Healthcare is a field that continues to grow at a rapid rate. If you are thinking of getting involved in it, it is important that you understand both the positives and the negatives in equal measure. At the same time, you do not want any misconceptions muddying up your thinking. Therefore, in the following blog post, we will dispel a few of these.
You Have to Go to School for Years Full-Time
While some of the most complicated specialisms in the medical field require you to enter a school full-time, this is not the case for everything. Indeed, there are more and more courses out there that you can complete over the internet such as the top FNP programs online. Ultimately, this is an invaluable option for many people who want to enter healthcare but do not have the option of giving up their current job role. You can complete a range of different certificates and degrees in just a year or two. There are also plenty of courses out there that give you the opportunity to learn on the job, which is another great choice for all sorts of different people.
You Will Work in a Hospital
While a lot of medical professionals obviously do work in hospitals, this is certainly not the limit of the working environments that you could find yourself in. You could work in private medical facilities, as well as those that are set up to help people at a certain point of their life such as assisted living facilities or nursing homes. At the same time, you could work in medical research labs, colleges and schools or even in people’s own homes. Essentially, people need healthcare in all sorts of different environments, and you could find yourself in any one of them depending on where the need lies and what you are most interested in.
You Have to Work Long Hours
Sure, it is true that many people who work in healthcare are highly dedicated to their jobs and work long hours as a result of this. However, there are plenty of options for people who want to work on a part-time or flexible basis. While some people in the medical field do work unusual shift patterns, there are also those who take on a standard 9 to 5 role. Essentially, you can work out the hours that are best going to fit around your own needs and requirements.
You Do Not Have a Great Deal of Choice of Job Roles
When people think of a role in healthcare, their first thought often turns to doctors and nurses. Even within these two job roles, there are all sorts of individual specialities, which means that one type of doctor is doing an entirely different job to another. Of course, beyond being a doctor or a nurse, there are a whole host of other options out there. You could find yourself working as a lab or a medical technician. You may prefer to enter pharmacy or dentistry. Physical therapy and mental health are a couple more fields that have been expanding in a big way in recent years. Ultimately, with such a wide variety of options out there, you do not have any need to limit your imagination.
There Is Not Much Chance to Progress
While some people are happy sticking with a single role, there are plenty more who want to climb the ladder. In fact, healthcare often offers a clearer progression route than some other fields. As you progress in your knowledge and skill level, you are likely to find that there are all sorts of different titles that you could take on. Of course, healthcare is a field that tends to be the most rewarding to those who have a higher level of education. As a result of this, earning an additional qualification, certificate, or degree is often what can see you moving up from one level to the next one. You are also more likely to be able to transfer from one field to the next if this is something that you are at all interested in.
You Have to Be a People Person
Of course, if you are going to be working in a patient-facing role, being a people person is obviously going to be invaluable. However, not every role in the field of medicine is like this. There are many jobs in healthcare that do not involve dealing with patients directly. You could find yourself in a lab conducting important research. You may work in an admin-based role. There is also a higher demand for those who have specialism in IT and wider technology. So, being a people person is not necessarily a prerequisite for every role in healthcare.
You Will Do the Same Thing Every Day
Many healthcare positions are fast-paced, which means that you are certainly not going to be doing the same thing day in, day out. For people who are looking for a job that is beyond the norm, this can prove to be a highly appealing proposition to them. Ultimately, nobody really wants to be bored at work, so if you can get around this with a fast-paced and invigorating job role, this is certainly an appealing prospect to all sorts of different people.
You Will Be Respected
Recent events have shown us just how important good healthcare is in our societies. It has also given many a greater level of respect for people who work in this field. As a result, you will find yourself respected for what you do for a living. While this may not be why you got involved in healthcare in the first place, there is no doubt that it can be a fantastic added bonus.
Working in healthcare comes along with a whole host of different advantages and benefits. Hopefully, by detailing just a few of these, you’ll have a great foundation of knowledge on which to base a career decision, or a better idea of which nursing role you’d like to find out more about.