Career decisions and choices are definitely hard, especially if your decision making process is coupled with certain goals, dreams and milestones. Individuals who are in-process of choosing a healthcare career should know some very important aspects of the industry and US economy as a whole; for example:

• Another bout of recession is expected to hit United States by 2015, according to the forecast released by economical consultancy firm – the Jerome Levy Forecasting Center (1). Needless to say that the job market and wages are expected to suffer a lot during this period.
• It is a widely accepted notion that United States is the land of opportunities for foreigners, which is why America is home to about 41 million immigrants. In other words, 20% of the entire international immigrant population resides in United States (2); thereby adding competition to the available resources.
• Due to uprising of different emerging markets worldwide (especially China, India, Malaysia, South Africa and Thailand), various US industry giants have cut down on their budget to reduce the overhead cost. This has not only affected the number of jobs but has also led to the job termination of existing workforce. For example, based on the statistics released by North Carolina Rural Health Research Program (3), more than 43 rural hospitals have been closed down by the government since 2010. Many other healthcare institutions are expected to close after the full-blown implementation of new healthcare reforms (ObamaCare).

In short, plan your career choices and decisions after considering the expected economic burden, limited resources, competitive work environment and threats of recession and inflation.

9 Most In-Demand Healthcare Career Choices for 2015:

If helping people in-need fascinates you, then the following healthcare professions may be right for you. According to latest projections, the following healthcare career choices are fairly effective in terms of job prospects, financial security, and financial growth in the upcoming time.

Registered Nurse

Apart from being a noble profession, it is also considered as one of the most desirable and stable professions across the world. By the end of 2016, it has been estimated that a total of 580,000 new jobs will be made available in the United States healthcare industry. If you are interested in becoming a registered nurse, here is what you should know

• Currently almost 2.5 million nurses are working in the US healthcare industry
• By 2016, total employment will become 3,092,000 and 587,000 jobs will be created because of employment changes and healthcare reforms.
• Per annum requirement of nurses is 1 million

Overall job growth is estimated as 23%, but growth in different sectors can be explained as:

• RN in Physician office – 39%
• Home Healthcare Nurse – 39%
• Outpatient setting – 34%
• Employment opportunity services – 27%
• Tertiary care hospitals 22%
• Nursing homes 20%

To learn more about the job prospects, work environment, pay/ salary and requirements, visit here http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm#tab-1

Home Health aide:

According to the statistics reported by Centers for Disease Control (5), about 23.6 million non-institutionalized adults (65 years or over) are disabled in United States i.e. require assistance for personal care and support. Additionally, 71.5 million adults in United States (corresponding to 31.8% of the entire US population over 18 years of age) suffer from one or more physical or cognitive disabilities that necessitates the need of an experienced home health aide.

For most non-institutionalized adults, it is practically impossible to visit the hospitals or clinics for minor needs. Health aides can play a huge role in the lives of such patients, by monitoring their vitals, dispensing medicine or assistance in running small errands.

Statistically speaking:

• Right now 787,000 health aide workers are employed with projected employment rate of about 1,171,000 by the end 2016.
• Almost 454,000 workers will be needed annually making job growth rate to be 27%. 384,000 more jobs will be made available because of switching of profession.

If you want to learn more about the job requirements, pay-scale, educational and training requirements, visit http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home-health-aides.htm

Medical Assistant

Medical or surgical assistants are required to perform managerial duties side by side with the medical chores in a number of places. They are needed in all sects of healthcare industry and their demand is projected to inflate much faster than expected. Certified or properly trained individuals will have ample chances in the near future (especially because of the healthcare reforms).

Statistically speaking:

• 417,000 medical assistants are currently serving in the healthcare industry. It is expected that by 2016, available positions will rise to 565,000.
• With a growth rate of 27%, almost 199,000 fresh assistants will be needed and 148,000 new job positions will be created because of career transition and choices.

If you want to learn more about the educational requirements, pay scale and job outlook, please visit http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-assistants.htm

Pharmacy Technician

To start a career as a pharmacy technician, there is no formal training or education required. However, you may need hands-on training after earning a high school diploma with or without additional certifications/ training (depending upon the laws of your state).

