4 Fastest Growing Medical Careers 2011

Health care is growing by leaps and bounds and you want to be a part of it. What medical careers are growing the quickest and how can you be a part of it?

  • Physician Assistants must usually obtain a bachelor’s degree. They must pass the NCCPA exam and must have work-related experience.
  • X-Ray Technicians must receive either an associate or bachelor’s degree, depending on the program. A certificate program is also an option. Licensing is required and advancements in this field occur with additional experience, education and training. Online classes are always available for those who are too busy to step into a classroom or want the flexibility that comes with online study.
  • Athletic Trainers need a bachelor’s degree, and certification and licensure is required. Medical related courses are required on a continual basis. Good communication skills are required for this career with the additional ability to handle anger issues.
  • Dieticians must work toward a bachelor’s degree. Depending on the state you live in, you must either receive licensure, statutory certification or registration. Advancement in this field could lead to: management, assistant director, director, or self-employment. More than fifty percent of dieticians work in a hospital setting.

Growing medical careers in 2011 have as much to do with the changing economy as they have to do with what folks are thinking about when it comes to their health. Be a part of the fastest growing medical careers in 2011 by perusing the above list and doing some research of your own.

 

Medical Billing as a Medical Career Option

What do you envision when you think about medical insurance jobs? Do you only see insurance agents and others whose goal is to sell insurance policies? Well, there’s a whole other side of medical insurance careers that you may not know about.

One such job is that of medical insurance billing within a healthcare or medical facility. This may be a great option for you if you are looking to work in the medical field, without the day-to-day patient contact. Even though this position is considered a “back office” position, it is very important to the medical facilities.

Medical insurance billing professions submit requests for payment from insurance companies. In addition to submitting the required paperwork to the insurance companies, billers will also communicate with the companies to make sure that payment is received.

Medical insurance billing agents can work in many different places including hospitals, clinics or even third-party billing companies. These positions can be both full or part time and may even provide overtime opportunities.

An associate’s degree or certification is generally required of people who wish to enter this field. The education for these positions will include medical terminology, in addition to insurance billing procedures.

A word of caution: You may see many “work at home” medical billing opportunities for either training or employment. Many of these are scams. In fact, the Department of Labor states that less than two percent of billers actually work from home. Therefore, be extremely cautious about these types of advertising platitudes.

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The Path to Becoming a Medical Administrator

Have you ever considered becoming a medical or hospital administrator? This is an often overlooked, but very important facet of the medical industry. Some consider medical administrators to be a CEO-type position because they need to have a wide range of skills and experience including general business and accounting skills. Administrators can be responsible for many areas including records, finances and patients and staff.

If you are considering an administrative role within a medical field, you should consider obtaining a master’s degree in a field such as business administration or healthcare management.

In addition to this advanced degree, there are some other requirements that you may need to satisfy to attain the position of administrator.

There may be specific state or local licensing requirements. These licensing requirements may require that you take and pass certain courses or training requires. Most of these licensing requires will require at least a bachelor’s degree or a combination of an associate’s degree plus applicable work experience. These licensing requirements are generally required of those wanting to work in assisted living facilities, nursing homes and other similar medical facilities.

You will want to make sure you get additional experience by working within a medical setting. Very few administrators are hired without prior medical field experience. This experience will give you the understanding needed to working within a healthcare setting. These will include understanding the terminology, everyday operations and successful communication skills.

Get as much specific training on healthcare and medical regulations as you can. Much of an administrator’s job revolves around regulation and records management. You’ll need to be very familiar with these legal regulations.

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