Looking to enter the medical field? Consider becoming a CNA.
CNA training is an expedient way to get your foot in the door of the medical field. While there is some training and study involved, if you have a high school diploma or equivalent, you may become a CNA in less than a year.
Additionally, the CNA position provides a good amount of job mobility that will allow you to climb to positions such as RN or even Healthcare Administrator.
While the requirements for becoming a CNA depend on the state, here is a general guide on getting your foot in the door of your medical career.
Requirements
Becoming a CNA can be quick, especially when compared to other positions in the medical field that require years of education and training. However, that doesn’t mean you can fast-track your way through the training with no effort. The education process still requires focus and dedication.
The general requirements for becoming a CNA are:
Earn your high school diploma or GED
Complete the state-approved CNA training
Finish the required in-person clinical training
Pass the certification exam
Online CNA Training
Online CNA training is an excellent way to begin your career as a CNA and see if the role is the right fit for you. There is minimal commitment and prerequisites for most courses, so this route provides a relatively risk-free stepping stone into your new medical profession.
That being said, there are a lot of online CNA courses out there. Be sure to research which classes are legitimate and which ones are less so. Check out this resource to see which classes are right for you!
After completing online training, the majority of states will require you to gain real clinical experience via in-person training.
In-person Training
Along with online training, there are in-person CNA courses you can take as well. The benefits of in-person sessions are that they are more robust and hands-on, and they look better on a resume.
On the other hand, in-person classes are more of a commitment and not everyone has the time and money to complete these courses.
CNA training programs are available at many nursing homes and hospitals. One of the most significant benefits of this form of CNA training is the greater possibility of employment. Although anyone with a CNA certification should have no trouble finding work, in-person training allows you to get immediately into a career with hands-on experience.
The Exam
The exam covers fundamental concepts covered in the curriculum. You must pass the relevant licensure exam to receive your CNA certification and enter the industry, regardless of the CNA school option you choose.
Working in Healthcare is a challenging yet rewarding experience. When you imagine working in healthcare, you probably think of years and years of education, training and residencies. However, did you know there are healthcare jobs that only require a bachelor’s degree? Or no college degree at all?
That’s right, you can work in healthcare without breaking the bank on a pricey Doctorate program.
Certifications
While most healthcare jobs require a certification, the training is negligible compared to a four-year college program. A certification is like a mini diploma–it’s a document that you earn to show you have specific skills. Here are a couple healthcare jobs that you can get just by earning a certification.
Home Health Aid: Home Health Aides are responsible for taking care of patients who are in need of continuous care while living at home. You will help with medication administration, hygiene and other day-to-day tasks.
Personal Care Aid: Personal Care Aides are like Home Health Aids, but provide more general support by assisting with day-to-day tasks in their client’s home or in a care facility.
Phlebotomist: Phlebotomists help with taking blood samples from patients or donors.
You can find certifications for these jobs online, and some of them only take a couple of months to complete! Sign-up and you’re half-way there to your new career in healthcare! All you need now is to update your resume–click here to learn the best strategies towards making an outstanding healthcare resume.
Four-year Degrees
Additionally, there are jobs in healthcare that only require a bachelor’s degree.
See if any of these jobs below grab your interest!
Physician Assistant (PA): PAs may diagnose patients, create treatment plans, administer medications and serve as a principal healthcare provider.
Biomedical Engineer: Biomedical Engineers focus on advancing medical tech to develop new devices and equipment for improving the healthcare process.
Radiation Therapist: A Radiation Therapist treats patients with cancer and other diseases through the use of radiation treatments.
Medical Sonographer: A Medical Sonographer uses imaging equipment and soundwaves to form images of many parts of the body, known as ultrasounds.
As these jobs illustrate, you don’t need years and years of education to enter the healthcare workforce. In fact, some of these certifications you can complete in just a couple of months!
If you are thinking about taking the next step towards landing a healthcare job, consider hiring a resume writer to punch-up your resume. Click here to schedule a free consultation!
Employing healthcare workers is not as easy as employing workers from other fields. It is a much more complex and specialized because the field involves taking care of human lives where mistakes are costly and often irreversible.
The process is demanding and challenging even for healthcare managers as it takes a lot of their time and effort to effectively scrutinize and manage the workers they would have employed. As such, having professional health staffers attending to your staff needs can help to ensure all members of your team are highly competent!
