Monday February 6, 2012
On Wednesday February 1 the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its newest industry growth projections for the decade, and the healthcare industry leads in several categories of growth. The industry employment projections are released every two years; the figures released last week project employment growth in various sectors, industries, and occupations for the years of 2010 through 2020.
Below are a few key highlights from the report, related to healthcare employment. All projections are for the ten year period ending in 2020:
Healthcare, combined with social assistance, is projected to add 5.6 million new jobs. This is more than any other sector.
Of the 22 major occupational groups, employment in healthcare support occupations is expected to grow most rapidly (34.5 percent). Personal care is expected to grow by 26.8 percent, and healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are predicted to have the third-highest rate of growthm at 25.9 percent.
7 of the 20 most rapidly growing occupations are in the healthcare/social assistance sector.
The profession expected to grow more than any other occupation in any sector is registered nurses, with a projected addition of 712,000 jobs.
The third most rapidly growing occupation (among all sectors) is home health aides.
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Friday February 3, 2012
The healthcare industry added jobs in both outpatient and inpatient settings in January. Job growth was evenly divided between hospitals and ambulatory care centers (doctors' offices, outpatient surgery centers, etc.), with each sector adding about 13,000 new jobs, according to the latest data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Within the ambulatory care industry, outpatient care centers grew the most, by 4,500 jobs, while physician offices added 2,700 jobs and home health care added 1,900 jobs.
Nursing homes and residential care facilities also grew by an additional 5,000 new jobs, for a total of 31,000 new healthcare jobs added in January.
January was also a strong month for job growth in hospitality, retail trade, professional and business services, and accounting and bookkeeping. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 243,000, bringing the unemployment rate down slightly to 8.3 percent, its lowest point in three years.
The unemployment rate within the healthcare industry is only 5.5 percent, down from 5.8 percent this time last year. The healthcare industry's unemployment rate is among the lowest of all sectors; only government workers and financial activities have lower unemployment rates, at 4.2 and 4.9 percent respectively.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also projects some of the greatest growth in future months to take place for home health care, nursing, and biomedical engineering.
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Tuesday January 31, 2012
A recent survey of healthcare employers by MiracleWorkers.com projects radiologic technologists to be among the most sought-after workers of 2012.
Also known as "rad techs", radiologic technologists are the healthcare workers who operate various imaging machines and help patients get in position and properly prepared for the image to be taken. After the image is scanned or captured, the image is then evaluated by a radiologist who may consult with the physician who ordered the test to determine the patient's diagnosis and treatment plan.
X-ray, MRI, CT and mammography are the various imaging machines that rad techs may be trained to use. Education and training programs for rad techs include certificate programs, associate's degree programs, and bachelor's degree programs.
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Monday January 30, 2012
If you are one of the 5,000 pharmaceutical sales representatives who was laid off in the past five years, there is some good news for you on the career front. According to a recent article in the American Medical News, many hospitals are hiring former drug reps for roles in physician relations.
Known as "physician liaisons" or "physician relations specialists" (or managers), such professionals are responsible for meeting with physicians in the area to keep them informed of the services offered by the hospital. By hopefully strengthening the relationship between the hospital system and the physicians, the intent is to maintain and grow the patient referral base to the hospital by keeping physicians informed and satisfied with the level of care and services provided to referred patients.
According to the AMN article, hospital employers often seek former drug sales or medical device sales reps to hire in physician relations, because former drug reps have the skill set and hopefully an existing book of business that will make them most successful in the role of physician liaison.
Upon conducting an online search of jobs for "physician relations" or "physician liaison", I found that there were many open jobs posted and advertised for this role, which is a positive sign of growth for this career.
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