Career Choices in Health Care
Below is a list of my choices of a career in healthcare
Physician Consultant
Pros
- It allows one to assist the helpless and ailing
- It earns a person trust and respect that cannot be compared to that of other careers
- The high perks and pays enable one to live decently
Cons
- Studying medicine is time consuming and costly
- Patients situations are the responsibility of a person whether something wrong or right happens
- Odd and long working schedules
Education requirements:
- Medicine Doctor Degree (MD)
- Osteopathy Doctor degree (DO)
Licensing and Registry
- One must pass USMLE examination’s Part 3
- Certifying body is the Medical License Service and https://www.healthcarelicensing.com is its web address.
- To work in the field one requires registration
Compensation and employment outlook
- It is expected that this career’s demand will grow at a rate of 5.8 percent annually all the way to 2010.
- The starting salary on average is $166,000 although with experience it can increase to $239,000.
- To legally practice medicine, one requires registration with American Medical Association and http://www.ama-assn.org/ama is its web address.
Hospital administrator
Pros
- Job security
- High perks and salary
- High satisfaction for the job
Cons
- Stress that results from more responsibilities
- Extensive educational requirements
- Lack of skills for providing patient care
Academic requirements (Davila, 2013):
- A bachelor’s degree that takes 4 years to complete
- S. in business administration or B.A
- Business administration’s M.A or MBA
Registration, certification and licensing
- There is no need for a license
- Must take initial licensure’s exam
- The American Healthcare College Executives performs the board certification (though unnecessary). The website is http://www.ache.org/ (Credentialing, 2014)
Compensation/Employment outlook
- The forecasts indicate that job market will have a 22% increase by 2020.
- Hospitals number is increasing and this calls for more administrators.
- Hospital administrators’ salary lies between $51,280 and $144,880 on the basis of the hospital size as well as responsibilities
Professional organization
· The website for Health Care Administrators Association is www.hcaa.org/.
Benefits Administrator
Pros
- Entails direct contact between the administrator and the people and this increases skills
- It allows one to work in public or private firms
- One acquires voluminous knowledge in different areas
Cons
- The limited job opportunities make it a very competitive field
- Extensive studying and research are required
- High stress levels because one has to make all decisions
Educational requirements
- A business administration degree with a bias in management
- HR management units
- Possession of communication skills
Registration, licensing and certification
v One must have payroll certification though not mandatory. This can be acquired from American Payroll Association whose website is www.americanpayroll.org/
v One must take an exam to prove competency with the payroll systems before certification
v It is not necessary to be licensed in this career
Compensation/Employment outlook
ü Benefits administrators’ employment forecasts indicate that there will be a rapid growth in the future (Florida Tech University, 2014).
ü The annual salary for starters is $34,960 but this can increase to $86,540 as one acquires experience and educational advancement
ü Most administrators work within office settings for an average of 400 working hours every week
Professional organization
§ The Society of Professional Benefit Administrators whose website is www.spbatpa.org
Health Information Specialist
Pros
Ø Job location’s flexibility
Ø Good salaries
Ø Helps in hospital activities’ streamlining
Cons
· Entails working for long hours as well as traveling
· Fatigue, discomfort and eyestrain due to long work schedules
· Potential loss of the records of patients which can pose risk to the patients
Educational requirements
o Post-secondary education in some jobs
o Associate health information degree
o Certification (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014)
Registration, licensing and certification
v No need for licensing
v To be a professional health information specialist one requires a recognized institution’s certification. To acquire this, one must sit for the RHIT examination from AHIMA.
· American Health Information Management Association is the certifying body whose website is www.ahima.org/
Professional organization
· American Health Information Management Association whose site is www.ahima.org/
HIPPA COMPLIANCE OFFICER
Pros
§ Great salary
§ Working schedules are flexible
§ Sometimes tasks are relatively easy
Cons
Ø One should familiarize with the law
Ø There are many responsibilities
Ø High risks are involved
Educational qualifications
· A college degree that takes 4 years to complete
· CPA, MBA, or MHA provide added advantages
Licensing, registration and certification
o Certification is a must for HIPAA officers
o One must seat and pass the American Institute of Healthcare Compliance examination
o The certifying organization is the American Institute of Healthcare Compliance whose site is www.aihc-assn.org (AMA, 2013).
Compensation/Employment outlook
v Salaries is usually between $1, 726 and $ 101, 179 because of experience and location
v The employment outlook in this field is expected to increase by more than 20 percent by 2018
v Office setting is generally the working environment
Professional organization
· AAPC is the professional organization whose site is https://www.aapc.com/
Priority list
ü A hospital administrator
ü A physician consultant
ü A Benefits administrator
ü A Compliance Officer (HIPPA)
ü Health Information Expert
Plans for the first choice
After completing a bachelor’s degree studies in business administration, I intend to apply for health administration studies at the graduate school in Manipal University. After graduate school as well as acquiring Hospital administration’s master’s degree, I will take the American Healthcare College exam and then apply for my certification. With the certification, I will now be able to work in a private health facility or hospital to get experience and then seek employment in higher ranking organizations.
References
AMA. (2013, September 23). HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from American Medical Association (AMA): http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/hipaahealth-insurance-portability-accountability-act.page
Credentialing. (2014). Retrieved February 23, 2014, from American College of Healthcare Executives.: http://www.ache.org/mbership/credentialing/credentialing.cfm
Davila, L. (2013). Becoming a Hospital Administrator. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from Careers: http://www.innerbody.com/careers-in-health/becoming-hospital-administrator.html
Florida Tech Univerity. (2014). Benefits Administrator Career and Salary Profile. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from Florida Tech Univerity Online: http://www.floridatechonline.com/online-degree-resources/benefits-administrator-careers/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014, January 8). Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition, Medical Records and Health Information Technicians. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from United States Department of Labour: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm