Degrees In Health Care

The Degrees in Healthcare Blog did a Career Focus on Massage Therapists last week and an extensive list of Fifty Jobs Available in the Healthcare Industry the week prior. This week, Degrees in Healthcare is going to look at public health social workers, a backbone of health support in the community.

What is a Public Health Social Worker?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes a public health social worker as someone who provides persons, families, or vulnerable populations with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, or AIDS. The Public Health Social Worker will advise family care givers, provide counseling and education on patient illnesses, and make referrals to all the social services available to the patient. They uphold the health of the public whole and face a plethora of physical and mental conditions.

Do you dream about going back to school? Literally. We’re talking about the dreams you experience when you have your head on the pillow, not when you’re looking at your future ambitions.

Dreaming about going back to school could be an inner reflection on your desire to learn more or become more adequate at certain tasks. Your subconscious is telling you to reflect on the challenges that are stopping you from “graduating to the next level.”

This does not always mean graduation in an educational sense; however, if you find that your current career is at a glass ceiling and need postsecondary education to progress, listen to your subconscious and take a look at a dream–a conscious one–of going back to school!

Right now, the healthcare industry is the largest growing industry in the United States. During the recession, innumerable laid off employees, retired individuals, and recently graduated high school students alike are turning to medical postsecondary education for their future career endeavors.

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Graduate students are faced with limited time due to a variety of responsibilities like studying, carrying out research, earning money to pay for school, and finding time for a social life. Adding additional tasks (like industry certifications) to an already overbearing work schedule is a daunting challenge at which most students balk, but it is one of the best ways for a newly graduated student to make themselves more competitive in their field.

An especially competitive industry is that of medical professionals, including demanding professions like nursing informatics, health systems management, and other health care related business fields. While the industry continues to grow, the best and the brightest are also attracted to these positions, where competition is often fierce for promotions, and even entry level positions.

It’s never too late to go back to school and get a degree in healthcare; if Betty McNeil could get her degree at 82-years-old, that means you can, too! Here are some other riveting stories about adults going back to school:

• Chari Leader pursued her PhD, but not until she was 27 with three children!
• Beke Lindsay, a 54-year-old farmer, went back to college to enhance her career.
• After working 20 years in the printing industry, James Brausch, 45, went back to school to become a nurse.

Going to school, of course, is a serious investment, especially if you are pursuing a career as a doctor. If these people could do it though, you could do it too!

The population is rising, the amount of elderly is increasing, and healthcare feels an increasing strain each and every year. As numbers grow, more people demand healthcare, and the employee base is not there to accommodate their needs.

In CNN’s article, “How to get help in a hurry in the ER,” reporter Elizabeth Cohen discusses how the wait time in emergency rooms have risen in the past half a decade. “According to a report out this week, the average total waiting time in a U.S. emergency room in 2008 was four hours and three minutes, a 27-minute increase in nationwide average wait times since 2002,” she writes.

Prospective college students interested in a healthcare degree have made the right choice for their future–with the healthcare industry booming and job security for healthcare positions constantly on the rise, it is an excellent job market to be a part of! Before pursuing your healthcare degree though, make sure to answer the following five questions:

1. Do I want to attend medical school, or do I want a shorter education? Medical school involves 4 years at an ungraduate school, 4 years at a graduate school, and 3 to 8 years as an intern. If you are looking to get into the healthcare industry without this kind of timely investment, consider a 6-year master’s degree, a 4-year bachelor’s degree, or a 2-year associate’s degree. There are associate degrees that can turn into highly respected and rewarding job positions.

In order to understand healthcare degrees, its beneficial to understand the healthcare industry. The fastest growing job opportunities in the field, how healthcare is fairing during the recession, the future of medicare and healthcare reform: these are just a few of the topics Degrees in Healthcare has looked at to help give a better grasp of the healthcare industry, because sometimes, it goes beyond merely studying the different degrees.

For prospective college students that are interested in healthcare, it’s good to take it one step further: don’t just know about the helathcare industry in general, but know the latest knews, the newest quirks. Follow the happenings surrounding this unique, massive industry. News scoops like The Small Business Health Options Program might seem more related to the entrepreneur than the healthcare professional, but these events start to accumulate into the massive pool that makes the growth of healthcare a reality.