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