Healthcare Career Choices

Whenever there is a shortage of workers in an industry, those whose who have been trained to do the job stand to benefit greatly. With both an increase in population and in the percent of people that are elderly, those with careers in healthcare will be in great demand for years to come. Because of this these individuals will experience a greater job security and higher salaries than they would normally. 

Most individuals have heard about the shortage of nurses and doctors due to the amount of media coverage the issue has received, but there is also a great need for individuals trained for other healthcare careers. According to Straight.com there is also “a strong demand for medical-office assistants, medical-transcription services, and nursing-unit clerks.” 

Because of the sever shortage of RNs and LPNs, nursing-unit clerks are now doing a lot of work that would not have otherwise been listed in their job description. Individuals with this healthcare career do such things as handling doctor requested x-rays, medication and blood test. They are also responsible for ensuring that a patients diet is changed if necessary. Due to the nature of the job, individuals with this position must be very detailed orientated. According to Pat Bawtinheimer, the dean of Vancouver Community College's school of health sciences, “In these jobs, you can't afford to make too many errors because even a decimal point misplaced could make the difference in medication. It's a very detail-oriented, but it's certainly a great job. And of course, this is another one of the strategies that they're using to try to work with the nursing shortage.”

Canada is also experiencing a sever shortage of Occupational Therapists. Those trained in this healthcare career that are needed most are those therapists that work handle hip and knee problems, and rehabilitation for the frail elderly. There is also a need for individuals who can assist in driver rehabilitation programs.

Overall those with healthcare jobs are finding that jobs are easy to find. For certain professions in this sector, the unemployment rate is less than half a percent. At this time, only one percent of Registered Nurses are unemployment.   

Between the rising hourly wages/salaries and job security being experienced by those with healthcare careers, it's enough to make other individuals in different industries rethink their career choices.