Start a Medical Career:
Health Care Industry Continues to Add Jobs

Medical Career Growth Offers New Opportunities

According to the recent Wall Street Journal Health Blog article, "Still Going: Health-Care Job Growth Continues," there's never been a better time to start a medical career. Even as other industries continue to cut jobs as the result of the current economic downturn, job growth in the health care sector remains steady as ever. Roughly 19,000 new jobs were added in September 2009, and around 300,000 new health care jobs have been created so far this year.

What's more, medical career opportunities abound in just about every area. According to the article, "Every subcategory within health care showed job growth in September," including doctor's offices, hospitals, home health care services and nursing-care facilities.

Choosing a Medical Career

Ready to launch your medical career? Here are some popular health care specialties, most of which require only a year or two of training:

Medical Assisting

In this medical career, you'll work closely with doctors, nurses and other staff to make sure that every aspect of patient care runs smoothly. As a medical assistant, you'll often be the first person to greet incoming patients, take basic medical histories, record current complaints and take vital signs. You'll also be responsible for everything from answering phones to running lab tests to serving as an extra pair of hands whenever required.

Dental Assisting

Much like a medical assistant, a dental assistant is often the first point of contact for incoming patients and has a hand in nearly every aspect patient care. With tasks ranging from performing basic office management functions (such as scheduling appointments and dealing with suppliers) to educating patients, sterilizing equipment, and assisting the dentist with a wide variety of procedures, dental assisting is an exciting and challenging medical career.

Massage Therapy

A popular alternative medical career, massage therapy is a multi-billion dollar industry with employment growth predicted around 20 percent between 2006 and 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a massage therapist, you'll not only provide pampering and stress-relief, you'll also help patients recover from injuries and ease chronic pain.

Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy technicians help pharmacists fill prescriptions, manage patient records, track insurance information and more. As the U.S. population continues to age, the need for pharmacy technicians is expected to grow by 36 percent between 2006 and 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making this a highly promising medical career.

Medical Billing and Coding

Following a system of coding that is used across the health care system, medical coders assign alphanumeric codes to specific illnesses, injuries and medical procedures. Hospitals and doctors use the codes for internal data collection and planning, while insurance companies and public agencies require the codes to reimburse health care providers. The codes are even used by international health organizations to track patterns of disease and the costs of health care. The demand for professionals in this exciting medical career is growing rapidly as insurance companies and health care agencies require more highly detailed records of services provided to patients.

Choose the Medical Career for You

Health care offers a wide variety of medical career specialties. Learn more about your options in our health care career resources, or find an allied health school that's right for you.