Pursue a Healthcare Career with a 1-2 Year Diploma

You'd like to work in healthcare, but you don't want to spend years in school becoming a physician or dentist? Well, how about exploring your career options if you "only" have a year or so? There are plenty of opportunities available. Here are just five of the many healthcare careers that require a diploma, but not necessarily more.

Please choose the program you're interested in:

Job Profile: Medical Assistant

Nature of the Work

Medical Assistants perform many administrative duties to keep the offices and clinics of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors and optometrists running smoothly, including updating and filing patients' medical records, filling out insurance forms, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, arranging for hospital admission and laboratory services, and handling billing and bookkeeping.

Clinical duties vary, and may include taking medical histories and recording vital signs, explaining treatment procedures to patients, preparing patients for examination, and assisting the physician during the examination. Medical Assistants collect and prepare laboratory specimens or perform basic laboratory tests on the premises, dispose of contaminated supplies, and sterilize medical instruments. They instruct patients about medications and special diets, prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician, authorize drug refills as directed, telephone prescriptions to a pharmacy, draw blood, prepare patients for X- rays, take electrocardiograms, remove sutures, and change dressings.

Medical Assistants also may arrange examining-room instruments and equipment, purchase and maintain supplies and equipment, and keep waiting and examining rooms neat and clean.

Assistants who specialize have additional duties. Podiatric medical assistants make castings of feet, expose and develop X-rays, and assist podiatrists in surgery. Ophthalmic medical assistants help ophthalmologists provide eye care. They conduct diagnostic tests, measure and record vision, and test eye muscle function. They also show patients how to insert, remove and care for contact lenses, and they apply eye dressings. Under the direction of the physician, ophthalmic Medical Assistants may administer eye medications. They also maintain optical and surgical instruments and may assist the ophthalmologist in surgery.

Employment

Most full-time Medical Assistants work a regular 40-hour week. Some work part-time, evenings or weekends.

Most Medical Assistants work in offices of physicians, while others work in public and private hospitals, offices of other health practitioners such as chiropractors and podiatrists, outpatient care centers, public and private educational services, other ambulatory healthcare services, medical and diagnostic laboratories, and nursing care facilities.

Training, Other Qualifications and Advancement

Medical Assistant programs are offered in career and community colleges, with programs usually lasting either one year, resulting in a certificate or diploma, or two years, resulting in an advanced diploma or an associate's degree. Courses cover anatomy, physiology and medical terminology, as well as typing, transcription, recordkeeping, accounting and insurance processing. Students learn lab techniques, clinical and diagnostic procedures, pharmaceutical principles, the administration of medications, and first aid. They study office practices, patient relations, medical law and ethics. Accredited programs include an internship that provides practical experience in physicians' offices, hospitals or other healthcare facilities.

Medical Assistants may be able to advance to office manager. They may qualify for a variety of administrative support occupations or may teach medical assisting. With additional education, some enter other health occupations, such as nursing and medical technology.

Job Outlook

Employment of medical assistants is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2012 as the health-services industry expands because of technological advances in medicine and a growing and aging population. Increasing utilization of medical assistants in the rapidly-growing healthcare industries will result in fast employment growth for the occupation. Medical Assistants work primarily in outpatient settings, which are expected to exhibit much faster-than-average growth. In fact, Medical Assistant is projected to be one of the fastest growing medical occupations over the 2002–12 period.

Related Occupations

Dental Assistants, Medical Records and Health Information Technicians, Medical Secretaries, Occupational Therapist Assistants and Aides, Pharmacy Aides and Physical Therapist Assistants and Aides.

Job Profile: PSWs / Home Health Aides

Nature of the Work

PSWs (Personal Support Workers) or Home Health Aides help care for elderly, convalescent, physically or mentally ill, injured, disabled or infirm individuals in patients' homes, so that they may live in their own homes instead of in a health facility. Under the direction of nursing or medical staff, they provide health-related services, such as administering oral medications. Like nursing aides, PSWs may check patients' pulse rates, temperatures and respiration rates; help with simple prescribed exercises; keep patients' rooms neat; and help patients move from bed, bathe, dress and groom. Occasionally, they change non-sterile dressings, give massages and alcohol rubs, or assist with braces and artificial limbs.

Most PSWs work with elderly or disabled persons who need more extensive care than family or friends can provide. Some help discharged hospital patients who have relatively short-term needs.

In most cases, a registered nurse, physical therapist or social worker usually assigns specific duties and supervises home health aides, who keep records of the services they perform and record patients' condition and progress. They report changes in patients' conditions to the supervisor or case manager.

Employment

Most full-time PSWs work about 40 hours a week, but because patients need care 24 hours a day, some aides work evenings, nights, weekends and holidays. Many work part-time.

PSWs generally work alone, with periodic visits by their supervisor. They receive detailed instructions explaining when to visit patients and what services to perform.

Training, Other Qualifications and Advancement

Personal Support Worker programs are offered in career and community colleges, with programs usually lasting either one year, resulting in a certificate or diploma, or two years, resulting in an advanced diploma or an associate's degree. Hospitals may require experience as a nursing aide or home health aide.

Training usually covers 12 areas: communication skills; documentation of patient status and care provided; reading and recording vital signs; basic infection-control procedures; basic body functions; maintenance of a healthy environment; emergency procedures; physical, emotional and developmental characteristics of patients; personal hygiene and grooming; safe transfer techniques; normal range of motion and positioning; and basic nutrition.

Nursing-aide training is offered in career colleges and some community colleges. Courses cover body mechanics, nutrition, anatomy and physiology, infection control, communication skills and resident rights. Personal-care skills, such as how to help patients bathe, eat and groom, are also taught.

These occupations can offer individuals a great entry into the world of healthcare. The flexibility of night and weekend hours also provides high school and college students a chance to work during the school year.

Applicants should be tactful, patient, understanding, emotionally stable and dependable and should have a desire to help people. They also should be able to work as part of a team, have good communication skills and be willing to perform repetitive, routine tasks. PSWs should be honest and discreet, because they work in private homes.

Aides must be in good health. A physical examination, including regulated tests such as those for tuberculosis, may be required.

Job Outlook

Numerous job openings for PSWs will arise from a combination of fast employment growth and high replacement needs. Overall employment of home health aides is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012. Employment of PSWs is expected to grow the fastest, as a result of both growing demand for home healthcare services from an aging population and efforts to contain healthcare costs by moving patients out of hospitals and nursing care facilities as quickly as possible. Consumer preference for care in the home and improvements in medical technologies for in-home treatment also will contribute to faster-than-average employment growth for PSWs.

Related Occupations

PSWs and Home Health Aides help people who need routine care or treatment. So do Childcare Workers, Medical Assistants, Occupational Therapist Assistants and Aides, Personal Support Workers and Home Care Aides and Physical Therapist Assistants and Aides.

Job Profile: Medical Transcriptionists

Nature of the Work

Medical Transcriptionists listen to dictated recordings made by physicians and other healthcare professionals and transcribe them into medical reports, correspondence and other administrative material. The documents they produce include discharge summaries, history and physical examination reports, operative reports, consultation reports, autopsy reports, diagnostic imaging studies, progress notes, and referral letters. These documents eventually become part of patients' permanent files.

To understand and accurately transcribe dictated reports into a format that is clear and comprehensible for the reader, Medical Transcriptionists must understand medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, diagnostic procedures, pharmacology, and treatment assessments. They also must be able to translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms. Medical Transcriptionists must comply with specific standards that apply to the style of medical records, in addition to the legal and ethical requirements involved with keeping patient information confidential.

Experienced Medical Transcriptionists spot mistakes or inconsistencies in a medical report and check to correct the information. Their ability to understand and correctly transcribe patient assessments and treatments reduces the chance of patients receiving ineffective or even harmful treatments and ensures high quality patient care.

