Saturday, December 11, 2010

Top 5 Health Careers

This is a guest post by Rebecca Broyce.

Most forget that there is more to the health care industry than doctor, physician and surgeon positions. In fact, there are various easy health careers that only require a modest amount of education, training and money to get you going in the job market. These top 5 easy health careers represent the best opportunities for those looking to finally get their foot in the health industry or for the few who are looking for a viable career change.

Medical Billing and Coding Clerk

Medical billing and coding clerks are the middlemen between patients, insurance companies and doctors. They keep track of patient invoices and data in order to process transactions. Without medical billing and coding clerks, patients would find it much more difficult to obtain reimbursements while insurance companies and doctors would have a much harder time making sure their customers pay on time.

The position requires a certificate from an accredited medical billing and coding program and the completion of the Certified Medical Biller and Coder exam. With the advent of online secondary education, accredited programs now offer medical billing and coding courses online. The online programs are designed to guide you through the basics of claiming and posting payments as well as teaching you how to use professional medical billing and coding software. In 1 year of medical billing school, you’ll be able to receive a certificate, take the national exam and be completely qualified as a medical billing and coding clerk. With an average salary of $36,000, this position is also one of the most lucrative careers relative to the amount of schooling needed.


Medical Transcriptionist

Medical transcription is a specialized offshoot from the medical billing and coding job market. Medical transcriptionists are charged with transcribing dictated medical recordings into reports. Other responsibilities include editing and formatting the documentation in a manner that adheres to specific medical coding regulations.

Medical transcription is a health career that contains more similarities to a data entry position than a standard health care position. However, it still requires the completion of a specific medical training program or on the job training and passing the Registered Medical Transcriptionist exam. Online programs are accredited by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity and can be completed within 1 year.

More than 13,000 medical transcription positions will be added to the job market by 2016, making it a health career that will be easy to get into for years to come. If you’re looking for an easy health career that will give you the opportunity to advance to better administrative jobs in the health care industry, medical transcription is a top choice.

Physician’s Assistant

If you’ve ever had to get a check up by your physician, you’ve likely also interacted with your physician’s assistant. Physician assistants provide primary, diagnostic and therapeutic care as well as general medical paperwork. They operate under the supervision of a physician and generally perform all the busy work needed to keep you healthy, such as take your medical history and administering lab tests.
This job requires 2 years of formal education through an accredited school.

Physician assistants must also maintain state and national licensure by completing 100 hours of continued medical education on a bi-annual basis. However, the 2 years of education gives you the qualifications to enter a job market where the average salary is $74,264. There are very few health careers as lucrative and readily available as physician assistants.

Phlebotomy Technician

Phlebotomy technician is an undervalued health career but is present in all hospital settings. Phlebotomists safely draw out blood from patients and prepare the blood samples for testing. This position requires a high attention to safety, procedural rules and the ability to keep patients calm, particularly when dealing with patients who suffer from a fear of needles.

You can become a qualified Phlebotomist well within 1 year via a traditional college or online only curriculum. Online programs will provide you with the necessary theoretical understanding, but you will need to receive on the job training and practice after passing one of the national certification exams. Phlebotomy requires minimal training and holds an average salary of $28,900, making it one of the easiest health careers in the industry.

Nursing Assistant

Nursing Assistant is one of the top 5 easiest health careers because it takes less than 6 months to become certified. Nursing assistant programs are available in a variety of places, including large nursing care facilities, hospitals, vocational centers, community colleges and state universities. The programs consist of informational courses, the completion of 75 approved hours of training and passing a certificate exam. In total, a nursing assistant certificate program from a traditional college or medical facility will last 6 to 12 weeks.

As the baby boomers get older, the demand for nursing assistants will continue to rise. By 2018, the nursing assistant field is expected to grow 19 percent, providing ample opportunities to enter the job nursing job market.

The continual demand for healthcare worldwide bodes well for health careers ranging from nursing assistant to Medical billing and coding clerk. Education and training for all of the mentioned health careers can be successfully completed within 3 years, fast tracking you to qualified job positions that you'll be able to build upon in the future.

About the author:

Rebecca Broyce is a lover of writing and all things health. She works as a writer for onlineschools.org and in her free time enjoys riding her bike.

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