Careers in Health Care

Types of education Secondary - High school -HOE-Health occupations education-offered at high school level (like Health Team) may prepare student for immediate employment in health careers or for additional education after graduation Post-secondary education after high school technical Career- OTJT –on the job training Community college University system

Typical Education Associate’s degree-2 year course of study- community college Bladen CC, Robeson CC, Fayetteville Technical CC Bachelor’s degree-4 or more years-Technologist, therapist, RN, and Registered Dietician UNC, Duke, NCSU, UNCW

Higher Education Master’s degree-one or more years beyond a Bachelor’s –Bachelors and Masters together can = 6 years of study (Nurse Manager) Doctorate or Doctoral Degree- four to six years of additional study beyond a bachelor’s (Nurses with Doctoral Degree can make $100,000 per year and more!!!) All Doctoral Degrees are not MD’s

Certification fulfilled requirements of education and performance and meets the standards & qualifications established by the professional association or government agency that regulates a particular career Nursing AssistantCNA Medical AssistantCMA

Registration administers examinations and maintains a current list (registry) of qualified personnel in a given health care area Registered Nurse (RN) Registered Dietician (RD)

Licensure Authorizes individuals to work in a given occupation- Can vary from state to state. A doctor, nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse all need a license to practice in a given state for their chosen profession !!

ACCREDITATION-the act of granting credit or recognition Accreditation-make sure you attend a college that is accredited because for most careers, the student must graduate from an accredited program before taking a licensure exam Ensures that the program of study meets the established quality competency standards and prepares students for employment in a health career

CEU Continuing education units-CEU’s-required to renew most medical licenses, certifications and registrations !!!! In North Carolina, RN’s are required to obtain 30 CEU credits in order to renew their nursing license every 2 years.

Trends Multi-competent worker or multi-skilled worker-perform a variety of health care skills Entrepreneur-organizes, manages and assumes the risk of business (most often has Bachelor’s degree in health care career with a master’s in business) A lot of nurses have their own Nurse Staffing Agency and they are considered an ENTREPRENEUR !!!

Careers in Health Care: Dental, Diagnostic, Emergency, and Health Information Services Dental Lab Technician Dental Hygienist-DH’s-remove stains and deposits from teeth * $65,219 mean salary for a Dental Hygienist Dental Assistant-DA’s-dental receptionist duties such as scheduling appointments and handling accounts 3Y4M305E3U&list=PLE35611E8CDB928C6

Diagnostic Services Diagnostic services-those in diagnostic services solve problems and help uncover the cause of illnesses or diseases- usually work by themselves!!! Electrocardiograph (ECG) tech.-perform stress tests 611E8CDB928C E8CDB928C6

Radiologic Technologist-noninvasive techniques-takes the x-ray

Medical Laboratory Technologist laboratory-technologists-and-technicians.htm laboratory-technologists-and-technicians.htm collect samples and perform tests to analyze body fluids, tissue, and other substances.

Epidemiologist-identify and track diseases as they occur in a group of people, evaluate, prevent, use statistics and data to help governments, health agencies(work at the CDC) science/epidemiologists.htm science/epidemiologists.htm

Phlebotomy training class or on the job training!!!

Biomedical Engineer-will make machines or devices to help treat or diagnose medical problems (ex. Pacemakers, monitoring equipment in ER and ICU settings) engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm

Emergency medical services-training is required Levels include First Responder Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate Emergency Medical Technician Ambulance/Basic Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic (MOST ADVANCED!!!) Main job of all EMT’s is to provide pre-hospital emergency care!!!!! paramedics.htm paramedics.htm ist=PLE35611E8CDB928C6&index=1 ist=PLE35611E8CDB928C6&index=1

Health Information and Communication Services Medical Record Administrator –work in an office/administrator title usually means you are in charge Medical Transcriptionist –don’t need to work with people, but do need to know a lot of medical terminology transcriptionists.htm transcriptionists.htm Unit Secretary (Ward Clerk)-a person who likes the medical field, but may be uncomfortable with sickness would do well as a unit secretary/they would also need to have excellent computer skills and enjoy working with people Medical Illustrator