Degrees In Health Care

The physical and occupational therapist is one of the fastest growing positions in the healthcare industry. This position typically requires a master’s degree, a lengthy college commitment that several prospective college students cannot afford.

Did you know though, that by merely studying for 2 years and obtaining an associate’s degree, you can secure a position as a certified physical therapist assistant? This is one of the jobs listed in the U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics’ November 2007 assessment of the job market as “the fastest growing occupations.”

There are the fastest growing jobs in the medical industry–and then there are the ones with the largest pay spikes.

For prospective and current college students looking into pursuing a career as a doctor, the wages of rookie doctors are looking good. Med students worried about your accruing debt, rejoice!: there are increases in the starting salaries of many specialties as the medical field expands.

According to a survey conducted by the Medical Group Management Association, a trade group for medical groups, the specialties with the biggest jumps in 2008 from a year earlier (based on data from 3,520 physicians) is as follows:

• Neurology: $200,000 to $230,000; 15% increase
• Non-invasive cardiology: $350,000 to $400,000; 14.29% increase
• Anesthesiology: $275,000 to $312,500; 13.64% increase
• Emergency medicine: $192,000 to $215,040; 12% increase
• Internal medicine: $150,000 to $165,000; 10% increase

Saint Leo University is a military-friendly school that has been providing degrees to students since 1889. The university offers 41 different programs, including sought-after healthcare degrees.

Saint Leo University provides quality education through both campus-based and distance learning (their online programs are provided by their Center for Online Learning). The prospective healthcare student will be delighted by their two prestigious healthcare programs.

The first program offered is their School of Psychology. Psychology students are encouraged to complete an internship while studying their field, helping them apply it to either a healthcare career or in law, personnel, or sales. Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists, two of the “hot jobs” discussed in Fastest Growing Occupations in the Healthcare Industry, are pursued through a psychology degree.

In the U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics’ November 2007 assessment of the job market, they compiled a list of the “Fastest growing occupations” in today’s job market. These occupations are expected to receive steady growth until 2016.

The Wall Street Journal: Independent Street discussed the incorporation of healthcare for small businesses. The proposal The Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, is estimated to bridge the gap between the uninsured employees of small business firms and insured employees of larger corporations. The proposal will allow $1,000 per employee and $2,000 per family, per year, for the small business venture approved for aid.

This will further increase the healthcare industry as Congress tries to work to make healthcare an option available to the entire nation. If the program is successful, healthcare jobs will flourish as the small business ventures opening in response to the economy continue to establish health insurance policies for their new employees.

Entrepreneurship, or small business ventures, make up half of the employees in the United States and pay for 45% of the economy’s income. They represent 99.7% of all business firms. For these small businesses to all have healthcare readily available means an equally drastic spike in the healthcare industry, as the United States health reform addresses the needs of these 27.2 million small businesses.

For prospective college students that find the costs of the traditional 4-year program daunting, especially with the struggling incomes of the current economy, there are jobs available at the 2-year or Associate’s Degree level. Yahoo! Education outlines in their article, “No Bachelor’s? No problem!” different positions for thriving occupational fields. For healthcare, the following two [...]