Health Care

Earning a degree or certificate in a health care field could be one of the smartest decisions you ever make. Not only is health care one of the largest industries in the U.S., but the field also accounts for 10 of the 20 fastest-growing occupations in the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, creating just the type of job security people look for in a slow economy. Due to the aging Baby Boomer generation and continued shortage of health care professionals, the employment outlook for those who hold degrees or certificates in a health care field is positive.

Common Career Paths:

Registered Nurse

Registered nurses make up the largest profession within the health care industry. They are responsible for treating patients, educating patients on their illnesses and injuries, taking medical histories and providing preventive care. RNs implement a plan of care suitable for each patient's needs, which may require administering medications, checking vitals, starting and removing IVs, rehabilitation, and drawing blood for necessary blood work. They must be meticulous about a patient's charts to ensure that the patient is getting the health care they need, and maintain a patient's confidentiality. Those RNs that work with chronically ill or injured patients must be diligent and work quickly to intervene on a patient's behalf if their condition worsens. RNs can further their education at the master's level and become advanced practice nurses who have a greater scope of patient care, including the ability to prescribe certain medications and open their own practices under the oversight of a physician. Nurses can also specialize to work with certain age and population groups, such as children, the elderly, diabetics or hospice patients. They can also work in varied settings, such as hospitals, doctor's offices, outpatient clinics, home health, military bases and for schools as a school nurse. Job opportunities are projected to be excellent, with much faster than average job growth predicted between 2008 and 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The average annual salary for an RN was $62,450 as of May 2008, the BLS notes.

Medical and Health Services Managers

Medical and health services managers are responsible for directing and coordinating the delivery of health services, as well as handling the day-to-day operations of health care organizations and systems. Their specialized experience may aid them in heading up a specific clinical department or they may have more generalized experience that allows them to head up an entire health care system or organization with the help of assistant administrators and department heads. Clinical managers usually have a lengthy background in the area they oversee, and use their experience to work their way up to an executive position. Health information managers are also included under this job title, but their responsibility is over a health care organization's patient records and related technology. Many medical and health services managers coordinate the billing and collection of payment from patients who have been served by the health care system. At the top of the chain are top executives, who oversee multiple health care facilities. As with many other careers in health care, employment for medical and health services managers is projected to grow faster than average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This makes for good job opportunities down the line for qualified individuals who wish to pursue this line of work. The best job prospects will be for those with health care experience and business management skills. The average annual salary for medical and health services managers was $80,240 as of May 2008, the BLS notes.

Physician Assistant

Another fast-growing career in the health care field is that of the physician assistant (PA). PAs work alongside and under the authority of a doctor, and perform various health care responsibilities that are delegated to them, such as taking medical histories, treating patients, administering diagnostic tests, ordering x-rays, etc. PAs provide basic medical, diagnostic and preventive care. While a PA is not authorized to do the work of a surgeon, they can certainly treat minor injuries with sutures, splints and casts and offer an array of other treatments typically associated with doctors. They may also prescribe certain medications as needed. PAs in rural areas have more autonomy, but they still must confer with and report back to a physician regularly, as required by state law. Some may have side responsibilities outside of patient care, such as managerial roles. Choosing a career as a physician assistant is a smart move if you're looking for a job with lots of openings down the road. Employment of PAs is projected to grow much faster than average—a whopping 39 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Physician assistants also bring home a respectable income, considering they didn't have to earn a medical degree. The average annual salary of a physician assistant as of May 2008 was $81,230, the BLS noted. The BLS cited an American Academy of Physician Assistants report, which stated that the median yearly income for PAs in their first year out of school was $74,470.