By Rick Fromme
That’s no B.S. (I mean Bachelor of Science degree).
As the title of this article unequivocally states, regardless
of your circumstances, if you’re currently unable to pursue a bachelor’s, or
more advanced degree, in hopes of working in the healthcare industry, I
have good news for you. You don’t need
to obtain a bachelor’s degree to get a good and well-paying job in the
healthcare field today (and tomorrow). Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for higher
education. But pragmatically speaking, there are millions of financially
rewarding, challenging and vital jobs in this industry for those without a
four-year degree. Interested? Read on …
“Pre-baccalaureate healthcare workers make up a large share
of the healthcare
workforce and should be seen as an asset in providing high-quality,
cost-effective healthcare,” affirm the authors of a major report that was
recently prepared for the Brookings
Institution.
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| Photo credit: brookings.edu |
thatemploy numerous healthcare workers who have attained an associate’s degree and/or other non-four year baccalaureate degrees. The report adds, “The training and skills of healthcare workers in supportive and assistive roles are central, yet often overlooked in generating quality care and patient satisfaction.”
For those not familiar with the organization, the Brookings
Institution is a private, nonprofit organization devoted to independent
research and innovative policy solutions. Based in Washington, DC, its mission
is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based upon its findings,
to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad
goals:
- Strengthen American democracy
- Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity for all Americans
- Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system
The Brookings Institution is consistently ranked as one of
the nation’s most influential, most quoted, and most trusted think tanks. So when
it recently issued an in-depth report about the future of healthcare jobs, it
definitely caught my attention.
Report Findings
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| Photo credit: thebestdegrees.com |
As stated in the report, “Partof the Solution: Pre-Baccalaureate Healthcare Workers in a Time of Health System Change,” which was prepared for the Metropolitan Policy Program at
Brookings, healthcare occupation jobs continue to make up a large and growing
percentage of the national workforce.
(Of course, I’ve talked about this on several occasions before, check
out previous blogs such as, “HealthCare Jobs Outlook is Jammin’!” and our ongoing “A
Day in the Life” series.) The report estimates that 12 million jobs, or
about nine percent of all workers in the U.S. economy, are currently employed
in the medical and healthcare industries.
And, as I’ve noted in the above-mentioned blogs, that number
will continue to rise, in part due to America’s changing age demographics
profile, as more Baby Boomer continue reach their “Golden” and “Twilight” years
― some in better health than others. Also,
the enactment of the ACA/Obamacare plays a role as well (read the blog “ObamaCare Aware.”) The Department of Labor projects that
healthcare occupations will evince strong growth between 2012 and 2022, adding
nearly three million more jobs.
And here’s the kicker, according to the report:
“Specifically, occupations in which substantial shares of workers have less
than a bachelor’s degree are growing the most and the fastest. These include
home health aides, nursing aides, personal care aides, licensed practical and
vocational nurses, medical assistants, registered nurses, physical therapist
assistants/aides, diagnostic medical sonographers, occupational therapy
assistants/aides, and dental hygienists …
“While many discussions of the changing healthcare workforce
focus on doctors, and other professions with advanced degrees,” the report’s
findings continue, “workers with lower levels of education make up a large
share of the healthcare workforce and carry out functions critical to an
effective healthcare system. The training and skills of healthcare workers in
supportive and assistive roles are central yet often overlooked in generating
quality care and patient satisfaction.”
 |
| Photo credit: thebestdegrees.com |
In fact, the detailed report estimates that those in the ten
largest pre-baccalaureate healthcare occupations total 3.8 million. These
account for nearly 50% of the total number of healthcare jobs in the U.S.’ 100
largest metropolitan areas. Here are the
report’s top ten pre-baccalaureate healthcare occupations within the U.S.' largest 100
metropolitan areas (2009-2001):
- Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides (includes home health aides, psychiatric aides, nursing assistants, and orderlies)
- Registered nurses
- Personal Care Aides
- Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
- Health practitioner support technologists and technicians (includes dietetic technicians, pharmacy technicians, psychiatric technicians, respiratory therapy technicians, surgical technologists, and veterinary technologists and technicians)
- Medical assistants
- Dental assistants
- Diagnostic-related technologists and technicians (includes cardiovascular technologists and technicians, diagnostic medical sonographers, nuclear medicine technologists, radiologic technologists, and magnetic resonance imaging technologists)
- Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (includes medical and clinical laboratory technologists and medical and clinical laboratory technicians)
- Emergency medical technicians and paramedics
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| Photo credit: upstate.edu |
Additional Key Points
“Educational attainment varies considerably among workers in
pre-baccalaureate healthcare occupations, and earnings largely track education.
Pre-baccalaureate RNs and diagnostic technologists and technicians typically
have associate’s degrees or other post-secondary educational experience and
have the highest median annual earnings (full-time, year-round) of
pre-baccalaureate healthcare workers, at $60,000 and $52,000 respectively. By
contrast, about half of personal care aides and nursing, psychiatric and home
health aides have a high school diploma or less, and post median annual
earnings of $21,000 and $25,000, respectively.
“Pre-baccalaureate
healthcare workers in the 10 largest pre-baccalaureate healthcare occupations
are racially and ethnically diverse and overwhelmingly female.
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| Photo credit: myfreephotoshop.com |
“The number of jobs held by pre-baccalaureate workers in the
10 largest pre-baccalaureate healthcare
occupations increased at a faster rate
than jobs held by similarly educated workers overall, but the largest growth
was among lower-paying pre-baccalaureate healthcare occupations, and only
registered nurses experienced real earnings growth between 2000 and 2009-11.
“The size and nature of the pre-baccalaureate healthcare
workforce varies by region, reflecting demographics and healthcare industry
mix.”
Looking for a Great Medical Job? Check out MedMasters.com
In this article, I provided a summary of a recent, key report
issued by the Brookings Institution on the current and future state of
America’s healthcare industry jobs. The report found that a strong percentage
of healthcare workers are non-baccalaureate degree holders, and it furthermore
affirmed these jobs are ― and will continue to be ― an indispensable component
of the U.S.’ healthcare delivery system. If you found this article useful,
please feel free to click “Like” as well as share and repost it. If you have
any questions or comments, as always, I’m eager to read them.
Rick Fromme combines entrepreneurial enthusiasm with an
insider's knowledge of the medical industry to co-found MedMasters.com. Both his drive and
perspective helps provide health care professionals with a superior mechanism
with which to communicate, network and market their strengths. Prior to
founding MedMasters.com, Rick
operated a highly successful medical device distributorship. Other milestones
in his 12-year career in the medical industry include a key position at a
medical device start-up company that was later sold to the Ethicon
Endo division of Johnson & Johnson. You may also reach Rick
by connecting with him on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube.
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