Pump Up Your Career with a Job In Cardiac Perfusion
If you want to know how to make someone's heart beat for you, literally, then a career in cardiac perfusion could be an ideal profession. What better way to pump up your career than to learn how to operate the heart-lung machine during heart surgery?
The heart-lung machine, or "pump", basically does the work of the patient's heart during the surgery which is sometimes stopped during heart surgery. The perfusionist is trained to operate and maintain the pump during the surgery so that the patient's blood continues to be oxegenated and cleaned while the patient's heart is stopped.
If that doesn't make your heart skip a beat with excitement over this career, consider this: the average salary for perfusionists is about $110,000 per year, (according to Monster.com's Salary Wizard) and only a bachelor's degree is required to get into a training program.
Cardiac perfusion is just one of many exciting cardiology careers that are recognized this month as part of Cardiovascular Professionals Week and Heart Health Month.
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Careers with Heart: Cardiovascular Professionals Week Feb. 12-18
This week is Cardiovascular Professionals Week, February 12-18, sponsored by the Alliance of Cardiovascular Professionals. Are you seeking a career with heart? A career in the cardiology field, or cardiovascular medicine, may be for you. Cardiovascular professionals are healthcare workers who aid in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions of the heart and circulatory system.
Careers of all levels and types are needed in cardiology, including support and tech careers, nursing, physicians, and more. Therefore, no matter what level of education you are able to obtain, there is a cardiology career that could be a fit for you, whether you are a high school grad, a college grad, or seeking a post-graduate degree program.
You may be familiar with some related careers in cardiology such as nursing or physician careers in cardiovascular medicine, but do you know what a cardiac perfusionist does? How about a cardiovascular technologist? Also, you probably know that a cardiologist is a heart doctor, but did you know there are about five different kinds of cardiologists? There are many careers in the field of cardiology that you may or may not have ever known existed, so explore careers in cardiology today!
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New Employment Projections: Healthcare Sector To Add Most Jobs 2010-2020
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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Hospitals, Ambulatory Care Add Jobs in January
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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Radiologic Technologist Careers
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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Hospitals 'Re-purpose' Drug Sales Reps as Physician Liaisons
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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Nurse Anesthetists' Week - January 22-28 2012
This week is National Nurse Anesthetists Week, honoring the advanced practice, highly specialized nursing role of CRNAs - certified registered nurse anesthetists. CRNAs are some of the most highly compensated of all nurses. All CRNAs have an advanced degree at least of a master's level from an accredited nurse anesthetist training program.
In a statement, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists has this to say about this annual recognition of CRNAs:
"Every day, CRNAs provide anesthesia with the professional quality and personal care patients expect and deserve when facing surgery or other healthcare procedures that require anesthesia.
Whether the CRNA is at the head of the surgical table, caring for trauma patients in the emergency room, or easing labor pains for new mothers, patients can rest assured that they are in the care of an anesthesia professional committed to providing the safest, most comfortable anesthesia experience possible."
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Survey Predicts Strong, Competitive Healthcare Job Market for 2012
The health care hiring market for 2012 will remain an in demand sector, as many employers struggle to find the right candidates in their markets. More than a third (37 percent) of health care employers have jobs open for which they cannot find qualified candidates. This is according to a new study from MiracleWorkers.com - CareerBuilder's job site for health care professionals - conducted November 9 to December 5, 2011, among more than 350 health care employers.
Salary Growth and In-Demand Positions
A third (34 percent) of health care employers will offer higher starting salaries to new employees in 2012. Sixty-four percent of existing employees will also see salary increases this year. For jobs that are tough to fill - typically high-skilled or high-demand positions - wages traditionally go up.
The following five job titles, according to CareerBuilder's Supply & Demand Portal, have seen the greatest downward shift in labor pressure, meaning they have become increasingly more difficult to fill.
1. Critical Care Nurses
2. Surgical Technologists
3. Radiological Technologists
4. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
5. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
Training Programs and Recruiting College Grads
Thirty-seven percent of health care employers say they can't find qualified candidates for open positions. To counter the persistent skills gap affecting recruitment in the health care industry, more employers are targeting young talent and are willing to train workers without experience. Fifty-one percent of healthcare employers will target recent college grads this year, compared to 40 percent for 2011. One-third of healthcare employers plan to train and hire workers with no prior experience in the industry or field.
Turnover and Retaining Top Talent
Retaining and attracting top talent remains an important priority for health care employers in 2012. More than a quarter (28 percent) said they saw an increase in voluntary turnover - employees leaving for other opportunities - in 2011. Forty-five percent are concerned top performers may leave their organization this year, and 41 percent say they'll replace lower performing employees with higher performing employees.
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Healthcare Offers Most Job Security for Employees
During rough economic times, workers experience multiple levels of stress related to layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts and myriad other issues. Most employees just want to ensure their jobs are secure. Laurence Shatkin, in his new book 150 Best Jobs for a Secure Future, details the most secure occupations and fields, and the healthcare industry was among the top six most secure fields in which to work. The other fields offering the most job security include computer systems design, educational services, government, repair and maintenance, and utilities.
"During economic downturns, these fields tend not to shed workers as much as other fields do, and the overall outlook for employment in these fields is good to excellent," Shatkin said.
"Combining medical technology and the human touch, the healthcare field diagnoses, treats and administers care around the clock, responding to the needs of millions of people--from newborns to the terminally ill. Because it meets a lifelong need and the demand for health care is increasing rapidly, this is one of the most secure career fields."
One example of many high-growth health careers are physicians and surgeons. With an average annual income of $153,000 and potential to earn much more as a specialist, physicians and surgeons are among the most lucrative health professions. Growth of about 26 percent is projected for the profession, with about 29,480 positions open in a given year.
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Healthcare Adds 23,000 Jobs in December
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly unemployment data for December, revealing another strong month of job growth for healthcare, and a few other sectors.
The healthcare industry added 23,000 jobs in December, in a variety of settings. The healthcare industry grew by 315,000 jobs over the year of 2011.
In December, hospitals added 1o,000 of the total new healthcare jobs, while over 11,000 jobs were added in ambulatory care settings.
Home health added the most ambulatory care jobs in December, with about 2,000 new jobs. Other new ambulatory care jobs included about 1,900 jobs added in medical offices, and 1,600 added in outpatient care centers.
As for the nation's overall job growth, over 200,000 jobs were added. As a result, the unemployment rate edged down to 8.5 percent, compared to the healthcare industry's unemployment rate of 5.5 percent.
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