Top Medical Careers 2011 - Fastest Growing Allied Health Careers
Medical careers are booming and it is a trend that is expected to continue until 2018. In fact, nursing and allied health careers are among the fastest growing of all jobs in the U.S.
With an aging population, the continuous advances in medicine and people more concerned about their overall well-being, the need for professionals in the industry whether your skills are medical related or not is in high demand.
Below we highlight some of the top, in demand patient care and allied health careers. With so many different medical careers, which path is right for you?
Start Here! Explore These Top Allied Health Careers
Become a registered nurse. An RN degree, whether associate or bachelor, is among the top medical careers. Even with hospitals and other health care facilities relying heavily on nurse aides for frontline patient care, nurses remain in demand for their specialized skills and expertise. Complete an RN or BSN course and many opportunities will be open to you. A registered nurse still has the edge when it comes to positions of responsibility and career advancements, including administrative and managerial posts.
Nurse aides wanted. Just as there is a need for nurses, healthcare employers also want to manage their costs and turn to nursing aides. You can either get training as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) or a licensed practical nurse (LPN) from nursing schools or community colleges. Working under the supervision of registered nurses, you can gain experience and later decide to become a full-fledge registered nurse for better-paying opportunities. Median annual salary is $26,639.
Work as home health aide. With rising healthcare costs, a number of people especially the elderly prefer to be cared for at home rather than be placed in nursing facilities. With patients opting residential care facilities to hospital confinement for recovery, the offer for these health careers continues to grow. Insurance companies, however, require that their care be supervised to be eligible for coverage. This is the value of home health aides or personal care aides, medical careers that are expected to grow by 48% until 2018. Media hourly wages are $9.50.
Allied Healthcare Services
Work the lab. With every imaginable test being developed to detect, diagnose and help manage diseases, the requirement for competent and skilled clinical laboratory technicians and medical laboratory technologists will grow. Harder than most health careers, you are expected to be accurate and detail-oriented because in your hands lie results that physicians and other medical practitioners rely on to diagnose and treat patients. Intensive training is offered at hospitals or universities, and specializations are also available for these medical careers. Median annual salary you can expect is $53,500.
Assisting the doc. If a medical setting appeals to you but not actual perform medical functions, then you may just enjoy working as a medical assistant. Unlike most medical careers, you will be asked to perform clerical and administrative functions, some are also asked to take on certain clinical duties, which usually involve preparing equipment needed by physicians or dentists for procedures and getting patients ready for their treatments. Your workplace can either be a big or small organization, or doctor's offices. You can make an average of $66,570 annually.
Prescription, please. Assisting a licensed pharmacist is the pharmacy technician who helps fill your prescriptions accurately and provides customer support. They weigh, pour, even mix medicines, count tablets, label bottles and perform other administrative tasks, including re-stocking shelves. It is their responsibility to verify that the information on the patient's prescription is accurate. While you can work without formal training, employers give preference to those who had one, even short-term courses that will have familiarized the applicant with medical and pharmaceutical terminology, techniques, record-keeping, law and ethics. Median hourly wages for this position is $13.32 which is considered low among medical careers.
More Medical Careers Options
Dental hygienist. Oral health care has become just as important to a person's overall well-being. And a dental hygienist is the person to see to keep your teeth clean. A minimum associate degree is required before you can practice because it takes techniques and skill to perform preventive dental care treatments. Among your duties is also to take dental x-rays, which requires mastery. A license is required by states before you can practice which is usually the case for all kinds of medical careers. The median salary for a dental hygienist is $66,570 which is good among health careers.
EMT/Paramedic. They're the first to respond during emergencies and the importance of having skilled and competent emergency medical technicians and paramedics cannot be overemphasized. Like a few other medical careers, rigid training is necessary because on-site they perform first aid and assess a patient's condition, taking care to learn any pre-existing conditions. They use special equipment and must be able to give an accurate report to the physician or nurses once they get to the hospital. There are progressive levels of training, and all states require licensure. Hourly median salary is $14.10.
Physical therapist. While not a physician, PTs help patients to recover from injury, accidents, surgery that has limited the mobility and ability to function of an individual. Physical therapists diagnose and make a treatment plan, specifying intervention methods for each patient depending on their condition. Even entry-level training is intensive for these medical careers, but to become licensed, you need a master's or doctoral degree. Coursework is heavy on foundational sciences, plus specialized courses that teach students about therapy evaluation and interventions. You can earn a median salary of $72,790. Definitely the most attractive job among health careers.
Medical records technician. Like most industries, healthcare relies heavily on technology and with the need for people to handle electronic records, the demand for a health records and medical information technician will continue to grow among medical careers. They are responsible for putting together patients' information records, including their medical history, symptoms, examination results, diagnostic exams, treatments and other healthcare services. You need at least an associate degree to qualify for this position and certification is required. Wages are between $20,000 and $50,000.
Undoubtedly, medical careers offer a wide range of opportunities and you only have to choose which area to pursue and become a master.
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