Why staffing is important in healthcare
It quickly fills job vacancies
Usually, professional health staffers already access healthcare workers who are pre-vetted and ready to start working; this saves a lot of time for an employer in finding and vetting an employee and also quickly fills any employed gaps.
Reduced risk
Working with healthcare staffing companies reduces risks and burdens on employers as they do not have to worry about the provision of employment benefits. These things will be the responsibility of the staffing company and the healthcare employers are saved from the hassles.
It also gives access to skilled workers
Healthcare is a special profession that almost exclusively requires experienced and motivated workers to save human lives. As such healthcare employers need to get skilled workers and this is made easy by renowned staffing companies who know how to hire and in turn high the people most skilled for certain positions
Address the employment gap
The healthcare sector is always understaffed and the process can be worsened by employers not being able to scout skilled labor effectively due to a limit in time and resources. Due to this, healthcare staffing agencies are the best solution as they address the staffing problem effectively.
It is a good idea for healthcare employers to engage in healthcare staffing so they can be managing their healthcare staffing jobs and so that the burden of finding and employing the right healthcare professionals does not rest on them. It also saves them from taking care of the benefits so such workers while obtaining good service.
FAQ
How does a healthcare staffing company work?
They use their networks of workers and employers to connect workers and employers so that employers have access to professional healthcare workers without struggling to find them
How do healthcare staffing companies charge?
Healthcare staffing companies obtain their fares by charging a certain percentage of the wages the employer provides to the healthcare workers.
Working in the medical field promises a lot of wonderful things: great pay, fulfilling work and a network of phenomenal professionals.
However, working in the medical field is not easy nor for the faint of heart. Before you consider a medical career, think over these points.
Are You Comfortable Touching People/Being Around Blood?
If you want to work in basically any facet of the medical world, you are going to need to get your hands dirty. Eventually, you will have to place your hands on another person who may be in a great deal of pain. You may also see some pretty horrific things.
It’s also important to know that you may be regularly thrown up on, bled on and be covered in any number of unpleasant bodily fluids.
If you are squeamish around blood, and cannot handle getting too close to others, you may want to consider something else.
The Hippocratic Oath and What it Means
All physicians are required to take what is known as the Hippocratic Oath. Most of the oath is pretty easy to agree with, such as swearing to do no harm to your fellow man.
Another part of the oath has physicians swear that they will intervene in medical crises in their every day lives. Basically, if you are a physician and you encounter someone who is having an urgent medical crisis, you are bound by the oath to intervene to help the individual.
Breaking the Hippocratic Oath can result in you losing your medical license, and can also result in legal trouble. It is not an oath that is to be taken lightly, so think about it carefully before entering the field.
The Job is Stressful
For many jobs, people are able to get through the stresses of the day by remembering that although their job is important, they are not dealing with life-or-death situations.
Well… you don’t have that luxury in this profession.
You will be dealing with life-or-death situations. Your actions are going to determine whether or not some people die or get to see another day. To say the least, this can be stressful and cause a lot of people to think twice about this career path. If you’re not level-headed about this, you may be out of your depth.
It’s Not Cheap
People who work in the medical field can make good money, but getting there can be a long and expensive road. Depending on what you want to do, you may be spending 8+ years in school.
If these things haven’t scared you off, then working in the medical field may just be the right job for you! Before you start your job search, make sure you are using a winning resume! Click here to schedule a free consultation with a professional resume writer!
HealtheCareers: A Premier Site for Finding Healthcare Jobs
Finding a job in healthcare can be difficult. Along with needing a professional resume and cover letter to get you noticed, you also need to find a job search site to find decent job postings.
HealtheCareers is the job search site you have been hoping to find. They have great tools for finding jobs as well as great tools for employers who are looking to post jobs on their site.
You can find jobs in your location and based on your area of expertise.
Available Professions and Specialties
Physcians
Surgeons
Nurse Practitioners
Physician Assistants
Certified Registerd Nurse Anesthetists
Academics and Research
Cardiologist
Dermatologists
Orthopedic Surgeons
Anesthesiologists
Gynecologists
Available Tools
One of the most unique tools on the site is a salary calculator. Enter in your profession, your discipline and your location and the site will calculate the salary that you are worth.
