Degrees In Health Care

Healthcare degrees are the way to go these days. With the healthcare industry on the rise and graduates being snatched up twice, sometimes even thrice as fast as other degree options, prospective college students are attracted to an exciting field that yields both a rewarding job experience and that much-desired job security coveted due to the current economy.

But if you had to narrow down one healthcare degree that just might outshine the others, it’s physical therapy.

Physical therapy–sometimes referred to as “physical and occupational therapy” when it comes to campus and online college degrees, though physical and occupational therapists are actually quite different–is a very hands-on profession that involves lots of patient involvement and interaction.

Physical and occupational therapy is a booming field in the healthcare industry. Physical and occupation therapy degrees are on the top of the popularity charts when it comes to prospective college students looking for a lucrative and rewarding career. What is the difference between physical and occupational therapy? Why does physical therapy and occupational therapy often get presented hand-in-hand?

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.

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.”

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.

Prospective students looking to get a healthcare degree, whether it is at a campus healthcare school or an online healthcare school, have what seems like an endless array of “subsections” in healthcare to specialize in. Among them, some of the most popular healthcare degree choices are a physical and occupational therapy degree, a nursing degree, [...]