Registered Nurse- Nursing is notable within the healthcare field because many paths can lead to certification as an RN. There's the Bachelors of Nursing, the Associates' Degree of Nursing and the nursing diploma, which takes 2-3 years. However, there's, an, um, spirited discussion in the field over whether nursing is a vocation or a profession, and there's rumblings about ADNs being eventually phased out as a method of entry. (Yes, this seems antithetical to addressing the nursing shortage.* I didn't do it, don't look at me.)
--Many health care workers make hourly wages, and some, like dental hygenists, often work part time, but I extrapolated a year's salary based on a 40 hour work week -- in the case of nurses, 36 hrs, or 3-12 hour shifts.
Starting Salary - $40,000
Median Salary - $57,000
Number of Workers, circa 2006 - 2,505,000
Rewards: Being able to take your skills to virtually any location, spontaneity and variety of experiences, the ability to see the results of your work and lend comfort and aid to those in need. Additionally, nursing is a diverse field, and there are plenty of opportunities to find a niche.
Drawbacks: Understaffing, working holidays, high level of responsibility combined with low level of authority, physical pain from turning patients, dealing with the demands of hospital administration and sometimes irate patients/patient families, dearth of pension programs, lots of paperwork and legwork, no work breaks, and the unique nature of medicine makes boundaries between work and off time, patient and practitioner blur. Oh, and of course, gore and human detritus.*
Good for people who enjoy: Teamwork, science, multitasking, interacting with a variety of people from all walks of life, helping others and problem-solving.
Pharmacist- You have to get up pretty early for this one. A Pharm D. can be obtained after completing 6-8 years of school, and sometimes 2 years of residency. The preliminary entry tests are rigorous, and pharmacy programs are quite competitive.
Starting Salary - $82,000
Median Salary - $94,000
Number of Workers - 243,000
Rewards: Stability, fantastic pay, opportunities for one-on-one patient contact, widespread availability of jobs location-wise, you occupy a position of leadership in the pharmacy, there's fewer drawbacks to being a "free agent" than many other professions, there's the option of starting a pharmacy of your own, and did I mention the pay? I think I did.
Drawbacks: Lots of standing, sometimes handling hazardous chemicals, trying to bridge the gap -- okay gulf -- between insurance companies and patients, sometimes working holidays, weekends, and/or nights. Customers that attempt to "cut out the middle man" and treat you like an M.D. Junkies that attempt to treat you like the ice cream man. For some, the stability seems more like monotony, and retail pharmacy in particular can be rather light on the technical elements that attract many pharmacists to the profession. Also, someone has to decipher those infamous handwritten prescriptions... guess what, it's you.
Good for people who enjoy: Math, science, chemistry, helping people in a more hands-off, routine and less stressful environment than the hospital floor, problem solving -- and balling like the proverbial hustler.
Dental Hygienist- Generally, an Associates' degree will do, but there's usually a year of pre-reqs. Many DHs also contend that the workload is more like an accelerated Bachelors' than a conventional Associates' degree.
Median Salary- $67,000
Starting Salary- $56,000
Number of Workers- 167,000
Rewards: A lot of "bang" for your degree, pay-wise. The bulk of the responsibility is on the DDS, but like lots of mid-level medical professionals, you may actually get more face time (npi) with the patients, and as a result, can form lasting bonds with them. You perform a lot of the same types of procedures, so you have the opportunity to improve immensely over time.
Drawbacks: Lots of bending in uncomfortable positions which causes neck, back, and wrist strain over time. It's very difficult to find a full time position because of the limited week of most dental offices, so benefits are rare and jobs at multiple offices are common, with all of the inherent instability that depending on multiple part time jobs for income usually entails. For some, doing cleaning procedures can become repetitive and boring. Where the bulk of responsibility in the office goes, the bulk of control & respect does, as well. And, of course, yuck mouth. Additionally, the Dept. of Labor and DHs on the ground apparently disagree about the state of the profession. Because dental hygienists hold multiple jobs, the growth potential may look way better on paper than it actually is, and in some areas, there's actual talk of field saturation.
Good for people who like: A mixture of chaos and structure, improving people's confidence and appearance while advising them on healthier habits, working with their hands, and science.
Physician's Assistant- Physician assistants spend about 2 or more years in undergrad/pre-reqs, and 2 years in PA school. However, many PA programs require some previous medical experience, in addition to the pre-reqs.
Median Salary- $74,000
Starting Salary- $69,000
Number of Workers- 66,000
Rewards- Less time in school and therefore less debt, the ability to more easily transfer from one specialization to another, less responsibility than an M.D., a relatively flexible schedule, you don't have to deal with malpractice insurance or the administrative side of healthcare as often as a physician would. You generally get more time with patients, and in areas where doctors are thin on the ground for any reason, you become the closest thing to a principal primary care provider, and are usually treated accordingly.
Drawbacks- You can never have a private practice of your own as a PA, even with years of experience -- all PAs must be under the supervision of an M.D., and if his/her diagnosis is different, it trumps yours, even if you know more about the case. Some places where medical practitioners are in low supply have a shortage because they're not the most desirable areas to live and/or work.
Good for people who enjoy: Science, problem-solving, helping the underprivileged, teamwork, and spontaneity.
*The nursing shortage is an unfortunate problem with many causes. There's the notable pay cut that nurses that teach at nursing schools recieve for the trouble of getting a PhD that creates a bottle-neck effect: schools can only accept a few aspiring nurses at a time because of the lack of nursing professors. Also, the shortage in hospitals (where the vast majority of nurses work) adds stress to an inherently stressful work environment, leaving many people who came into nursing full of energy, optimism, and a desire to change lives for the better emotionally and physically drained and perpetually worried about their ability to care for so many patients simultaneously, safely and compassionately. Of course, this creates a cycle. If nurses burn out quickly because of the shortage and/or flee bedside hospital nursing on the first thing smoking once they get the experience to become hospital administrators, or work in a private practice doctor's office, or the education to become nurse practitioners or certified nurse anesthetists, that makes it even harder on the nurses still left in the hospitals. Hella conundrum, indeed.
*Fortunately, many hospitals have tuition reimbursement programs so current employees can get the training needed to advance their careers, or just keep up with rapidly changing medical technology, procedures and rules. While the training for medical careers slows an immediate response to the expanding market, many schools control the class size, expanding or restricting the number of applicants accepted according to projected levels of demand.* These things may seem obvious, but apparently, people do get into medical careers believing that they can and will avoid diseased human bodies and their attendant smells, secretions and appearance. On the job, this results in people who avoid or ignore the "code browns and yellows", which forces co-workers and aides to pick up the slack. Also, this affects how people outside of medicine perceive medical careers... I don't think George Clooney ever got squirted with pus on "ER."
No comments:
Post a Comment