Health care is one of the largest industries today. In 2008 around 14.3 million careers for salary and wage workers were given by the said industry. According to studies it is expected that the health care industry will continue to generate new jobs from 2008 to 2018. Getting a health care related career is a good choice given that half of the 20 jobs included in the list of the “fastest” growing fields belong to the health care milieu.
To be able to have a career in the health care industry, a person should have a strong and natural desire of helping other people. Moreover, real concern for clients or patients’ welfare is also a requirement.
There are just so many establishments that could accommodate qualified person who wanted to be part of this big industry. According to records there are 595, 800 firms comprising the health industry across the nation and most of these establishments are concentrated in metropolitan areas. Hospitals are one of the segments of the health care industry. The services provided by hospitals range from simple diagnostics, continual nursing care to surgery. Another segment is residential care facilities which are providing personal and social care to groups of people who have lesser capabilities to look after themselves like children and elderly. Other segments include the offices of dentists, home health care service, office of physicians and offices of other health care practitioners such as those providing ambulatory health care services.
In 2008, 40 percent of the total number of jobs opened in the health care industry came from hospitals while 21 percent was offered by residential health care facilities. A bulk of 76 percent of the jobs in the health care industry is tailored for service and professional occupations. The minimum requirement for professional occupations like dentists, surgeons and physicians, social worker, physical therapists and registered nurses, is a bachelor’s degree in a field of specialization.
Other jobs in the health care industry like diagnostic medical sonographer, medical records technician, health information technicians, radiologic technologists, dental hygienists and other health technologists and technicians usually require practitioners to be graduates of at least 1 year post-secondary training programs.
From 2008 to 2018 it is expected that the health care industry will open 14.3 million jobs more. A huge 46.1% of total jobs will be provided by home health care services, 39% of which will come from diagnostics and medical laboratories; 38.6% will come from out-patient care centers; 34.1 from physicians’ offices while hospitals (both public and private) will only account for 10.1 percent of this employment change.
Occupations in the health industry that are projected to grow the fastest from 2008 to 2018 include home-health aides with employment expected to have a 50% increase, jobs for physician assistants will increase by 39%, jobs for medical assistants to increase by some 34%, and a 33% job increase for the employment of physical therapist assistant is projected.
The rapid growth of health care workers employment from 2008 to 2018 is seen to be caused by the aging of the American population. The number of the elderly in the total population is increasing in numbers thus the demand for health care is also expected to continuously bloom in the succeeding years.