The site also features articles about general career advice in the world of healthcare jobs. You can even download a PDF version of a salary guide that will give you information about the kinds of salary and benefits that you should strive for within your career.
When you search for jobs, you can filter by location and profession. You can also create job alerts that let you know when jobs in your profession and/or area are posted.
Who Posts Jobs Here?
HealtheCareers has a stellar network of health institutes that post jobs on their site. In fact more than 6,500 employers are currently on the website. They include but are not limited to:
MedListLabs.com Can Help You Find a Job in Hospitals
During the pandemic, entrepreneur Sean McGuigan was looking for ways to help workers on the frontline, and was amazed by what he discovered.
“I was looking for who was in demand,” McGuigan said. “Hospitals are always, always, always in need of healthcare workers, and these people need a place to apply. I couldn’t get over that they were the number one people in need of finding professionals.”
As a result, earlier this year McGuigan started MedListLabs.com, a premiere site for finding work in the healthcare industry. McGuigan also runs a site called PipelineLabs.com, which helps tech salespeople find work.
Sean McGuigan, Found of Medlistlabs.com
The reality of the healthcare industry is that hospitals and healthcare facilities are almost always looking to hire.
“There are more roles than qualified people that can fill them,” McGuigan said. “There are always open roles and a need for medical professionals. There is also a lot of competition because there are so many healthcare organizations.”
The site does not cover ALL healthcare professions; the site is mainly to help professionals on the frontline find work. Basically, this site is for professionals like doctors, nurses, surgeons and radiologists.
“This pandemic brought it to the forefront, McGuigan said. “I’m just realizing the need for these healthcare professionals on the frontlines.”
By using the website, you can find work at hospitals in your area, and work at other healthcare facilities.
What Hiring Managers Want to See On Nurses’ Applicants
If you are applying for a job as a nurse, there are several things that you should know beforehand so that you can maximize your chances of getting the job!
Hiring managers look for specific things on applications. If you’re looking for a job as a nurse or a healthcare job in general, consider following these tips!
1. Highlight Your Education First
Remember, any level of education is better than no education. However, if you went to a decent nursing school you should make sure that it is highlighted on your resume.
A lot of the time, you won’t even be considered for the job if you don’t at least have a college degree, so make sure that the hiring manager sees it right away when they look at your resume.
If you don’t have any education, put down the education that you do have. Also consider going back to school to pursue a more formal education to help better your chances of getting the job! If you need help making your resume, look no further for help! Schedule a free consultation with us, and get started on your future today!
2. Any And All Experience Should be Mentioned in Detail
Every nursing job you have ever worked should be mentioned on your resume. If you don’t think you have any experience, provide all of your experience from college courses. A decent experiential learning course can be just as impressive on a resume as an internship.
Go into detail for all positions you’ve had on your resume. Talk about your responsibilities, the size of the company you worked with and how long you were there.
If you can, go into detail about certain things that you have performed as a nurse such as inserting an IV, drawing blood, etc.
3. Behavior During Your Interview
How you behave during your interview will give the hiring manager a good idea of whether or not you will be a good fit for their nursing staff.
Your behavior will tell them how you will behave toward patients, their families and the rest of the nursing staff.
A big part of being a nurse is teamwork. You need to show that you are a team player that can work well with the rest of the nursing staff.
Working in healthcare is a dream for many people in the workforce. There are plenty of jobs out there, and they are known for paying well and for having amazing benefits. Unfortunately, landing one of these jobs can be a daunting task.
Luckily, there are plenty of resources out there that provide research on the best healthcare jobs out there, what it takes to get them and how to tailor your resume to stick out to the hiring managers.
Sure, not everyone wants to devote 8+ years of schooling to become a doctor, but there are plenty of other healthcare jobs out there other than being a doctor or surgeon that require far less schooling.
Healthcare Jobs Other Than Being a Doctor
Nursing
The most obvious option would be to pursue a career in nursing. Nursing does not require as many years of schooling as it does to be a doctor. What’s even better is that you can find a job as a nurse at more places than just hospitals.
Private healthcare clinics need nurses, and even schools need nurses for when students fall ill.
Phlebotomy
Walgreens, CVS, Jewel, Target and Meier all typically have a pharmacy on site that needs a pharmacist to run it and give patients their medicine. Pharmacists also don’t need as much Most stand-alone pharmacy programs only take four years, so you can get started working as a pharmacy quicker than if you want to be a doctor.
