Longevity Paid Content. With the job market opening up again, numerous people are looking to get back into work. That said, there are many out there who need to examine their careers and perhaps make certain changes excluding the healthcare department. The current global situation is uncertain, we live in a time when things are changing very quickly.
No one knows how and when Coronavirus will end or what the pandemic will mean for our lives and livelihoods.
The healthcare sector is booming. There are a number of specific reasons why now is a good time to get into healthcare. You might also want to improve your current healthcare qualifications and career prospects.
1. A Feel-Good Career Is Good For You
Anything in healthcare, but especially nursing, is a career that will make you feel good about going to work and what you do there. Healthcare is a sector where you can fulfill the generic human need to nurture. Regardless of job level or specific role, any post in healthcare is performed for the benefit of others.
It is also proven that the better you feel about going to work and the more fulfillment you find, the better your mental and physical health will be. Overall wellness can be improved by helping others. So, what better way to do this than in the care of others?
The easiest way to avoid burnout or stress in the workplace is to ensure that you feel gratified being there. Saving lives, caring for the elderly, or helping someone learn to walk again are definitely ways to feel useful. This sense of purpose is important for holistic health, and it helps if you can make money doing it.
Making a notable contribution in our work life is furthermore a major confidence booster and helps us feel valuable. Research has shown that people are designed to have a purpose. Having a career in healthcare can raise our self-worth while making a difference to those around us.
Whether it’s a start to a career or a change in career paths to healthcare is a good choice to make, it is one of the few genuine feel-good careers out there.
2. Nursing and Healthcare are Always Needed
If there is anything that the global pandemic has taught us, it is that healthcare can never be taken for granted. Those working in healthcare and the provision of health services are essential and employment must be guaranteed by the State. It is a sector whose professions will always be required.
As long as there is human life there will be concerns for human health and wellbeing. Those skilled in the provision of care in this regard will be required. From specialist dental care to everyday home care and nursing, as society lives longer there will be an increased requirement for those in healthcare.
Over the coming decades, the number of Americans over the age of 65 will increase sharply as medical care improves.
This does however mean that greater numbers of people will be living with either chronic illness or an age-related disability. Additional care providers, general nurses, and medical professionals will be required by both state and private medical providers countrywide.
It is a career that has longevity.
3. Nursing and Healthcare Jobs Are on the Increase
Not only is healthcare a sector that will always be in need.
As careers and jobs are changing (with some sectors growing and others in decline), jobs in healthcare are on the increase. Research has shown that the demand for qualified healthcare workers in the US will increase by 19% by 2024. This demand in the healthcare sector outpaces all other professionals.
Since 2018 healthcare has been the largest employer in the U.S. This has only grown and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. Healthcare is considered recession-proof and is expected to grow faster than any other sector over the next decade.
The COVID-19 epidemic put healthcare workers on the frontline. Additionally, advances in medical care and medicine have likewise meant an increase in the demand for care providers and nurses. This is because more people are able to access healthcare for their specific ailments.
4. There Is A Shortage Of Nurses Globally
There are countless healthcare jobs, but also a shortage of specific professions within healthcare as a whole. The entry-level aspects of so-called support roles for nursing and specialist pediatric doctors are prime examples of specific roles where shortages exist.
Globally, there is a shortage in these professions. As such, there is a perfect opportunity to create the perfect career. With increased demand and lowered supply, meaning that the financial reward for the job is skyrocketing.
Nursing In Particular
The career department has seen fewer people joining the labor market over a prolonged period of time. This has led to a noticeable shortage. Over a million nurses will be needed in the US in the next decade. This will be necessary to cover the shortage of new nurses. It should also cover the gaps left by those retiring from the profession.
5. The Pay In Healthcare Is on the Increase
Research shows that healthcare workers earn a greater median income on average than other professionals. The fastest-growing jobs in 2020 were health screeners, and of the other 19 jobs in the top 20, 9 were in the healthcare sector.
Even at entry-level positions, healthcare professionals can earn high-paying salaries. What is of further significance is that as experience, training, and education increase, your career will become increasingly lucrative, and your salary will grow competitively as your career grows.
Healthcare workers also receive better healthcare benefits than those in other industries, which is an additional financial benefit.
