Learn more about a variety of interesting practice environments and medical employers.
Hospitals
Hospitals are one of the first places people may think of when deciding to work in the healthcare field, but there are many different types of hospitals and other employers available. There are thousands of hospitals in the country, and most likely there is one, or more, near you.
Not all hospitals are the same - just like companies, each hospital has a different culture and environment. Therefore, you need to consider the different features and characteristics of the hospital before you choose to work there.
Medical Office
If hospitals are too large or intimidating to you, you may prefer to work in a more intimate, close-knit environment. Medical office jobs also do not require as many evening or weekend shifts as hospital jobs.
Medical offices usually are often owned and operated by physicians, or they may also be run by hospitals.
Non-profit Organizations
Non-profit organizations are groups that have been formed to promote a cause. There are hundreds of non-profit organizations that advocate health related causes or careers. Many of these organizations may be familiar to you, and others may be lesser-known.
Federal and Government Organizations
There are many government organizations that employ medical professionals in a variety of clinical and non-clinical roles. If you wish to give back to your country, and your fellow Americans, government organizations may be a great choice of employers for you in your medical career.
Not only will the military employ you as a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or allied health professional, they may even pay, in part or in full, for your medical training and education. However, you must be willing and able to live anywhere you are sent by the military, including overseas, or even to war.
Visit these military branches to explore military medical careers:
- Army
- Navy
- Air Force
- Marines
Examples of jobs at educational institutions:
- School nurse
- Speech therapist / Audiologist
- Behavioral therapist
- Mental health professionals and school counselors
- Professor (of medicine or surgery) at a medical school
One example of a university-affiliated teaching hospital is Johns Hopkins University Hospital, which is one of the top facilities in the country.
Hospice
Hospice facilities offer palliative care on an inpatient basis, or in the patients' homes. Patients who are in a hospice facility usually are considered to be terminally ill, with a very poor prognosis. Therefore, it helps to be a very strong, caring, and sensitive professional to be successful in a hospice environment.
Patients in nursing homes are often unable to handle basic care such as bathing, feeding, and dressing. Therefore, in addition to doctors, nurses, and administrators, nursing homes and long-term care facilities employ a lot of nursing assistants to help with the many labor-intensive tasks. Some examples of jobs in nursing homes and long-term care facilities:
- Pharmacist
- Nursing Aides
- Activities Director
- Medical Director (usually a physician)
Many healthcare industry jobs are the same types of jobs you would find in any other company, such as sales, supply chain, marketing, human resources, executives, accounting and finance, or engineering. However, all of these jobs at healthcare corporations are related to or support the healthcare industry in some way, whether as a consultant or a vendor of a product or service. Since these employers are in a healthcare-related business, they are usually fairly recession-proof, as are most other health careers.
Examples of healthcare industry corporations are:
- Pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors
- Healthcare Information Technology and Software developers
- Healthcare consulting firms
- Medical device and medical supply manufacturers
Some examples of healthcare "industry" jobs:
- Healthcare recruiter
- Pharmaceutical sales representative
- Health Informatics Professional
- Healthcare consultant
