Which Healthcare Occupation is Right For You?

Which Healthcare Occupation is Right For You?

So, you want to enter into the medical and healthcare field, but becoming a doctor or nurse isn't quite what you had in mind? Then here are good news.... there is a plethora of careers one can choose from in the healthcare industry and each one is hot, hot, hot!

Something For Everybody!

Do you like working side-by-side with medical and healthcare professionals? Do you like helping people that are ill or need medical care? 

And even if you aren't exactly a hands-on people person, there still is room for you in health care!!! This field is so vast and complex that there is room for everybody's talents, whether it may be in the clinical or administrative areas. Everybody is needed and many get a chance to land their dream job.

Indeed You have Choices!

Choices are a blessing; and it is nice to know there are so many different career options in the healthcare field. Health career opportunities are available as first time professions as well as many second and third career choices, full or part-time. Medical offices, clinics, and hospitals need medical coding and billing staff, as well as all other health care professionals MORE than EVER.

• Not Just Doctors and Nurses!
• Health field career entry level opportunities include such jobs as:
• medical assistants
• medical office receptionists
• medical records clerk
• medical data assistants
• medical coding and billing specialists
• medical transcriptionist
• personal care aides
• certified nursing assistants
• physical therapy aides
• dental assistants
• pharmacy aides
• and veterinary assistants

Technical fields that require additional special training include:

• lab technicians
• X-ray technicians
• CAT and MRI technologists
• ultrasound technicians
• pharmacy technicians
• hemodialysis technician
• prosthetic technologist
• dosimetrist and sonographer
• and radiation therapists

Behind the scenes and other jobs that don't require direct patient care include:

• medical writers
• medical illustrators
• medical photographers
• medical librarians
• medical interpreters/translators

Furthermore, health insurance companies provide additional opportunities for healthcare professionals including case management, medical reviews and medical authorizations. The U.S. Department Bureau of Labor Statistics outlines many of the career opportunities in the health care industry. 

Extreme Caution Example!

Don't become one of those horror stories where students wind up with diplomas, or certificates that are completely worthless.

A certificate is a credible document (usually to attest to, or prove the validity of what it states). Although most online learning programs offer some sort of certificate of completion, this should not be confused with professional certification or a diploma awarded to graduates from vocational training institutions or community colleges upon finishing their programs.

A non-recognized, non-accredited, no-education-credits online course certificate of completion is not the same as the documentation awarded to graduates from bonafide vocational training programs.

Professional certification is an official document that attests to the holder's professional skills. It certifies that the person is proficient and qualified to perform a certain job because he/she has the specific knowledge, skills, and experience.

Consumers MUST UNDERSTAND that when a certificate is issued by a gray-area, unrecognized, non-accredited school, online course, or worse a diploma mill, it is by no means confirmation of conferment of an individual's knowledge, academic excellence, or qualifications, because of the lack of regulation, supervision, and recognition. At best, such a certificate is simply a piece of paper to either put on file, or frame and display on your bedroom wall.

Choosing the Right Medical Coding & Billing Training Program

Choosing a medical coding and billing program that leads to the right outcome demands prior research. Here is a checklist of what you can do and ask when choosing an online course: 

Get in touch with the provider of the vocational training program or online course and ask questions about the course requirements:

Ask if the program is composed, managed, and taught by experienced (and certified) medical assistant professionals and instructors, who have actually worked in various disciplines of the medical assistant field.

Review the program syllabus. The training should be comprehensive and cover all aspects of the medical medical coding and billing occupation.

Find out the program's success and pass-rate: the percentage of students that graduate successfully from the program, sit for certification exams, and land jobs.

Ask to see the program's refund policy. If they don't have one, it's best to walk!

Choose only courses that meet your specific educational needs and goals, if a program is not flexible enough, or does not lead to the desired credentials, it's probably not for you.

Contact leading professional associations and certification bodies and ask about their guidelines so you know whether you will be eligible to sit for their professional certification exam upon graduation.

Check the school's recognitions and accreditation status. Also, if it is an online course, remember to check their reputation. A reputable school will always post all necessary info to their website. A great place to double check is the BBB Online website.

See if the website has a public forum where you can read the comments. Don't rely solely on a website's published customer feedback language, since bad customer comments can be sorted out, and good ones faked.

Examine the school's address. Is it a physical address, or does it exist only in cyberspace? With a physical address you will always know where to turn should you run into problems.

Are you signing up for local services, or services provided from abroad? You might run into legal concerns but will have trouble enforcing them if the business is registered abroad.

Ask around; seek advice from professionals already in the field, read the newspaper to find out current trends.

Know whether local employers hire graduated from this school, what documentation they want, and what the future outlook might be.

Choose what's right for you, but let the school know that you are an informed consumer that will choose wisely!