Careers in Healthcare

Careers in Healthcare Terminology

1. Health Science Education (HSE) - programs that can prepare a student for immediate
employment in many health care careers or for additional education after graduation

2. Associate’s Degree - which is awarded by a career/technical school or a community
college after completion of a prescribed 2 year course of study

3. Bachelor’s Degree - which is awarded by a college or university after a prescribed
course of study that usually lasts 4 or more years

4. Master’s Degree - is awarded by a college or university after completion of 1 or more
years of work beyond a bachelor’s degree

5. Doctorate/Doctoral Degree - which is awarded by a college or university after completion
of two or more years of work beyond a bachelor’s or master’s degree

6. Certification - means a person has fulfilled the requirements of education and
performance and meets the standards and qualifications established by the professional
association or government agency that regulates a particular career

7. Registration - required in some health careers, is performed by a regulatory body that
administers examinations and maintains a current list of qualified personnel in a given
health care area

8. Licensure - a process whereby a government agency authorizes individuals to work in a
given occupation

9. Continuing Education units (CEUs) - required to renew licenses or maintaining
certification or registration in many states

10. Multicompetent or Multiskilled Worker - a common trend in healthcare because of high
cost - smaller facilities and rural areas often they can’t afford to hire specialist for every
aspect of care

11. Entrepreneur - an individual who organizes and manages a business and assumes its
risks

Health Science Career Pathway

● Therapeutic Services

○ Therapeutic Services careers in healthcare are directed toward changing the
health status of the patient over time. They use a variety of treatments to help
patients that are injured, physically or mentally disabled, or emotionally distured.
All treatments are directed to allow the patients to function at their maximum
capacity.
■ Careers in Therapeutic Services - Athletic Trainer, Dentist, Home Health
Aid, Orthotist, Speech Language Pathologist and MANY more

● Diagnostic Services

○ Diagnostic service workers are involved with creating a picture of the health
status of a patient at a single point in time. They perform tests and evaluations

that aid in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of disease, injury or any other
physical conditions.

■ Careers in Diagnostic Services - Audiologist, Histotechnician,
Occupational Therapist, Mammographer and Physical Therapist

● Health Informatic

○ Health informatics works are involved with documentation of patient records and
health information. With the increase in using electronic health records (EHRs)
the job responsibilities of the workers have increased also. Some of the critical
components of health informatics is maintaining security, utilizing EHR software
programs, analyzing information and creating networks. There are many different
types of health informatics workers at all levels.
■ Careers in Health Informatics - Admitting Clerk, Clinical Coder, Health
Educator, Information Privacy Officer and Patient Advocates

● Support Services
○ Support services workers are involved with creating a therapeutic environment to

provide direct or indirect patient care. Hospital and health care facility requires

workers to operate the support ​departments. They work in administration,
business office, admission office and many other areas.

■ Careers in Support Services - Clinical Engineer, Central Service
Manager, Healthcare Administrator, Interpreter and Materials Manager

● Biotechnology Research and Development

○ Biotechnology career workers are involved with using living cells and their
molecules to make useful products. They work with cells and cell products from
humans, animals, plants and microorganisms. They help produce new diagnostic
test, forms of treatments, medications and vaccines through research and
development.
■ Careers in Biotechnology Research and Development - Biochemist,
Biomedical Chemist, Cell Biologist, Geneticist and Medical Editor/Writer

Different Careers in HealthCare

● Physical Therapy
○ Salary
■ $87,930 per year
■ $42.27 per hour
○ Educational Requirements

■ High School - biology, chemistry, medical assisting, algebra,
trigonometry, health education, computer skills, humanities and
geometry

■ College - 4-year degree, master’s or doctoral degree, antonym,
physiology, chemistry and physics

■ Physical Therapy School - last 3 years, sometimes include courses such
as: b​ iomechanics, anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, and
pharmacology, complete at 30 weeks of clinical work

○ Licensure and Certifications Required
■ All states require physical therapists to have a license but the
requirements for a license vary in different states. To get a physical
therapy license it is required to pass the National Physical Therapy
Examination. For Mississippi you can gain your license through the
Mississippi State Department of Health.

○ Job Description
■ They provide services to many different patients. They help patients
recover from accidents, people that have disabilities and athletes. They
help improve patients strength, mobility and relieve pain. Physical
Therapist give them exercises to at home to help them get better