Employment

The majority of these workers are employed in hospitals, physicians' offices, transcription service offices, clinics, laboratories, medical libraries, government medical facilities or at home. Many Medical Transcriptionists telecommute from home-based offices as employees or subcontractors for hospitals and transcription services or as self-employed, independent contractors.

Many Medical Transcriptionists work a standard 40-hour week. Self-employed medical transcriptionists are more likely to work irregular hours -- including part-time, evenings, weekends or on call.

Training, Other Qualifications and Advancement

A Medical Transcriptionist must successfully graduate from postsecondary training in medical transcription, offered by many career colleges, community colleges, and distance-learning colleges and universities. Completion of a degree or certificate program -- including coursework in anatomy, medical terminology, legal issues relating to healthcare documentation, and English grammar and punctuation -- is required. Some of these programs include supervised on-the-job experience.

With experience, Medical Transcriptionists can advance to supervisory positions, home-based work, editing, consulting or teaching. With additional education or training, some become medical records and health information technicians, medical coders, or medical records and health information administrators.

Job Outlook

Prospects for Medical Transcriptionists are closely related to Healthcare as an industry, so job opportunities look good. Employment of Medical Transcriptionists is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012. Demand for medical transcription services will be spurred by a growing and aging population. Older age groups receive proportionately greater numbers of medical tests, treatments and procedures that require documentation. A high level of demand for transcription services also will be sustained by the continued need for electronic documentation that can be easily shared among providers, third-party payers, regulators and consumers. Growing numbers of Medical Transcriptionists will be needed to amend patients' records, edit for grammar and identify discrepancies in medical records.

Related Occupations

Other workers who provide medical support include Medical Assistants and Medical Records and Health Information Technicians.

Job Profile: Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT)

"I had been looking into going to medical school before learning about this field. I originally chose this career as a kind of stepping stone, but it has turned into so much more. I especially like finding out the "whys" in disease diagnosis." Tracy Donahue, MLT

Nature of the Work

The Medical Laboratory Technician performs general tests in all laboratory areas — Blood Banking, Chemistry, Hematology, Immunology and Microbiology. Working with the supervision of a medical technologist, a medical laboratory technician hunts for clues to the absence, presence, extent, and causes of diseases.

Medical laboratory technicians must be accurate, dedicated and skilled. They must also be self-motivated, and take the initiative to do what must be done everyday — to pitch in to help the healthcare team.

All medical laboratory technicians have certain common characteristics. They are problem solvers. They like challenge and responsibility. They are accurate, reliable, work well under pressure and are able to finish a task once started. They communicate well, both in writing and speaking. They set high standards for themselves and expect quality in the work they do. But, above all, they are deeply committed to their profession, and are truly fascinated by all that science has to offer. For someone who chooses a career as a medical laboratory technician, the exploration never ends.

Employment

MLTs work in a variety of practice settings. Hospitals, for-profit laboratories, clinics, nursing homes, public health facilities, business and industry currently have positions open for qualified medical laboratory technicians.

Training, Other Qualifications and Advancement

To prepare for a career as a Medical Laboratory Technician, it is helpful but not required to have a solid foundation in high school sciences — biology, chemistry, math and computer science. Many Canadian career colleges and community colleges, offer a MLT program, with advanced accreditations as well.

With a career as a Medical Laboratory Technician, you’ll have unlimited choices. Unlike many other careers, your education in medical laboratory technology will prepare you directly for a job. While you’re going to school, you can work part-time in a laboratory to earn extra money. And you could start working full-time the day after you graduate.

A Medical Laboratory Technician who earns a certification, diploma, or degree and has two years of experience may be able to become a medical technologist.

Job Outlook

According to the best-selling 1999 book, Jobs Rated Almanac: The Best and Worst Jobs by Les Krantz, Medical Laboratory Technicians are in the top 20 list of best jobs, ranking 18 th in a list of 250 jobs. They also ranked 4 th in the healthcare/medicine occupational category. The positions were scored on factors such as salary, stress levels, work environment, outlook, security and physical demands.

