Many Career Opportunities in Nursing and Health Care Administration
State rules vary, but here’s the general breakdown of the possibilities of a career in nursing employment today. Each layer represents another level of required education with a corresponding increase in average wages. You’ll get the idea.
Continuing Education a Common Thread of All Health Care Related Fields
One common thread will all these fields is the need for continuing education. The medical field is one of the fastest evolving careers and as a result skills and knowledge gained previously becomes obsolete. State boards typically have specific continuing education requirements for all involved in the field of medicine.
Licensed Practical Nurse
Licensed practical nurses perform a variety of care duties under the direction of an RN, nurse practitioner (below) or a doctor. Training to become a licensed practical nurse typically involves a year of study and clinical training. It is a good way for someone looking to begin a career in nursing to get their feet wet and find out if nursing care is the right field for them.
Registered Nurse
A registered nurse would get a four-year college degree (undergraduate) or the equivalent, and get some hands on clinical training as well. Duties vary but there is increasing demand for nursing care and nurses are being looked upon to provide leadership and direction to nurse assistants, CNAs, LNAs (above), and staff. Nurses can’t write prescriptions but ultimately the execution of patient care is left in their capable hands. This is a career in nursing more young people will need to choose if we are to meet the future demands of health care.
Nurse Practitioners
Nurse practitioners are a step up from registered nurses. They have gone the extra step and earned their master’s degree or related graduate work. A nurse practitioner likely will specialize in one field family care, or other specialization. Nurse practitioners perform greater diagnostic care including certain examinations, order lab work, interpret results and begin treatment of selected conditions. State rules vary, but in some states nurse practitioners may write presecriptions. A person with a career in nursing which has risen to this level is a great asset to the office or hospital he or she serves.
Other Indirectly Related Health Care Career Opportunities
Medical Transcriptionist
A medical transcriptionist acts similar to a court reporter if you’re familiar with that field. What they typically do is transcribe recordings of orders, letters, or notes made by medical staff (doctors mostly) and put it to paper or electronic archive for use by the hospital, doctor, or patient. Typically an associates degree or the equivalent one or two year course of study satisfies the required educational background. Similar to the nursing field, there are multiple levels of medical transcription – for example – a registered MT will have passed an accredation transcription exam. A certified MT will have passed an exam and have a couple of years of acute care experience.
It might surprise some to learn that medical transcriptionist would need to continue their education however that is actually true. Changes in practice, terminology, standards, and equipment are just some of the things an MT would need to keep abreast of in their chosen field.
[...] maintain patient records, and manage office scheduling. In addition to the growing field of medical transcription (covered elsewhere) there are also a good number of administrative assistant jobs in the hospital [...]