The scope of work includes dispensing and labelling medications, selling medical products to the patients and working in collaboration with registered pharmacists to run administrative chores.

• Existing number of employed Pharmacy Technicians in United States is 285,000
• According to the projections, by the end 2016, the available positions will increase to 376,000.
• 178,000 new technicians will be required and 91,000 new positions will be available due to change in employment options. Overall growth rate is 27%

If you want to learn more about the educational requirements, pay scale and job outlook, please visit http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacy-technicians.htm

Medical Secretary

This profession requires a vast experience in handling medical documents and acquaintance to medical methods/ procedures (in addition to other administrative tasks such as billing and coding, scheduling appointments for the patients, maintaining, compiling, storing and retrieving patients’ records,  correspondence, medical charts, laboratory reports and other data, etc. Regardless of the pre-requisites, this profession is booming especially in the hospitals and out-patient settings.

• At a current job growth rate of 9-17%, more than 512,970 individuals are working as Medical secretaries in the US healthcare industry (physician office, surgeon’s office, dentist office, diagnostic laboratories, other healthcare professionals etc.)
• With an estimated growth in the employment by 2016, 112,000 new positions will be available for qualified individuals.

To learn more about the job requirements, career growth and future prospects, visit http://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/secretaries-and-administrative-assistants.htm

Dental Assistant

Dentists are assisted by trained, dedicated and hardworking dental assistants, making this profession as an in-demand job. Being a dental assistant, you are required to perform tasks like proper handling and disinfection of instruments, organizing and running patient awareness programs, and performing x-rays. They usually get time off from work to either complete their studies or start another part-time job. With newer degrees and curricula, this profession will be in huge demand after a few years.

This profession is growing at a rate of 27% and currently employs 280,000. Calculations indicates that by 2016, employment rate will rise to 362,000 and annually 130,000 new professionals will be needed.

If you want to learn more about the job prospects, demands and educational requirements, please visit http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental-assistants.htm

Healthcare Administrator

The core of any health organization is a healthcare administrator. The spectrum of his job roles is very wide and embraces monitoring of expenditures of facility personnel. Their role is very dynamic and they have to evolve with ever changing health care system. This profession currently feeds 262,000 workers and is estimated to increase to 305,000 by 2016. Job enhancement is 9-17% and annually 92,000 administrators are required. The profession will cater 43,000 new jobs due to job migration.

You can learn more about the variants, work environment and pay scale by visiting this link http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm

Medical Records & Health Information Technician:

Medical record of every patient who walks into a health facility is maintained, recorded and kept confidential by hospital staff. These records include examination notes, prescription slips, lab transcripts, radiology reports, operative notes etc. the personnel assigned to do this job is a medical records and health information technician.

Even with the rising popularity of electronic record keeping, the demand has not suffered much. Currently, 170,000 medical record and Health information technicians are working in the industry with an expected growth of this industry by 18-26%. The figure is expected rise to 200,000 by 2016. 30,000 new job opportunities will become available due to employment change at the end of 2016.

To learn more about this industry, please visit http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm

EMT & Paramedics:

Job responsibilities of EMT and paramedics make them prone to massive strain and continuous mobility in many different forms. Paramedics reach the accident or emergency site before anyone else does and they are required to make quick and rational decisions. This profession seldom experience a decline in its growth and is expected to rise to 240,000 by 2016. The current number of employees is more than 239,100 (according to the 2012 data).

Growth rate of this profession is 18-26%

To learn more about this industry, please visit http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/emts-and-paramedics.htm

Career choices and decisions should be taken after thorough consideration and in accordance with your personality and interests. However, at the same time, it is also very important that you consider the size of the industry, future growth and opportunities and associated careers for easy transitional choices. Lastly, before actually pursuing a career option, it is very important to get the first-hand feel of the industry by opting for clerkship/ internships.

Good luck

References:

1. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/doom-and-gloom-2015-global-recession-warning-from-financial-seers-of-the-century-9624700.html
2. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states
3. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/12/rural-hospital-closings-federal-reimbursement-medicaid-aca/18532471/
4. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2007/11/art5full.pdf
5. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/disability.htm
6. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes436013.htm