Pharmacists also make great money with the average salary being more than $100,000.
Anesthesiologist
If you’ve ever had surgery that required that you get knocked out, you’ve probably noticed on your medical bills just how ungodly expensive anesthesia can be. Well, one of the reasons why is because an anesthesiologist needs to make sure that you are getting enough anesthesia to stay out cold, but not too much that it might do harm to your body.
For this reason and more, anesthesiologist are some of the highest paying medical jobs out there!
According to Glassdoor, anesthesiologists typically make around $350,000 per year, and their assistants can make more than $250,000!
The biggest drawback to being an anesthesiologist is that it can take up to 12 years to become one. However, you can pay back those student roles quick once you get your job as an anesthesiologist.
Hospital Management
Just like any business, hospitals need management positions to help keep things running. This means that they need administrators, staff coordinators and operations managers.
These jobs can vary wildly in salary depending on the actual position and the size of the hospital. A smaller doctor’s office in the middle of nowhere may only pay $35,000 for an administrator’s position, whereas a large hospital in the city may pay in excess of six figures!
Luckily, there are plenty of hospital management jobs of varying qualifications and salaries at each and every hospital. Even if you have a four-year degree, you may be in the running for most of the open positions.
Geriatric Care
Depending on where you work, a geriatric care nurse can make in excess of $100,000 per year. Even on the low end, these positions seldom make less than $70,000 per year.
Geriatric nurses and physicians aid elderly patients who require a bit more care and caution with their treatment. In some cases, these patients even require a live-in nurse you watches over them 24/7.
Computer Technician/IT Support
From patient information, to scheduling, to sending information across the hospital, it is imperative that hospitals have a solid network of digital information. This means that they need computer technicians and IT Support on site who regularly fix and maintain the virtual network of the hospital.
If the computers go down, it is literally a matter of life and death to get them back up in a timely manner. This means that hospitals will pay top dollar for a solid IT team.
These positions can pay well over six-figures and only require four years worth of schooling in order to get a degree!
Patient Intake/Clerical
As with most clerical positions, the clerical staff positions at hospitals typically do not pay nearly as well as the other positions at a hospital. However, you will still have access to the phenomenal healthcare benefits that typically comes with working at a hospital. Rarely will you see salaries reach above $20 per hour.
What’s even better is that many hospitals do not require any schooling in order to be qualified for a clerical position at a hospital. Clean up your resume, and start applying!
Do I Go to School?
If you want to work in healthcare, you should consider going to school. Below, you can see the schooling required for several healthcare positions:
EMT/Paramedic: You need a high school diploma, CPR certification and a state license.
Home Health Aides: High school diploma. A four-year diploma and state certification help.
Licensed Nurse: Complete an accredited program (college diploma), and complete a one-year certification program.
Medical/Clinical Lab Technicians: Obtain a bachelor’s degree in either medical technology or life sciences. Some states require a license.
Health and Medical Services Managers: Obtain a degree in health administration and a state license. However, some positions may require a master’s degree.
Medical Assistants: A high school diploma is required, but most hospitals won’t hire someone for this position unless they have received a formal education and have experience.
Doctors and Surgeons: These positions require an undergraduate degree, four years of medical school, and up to eight years in either a residency program or internship.
Radiologist: You will need either a bachelor’s degree in radiation therapy or an associate’s degree in radiation therapy. You will also need to be certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.
I’m Ready… But My Resume/CV Isn’t
If you are ready to start applying for jobs in the medical field, we can help you get them. Hospitals typically have applicant-tracking systems that filter out resumes that lack the proper keywords or lackluster formatting. We are certified in getting resumes through applicant-tracking systems and into the hands of the hiring staff!
If you would like to speak with a professional resume writer and receive a free consultation on improving your resume, click the following link!
How Do I Find These Jobs?
Believe it or not, you can find jobs in healthcare on the same job-search sites where you find other positions. Indeed, LinkedIn and Monster all have listings for open positions at local hospitals and healthcare facilities so you can start your search there!
Do some research on the local healthcare facilities near you. If you go on their websites, you can find their careers page where you can see any and all open positions and apply for them directly on their site!
Just make sure that you follow-up on the positions you apply for, and put your best foot forward in the interview!
