The health care field continues to offer excellent prospects for those looking for a career to pursue. While many of these positions do require a medical degree there are others that call for fewer years of study but also lend themselves to a more modest salary. More and more health care jobs are in great demand. Many of the best health care careers for 2012 rank at the top of the Labor Department’s growth projections for the years 2008 through 2018. This is believed to be the case because baby boomers are aging and will require more health care services as they grow older.
The U.S. News and World Report has released its yearly list of the top 50 careers for 2012. Here we look at the five top health care careers that made the list. They include physician assistant, physical therapist, physical therapist assistant, occupational therapist and registered nurse.
Physician Assistant
A physician assistant (PA or P.A.) is often referred to as being a “mid-level” provider because the nature of the work he or she performs falls somewhere between a physician and that of a nurse practitioner (although a PA is more like the latter than the former). They are also sometimes called “physician extenders” because they can see patients and bill for office visits, thus making it possible for more revenue to be brought into a practice.
Physician assistants are not the same as medical assistants or nurses. They are more advanced than medical assistants and they do not go to nursing school to earn their degrees.
To become a physician assistant one must earn a Bachelor’s degree and then complete a Master’s program in Physician Assisting. This generally takes two years to complete and includes clinical rotations.
Physical Therapist
A physical therapist (PT) is a health professional who works with patients following an accident, injury, illness or a stroke to help rehabilitate them. A physical therapist also works with patients following surgery to help them recover.
Those who wish to become a physical therapist must earn a Bachelor’s degree in physical therapy and then pass a certification examination. The coursework to train for this career involves a great deal of the sciences such as anatomy, biology and chemistry.
Physical Therapist Assistant
If you do not want to spend as much time studying as would be required to become a physical therapist then you can still break into the field of physical therapy by becoming a physical therapy assistant (PTA). Most physical therapist assistants earn an associate’s degree from an accredited program. It takes two years to earn an associate’s degree. PTA programs are a combination of classroom lectures and clinical instruction.
Physical therapist assistants spend their days assisting physical therapists by implementing the therapies and exercises required to rehabilitate patients. Some people choose to become PTA’s on their road to studying to become physical therapists.
Occupational Therapist
An occupational therapist is a health care professional who works with patients who need to learn or re-learn life skills or work skills that they require to live a normal life. These therapists work with those who have either temporary or permanent disabilities that have been caused by a developmental problem, a mental or physical disorder or a brain injury.
To work in a clinical capacity an occupational therapist to-be must complete a Master’s degree from an accredited program. There are some post-secondary institutions that offer programs that are a combination of a Bachelor’s and Master’s program. A national certification test is required following graduation. The occupational therapist is also required to become licensed in the health care field.
Registered Nurse
A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has completed her nursing education by way of earning a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN) or an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN). Once the individual has graduated he/she then must write and pass the NCLEX-RN certification exam.
Registered nurses are found working in hospitals, clinics, medical offices and anywhere that a nurse is required- which is many different types of workplaces! Some RN’s choose to specialize in a particular field of nursing.
Honorable Mention
These are not the only health care careers that could be called the best for 2012. Other careers in the health industry worth mentioning include athletic trainer, dental hygienist, laboratory technician, massage therapist, optometrist, radiology technologist, school psychologist and veterinarian.