care professionals into retirement in recent years, creating shortages.
Education for healthcare careers varies from the long path to a medical degree or advanced practice nursing role, to the fast-track options or certificate programs that prepare one for a technical position. Finding the right place is a matter of considering one’s goals, interests, lifestyle and experience. Health care educational programs often include online or hybrid programs that are flexible and individualized.
Furthermore, health care careers offer endless education. Whether one decides to seek an advanced degree or obtain certification, or change specialties entirely, opportunities abound.
Here is a listing of the top health care careers that are in high and growing demand at the present time:
Audiologist
Lab technician
Dental assistant / Dental hygienist
Medical sonographer
Dietitian
Emergency medical technician
Paramedic
Exercise physiologist
Home health aide
Certified nursing assistant
Licensed practical nurse
Medical assistant
Health information specialist
Medical transcriptionist
Nuclear medicine technician
Occupational therapist
Optician / Optometrist
Pharmacist
Pharmacy technician
Physical therapist
Physician/ surgeon
Phlebotomist
PT assistant
Physician assistant
Radiation therapist
MRI technologist
Respiratory therapist
Registered nurse
Speech and language pathologist
Surgical technician
Veterinarian
Vet technician
Within the nursing profession – the largest health care profession – there are countless opportunities for specialization. The traditional role of the nurse is the bedside nurse giving direct care to patients in the hospital setting. But nursing offers many opportunities beyond that – travel nurse, nurse practitioner, school nurse, nurse midwife, nurse educator, nurse researcher, legal nurse consultant, nurse educator, forensic nurse, nurse advocate and more. Nursing administration is a field of specialization with high demand in 2022: nurse administrators are executives who usually have a doctorate; they oversee all nursing operations and set the standards for quality of care. They recruit, hire, train and review performance; develop policies and procedures; manage budgets and finances; represent nursing to hospital administrators; and provide leadership.
A health care career is a long lasting career with an enormous selection of jobs in every specialty. For job security, great benefits, flexibility, and opportunities for growth and advancement, consider joining the nations #1 field.