The future long-term employment for Medical Laboratory Technicians looks bright. Employment opportunities are expected to increase through the year 2012.

For more info on a career as a Medical Laboratory Technician, please visit UC411.com’s Healthcare Training & Education Area

Job Profile: Naturopathy

Nature of the Work

Naturopathy is an inclusive form of medicine based on the principle of seeing the whole person and getting to the root of the problem. Naturopaths are licensed practitioners and can use the initials NMD or ND. They use homeopathy, herbs, acupuncture, physical manipulation, nutrition, counseling, IV therapies and various other treatments. Some naturopaths specialize in one or a couple of areas of treatment.

Natural healing involves moving from a state of non-health into health using only natural means, and involves seven natural healing arts. They are: botanical medicine; clinical nutrition; naturopathic manipulation; hydrotherapy; acupuncture and oriental medicine; homeopathy; prevention and lifestyle counseling.

One of the main tenets of naturopathy, acupuncture is a very old Chinese science which involves the insertion of very fine needles that most people do not feel. The needles can move the energy of the body so that the body can heal. The Chinese describe pain as a congestion, and so using acupuncture needles can disperse the energy and the congestion to relieve pain very effectively. Acupuncture is a great way to control pain and stimulate healing without drugs

Employment

Most full-time Naturopathy practitioners work a regular 40-hour week. Some work part-time, evenings or weekends.

Most Naturopathy practitioners work in offices similar to those of physicians, while others work in private clinics, offices of other health practitioners, outpatient care centers, educational services, other ambulatory healthcare services, or even out of their own home.

Training, Other Qualifications and Advancement

Training to become a Naturopathic Doctor, the equivalent of a MD, is offered in only four accredited colleges in North America, and involves a four-year program of study. However, those wishing to establish a career in this burgeoning medical practice can enter the field through one yearcertification programs offered by select career and community colleges across Canada. Interested students can specialize in one or more of the components of naturopathy, such as acupuncture, acupressure, holistic health care, hydrotherapy, massage, and alternative medicine.

Job Outlook

Many believe that alternative medicine is the medicine of the 21st century, a symbol of new thinking in general health care. Increased interest and use of botanical and non-drug remedies, non-invasive medical techniques, an emphasis on preventive health and lifestyle change characterize a paradigm shift in people's attitudes towards their health. The field of naturopathic medicine is now 100 years old in North America and in some provinces is the fastest growing health profession. Further, in some American jurisdictions, state governments and health insurers have recognized NDs on a platform equivalent to MDs. In Canada, naturopathic medicine is regulated in BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, and many predict that, just as in some U.S. states, alternative medicine will soon enjoy the status of standard medicine.

The career prospects for natural medicine have never looked brighter. While many people see their ND for all manner of health concerns, a large number of patients turn to naturopathic medicine when diagnosed with ailments for which there is no allopathic cure. These ailments may include cold and flu, food allergies and sensitivities, candidiasis and chronic fatigue, muscle aches, sprains and strains and so forth. Many naturopathic protocols have results similar or equal to standard medical treatments, but without adverse effects and risks.

One typical example of naturopathic protocols is the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Conventional treatments consist of drug therapy to manage pain, reduce inflammation and slow progression of the disease. The ND attempts to reduce pain with non-toxic or non-pharmacological agents, and also to instill positive lifestyle factors such as weight reduction, increased exercise, and improved diet. Attention is put on the digestive and eliminative processes, to encourage the body's own self-healing mechanisms.

With a rapidly ageing population that is increasingly aware, educated, and health conscious, it is widely believed that natural medicine will rise rapidly in popularity, usage, and effectiveness. Practitioners of naturopathic medicine at all levels will be in increasing demand as baby boomers become more and more susceptible to arthritis, muscle and back pain, and digestive ailments. A recent essay by a health economist at the Fraser Institute noted that "with constant concern about the rising costs of health care, patients should be encouraged to seek preventive, less costly and less risky treatments than those that are now readily available to them. And they should be able to receive these treatments from qualified practitioners of several disciplines."