![Physician Healthcare Careers](https://www.srjnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Physician-Healthcare-Careers.jpg)
Healthcare is a 4 trillion dollar industry, and median pay in the field is around $70,000 a year. What’s
more is that you don’t necessarily have to go to medical school or nursing school to work in
healthcare. We’re seeing a lot of demand for non-physician roles like support, specialized care, and
administration as well. Furthermore, many of these jobs can pay almost as well as an MD without
requiring as many years in school. Let’s look at 6 non-physician healthcare careers that are in
particularly high demand right now.
Physical Therapy
One of the best fields in healthcare at the moment is physical therapy. Physical therapy pays roughly
$90,000 a year and demand for physical therapists is expected to grow by almost 25% over the next
10 years.
One of the great things about being a physical therapist is that they have much more freedom than
other medical professionals. They can choose their clients and where they work. You could work in
rehabilitation facilities, sports facilities, fitness centers or the client’s home. They can often choose
their work schedule and could become self-employed as well.
Occupational Therapists
Occupational therapists help clients perform activities for daily living. For example, you might help
someone disabled by a stroke or after the loss of a limb to learn how to get dressed, eat, and take a
shower. The end goal is to help them return to as normal of a life as possible.
Most occupational therapists work in hospitals and nursing homes, though they may work in
doctor’s offices or visit patients in their home. Pay ranges from around $40,000 to $80,000 a year.
Healthcare Administration
People who don’t want to work in a physician role, but would still want to play an essential role,
could consider working in an administrative position. Healthcare administration is one of the fastest-
growing fields in the United States, and there are many factors that are causing this sudden growth.
If you want to know exactly why healthcare administration is so in demand right now, we suggest
you check out this article from Suffolk University. It discusses how the pressures on the American
healthcare system are one of the major reasons why the country is in such dire need of qualified
administrators to work at various levels, among other things.
However, healthcare administration is becoming an umbrella term as administrators themselves
specialize. For example, hospital administrators remain in demand, but there is growing demand for
health insurance specialists as well.
Their job includes assisting with medical coding and processing medical claims. Claims processing is
often done by entry-level professionals. Health insurance professionals may oversee claims
processing or supervise the front desk.
You also have emerging related fields like social welfare administrators that are rising in popularity.
Social welfare administrators help connect clients with services provided by nonprofits, government
programs and religious groups. For example, they might help clients sign up with a program that can
take them to and from doctor’s appointments or get assistance paying for healthcare, or they may
oversee a cadre of volunteers.
Healthcare Information Technologist
Technology has become part of everyday life, and this is as true of healthcare as it is everywhere
else. Doctors are entering notes into digital notepads while nurses check off to-do items on tablet
computers. Health records are electronic, too. Healthcare information technologists support the
critical hardware and software that makes this all possible.
Someone could become a health information technician inputting data into electronic databases or a
manager overseeing healthcare IT infrastructure, for instance. There are a wide number of positions
in healthcare IT that you can fill, and they don’t all require that you spend years on a bachelor’s or
master’s degree either. You could start with an associate’s degree in basic healthcare IT, but don’t
expect to get paid as well. However, with an advanced degree, your pay could easily approach
$100,000 a year.
Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Nuclear medical technologists prepare radioactive drugs used in medical imaging or therapeutic
purposes like cancer treatment. Not only are they in increasing demand, but they are paid very
handsomely as well. As a matter of fact, nuclear medicine technologists can stand to make as much
as $80,000 a year. It is especially lucrative given that you only need an associate’s degree from an
accredited program, though some states require a license, as well.
Note that this is separate from radiation therapists who treat cancer. Their projected job growth is
expected to be 13%, while their median pay rate is over $80,000 a year. An associate’s degree is the
minimum to work in this field, while certification or licensing is a must.
Home Health Aide
If you’d like to have a deeper personal connection with your patients and have a naturally nurturing
personality, then working as a home health aide might be the perfect career choice for you. Not only
that, but demographic pressures could make this one of the most important positions in healthcare
for years to come.
As a home health aide, you might be called to work with the elderly, or you may be asked to work
with people who are suffering from chronic conditions. Others will work specifically with people with
disabilities.
As part of your duties, you might be responsible for reminding patients to take their medication or
administer it to them. You will also be responsible for looking over the patient’s condition, and
report progress or degradation.
While this may not be the highest paying position on this list, it is still a great option because of the
little amount of formation that you need. Many future nurses also start as home health aides to help
them get prepared for their career.
The healthcare industry offers a wide array of high-paying jobs that don’t require you to study
traditional medicine. With an aging population and advances in technology, you’re certain to remain
in demand for the foreseeable future, as well. Are any of these careers suited to you?