6. There Is A Wide Range Of Study Available
Different types of training are available to suit all schedules and timeframes. There are similarly many levels of training you can start at the bottom and work your way up or add to an existing qualification.
With the rise in online training, this has been one of the main routes taken by many as they continue to work and study part-time, or if time allows to take on a full-time study option and get it done sooner. Should you already be a BSN-qualified nurse, there are further courses to take to increase your skillset and Texas Woman’s University’s FNP online programs may be the perfect option for you. Their courses are a prime example of those designed to take an existing qualification and experience in the field to the next level.
There are a plethora of recognized courses online, so be sure to choose well and choose something that you know that you can commit to. Look for clinical placements as a key decider, so that if you are to do most of the training using Zoom and e-learning materials at least you will be guaranteed time in practical placement.
Your further training and qualifications will be the factor that allows you to stand out from the competition. Spend some time on your decision and if you already have a healthcare qualification think big, build on it and see where it will take you.
7. A Variety of Roles Are Available
It is one of the largest employment sectors in the country, so there is the widest range of roles available as can be imagined. From administrators to specialist surgeons and trauma nurses. Depending on your skills and the courses for further development that you are prepared to do. Then you may be able to access these. The first step is to get into the sector or start a career in healthcare.
Either think about the particular field that interests you such as diagnosing, or rehabilitating and educational fields, just to name a few. Or choose a general profession such as being a nurse practitioner that is needed across several fields, and then you can start in one and move as you need or simply specialize.
By 2026, half of the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the US will be in healthcare. Within these, there is a great variety of different types of roles that are showing a significant growth rate. For example, four of the top six include home health aide, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or personal care aide.
It is a tricky choice to make and as aforementioned it will be important to narrow down the options and choose what you enjoy as you are likely to then make a success of this.
8. Most Roles Will Offer Flexibility
However, medical and healthcare professions are known for odd hours and irregular starting times.
This can work in your favor depending on what you are looking for. It has recently been accepted that flexible working arrangements in health not only help workers, but they help patients as well.
To retain talent, employers have realized the value of flexibility where family and care responsibilities are concerned. So be sure to ask about flexible working. Whether it is to study further or just to fit the job around your family responsibilities.
Alternatively, home and live-in elderly care can be done hourly to suit your schedule. Again, this emphasizes how varied the range of careers are in healthcare. It also shows how you can start almost anywhere and make it work for you.
Working part-time, full-time, temporary, or volunteering when it suits you, a role in healthcare can be exactly what you want it to be. The demand in the sector will allow for this.
9. Heath Is a Global Language
Everybody has it and everybody wants to look after it for as long as possible. Once you have the qualifications and some experience in the healthcare sector, the world is genuinely your oyster.
Care and health provision is a language that everyone understands. It can provide you and your family with the means to see different parts of the world, if not just move within your State. If you are at that stage in your life where a change is being considered, then a healthcare career may just allow you to do so.
Practicing any medical profession abroad will require registering and being au fait with the local regulations. However, the basics of healthcare will be similar everywhere, making it a universal career option.
10. Caring and Healthcare Are Skills Forever
Once you have the skills and have built a career with these, you will have them with you always and forever. An understanding of good health and how to maintain it are great skills to have. This is because they will always come in handy.
It is worth reiterating that a career in healthcare does not have to entail being a doctor or a full-time slog. If you choose, you can extend an existing career by registering to provide home-based care for and elderly care.
Such options will allow you to take and use the skills well into your retirement years as long as you are healthy, fit, and able.
Concluding Comments
There are a variety of different options which will suit different personalities and abilities and all genders. Whether you are changing course or starting a new career, the difficulty will not be finding a lucrative and rewarding job in healthcare. Rather, the difficulty will be in making a decision from all the options available.
Remember that being in healthcare can be an exciting and varied opportunity. It does not always mean being in a hospital environment but includes all kinds of settings and opportunities.
Another benefit of working in the healthcare sector is that workers enjoy a high level of job security compared to other industries. Even if you move to cities or countries, you will always find a position. This is because the medical industry is so large and diverse. Do you want to be paid to feel good about what you do and have a secure career option? If yes, then working in healthcare is a no-brainer.
