JoshWhen someone decides to work in a field primarily focused on helping other people, it’s not just a career choice. It is also often considered a “calling.” Fields such as medicine and caretaking are not for everyone, and that’s how it should be. Not just any person can deal with scared, vulnerable people in a way that’s both compassionate and efficient. It takes a special type of person to give a sponge bath, or take someone’s blood. That doesn’t mean they’re better than the people who work as a teller at a bank, but it does require a different skill set and a different mindset.
Nursing Jobs
The requirements to become a nurse vary, depending on state. A great deal also depends on what kind of nurse you want to become. Generally speaking, you at least need an associate’s degree before employers hire you as a registered nurse. However, in many places, meeting the minimum requirements may not always be enough. It’s true that there’s a nursing shortage in the country right now, but that doesn’t mean that just anyone can walk in and get a nursing job. Finding qualified people is tricky, when you combine the rapidly aging population of America with the limited capacity of nursing schools. It’s a fast-growing field, in which the demand is still high and the supply is often low.
It’s not uncommon to get credentials as a registered nurse, work for a few years, then decide you need a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree to really compete and keep moving up the ladder. That means more work, but if you’re already a nurse, you have an advantage. There are even accredited online nursing programs designed specifically for nurses who are already working in the field in some capacity. Going from an RN to a BSN requires hard work and dedication, but it’s nothing a good nurse can’t handle. Many nurses are already good at the whole working under pressure and time management thing, after all.
Healthcare Administration
You can’t have healthcare without some form of healthcare administration running the show. Their job is to ensure that the hospital or medical clinic is running like a well-oiled machine, with both patients and employees getting what they need. They must balance the needs of their employees with the needs of the public, which is always a tough row to hoe. It’s no wonder that getting a job in healthcare administration typically requires additional training that people obtain either via a traditional classroom or through an online MHA program. MHA stands for Master’s of Healthcare Administration. It’s a signal to employers that you have the skills and education needed to lead a healthcare facility into a new, exciting stage of development. It’s not a job for people who are followers; health administrators are expected to lead their employees with a mix of confidence and expertise that can’t be found just anywhere. You may not be in the emergency room or in the operating theater anymore, but there’s still an incredibly important job to do.