The popularity of heathcare careers continues to climb, due in large part to an growth and aging of the U.S population. Healthcare refers to the diagnosis, management, and prevention of illness, disease, or physical as well as mental impairments among people. It offers various interventions to deliver primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care. Healthcare is delivered by trained professionals for the promotion of general physical as well as mental health and well-being of each individual.

Healthcare careers have become prevalent with the enrollment of many on to the Affordable Care Act and more opportunities have opened for people whose interests are on the medical field. The provision of healthcare careers is to be able to have continuous development of innovations that is focused in the reduction of healthcare cost while having an increased access and improved quality and efficiency of health care. With the best strategies, those who are best in science, technology, business, and people are brought together as one to come up with the solution of the challenges and be able to shape a new era of healthcare.

With regards to healthcare careers offered, it is essential that qualified healthcare professionals have the competence in providing the best knowledge and skills in the practice of their profession as they will be involved in dealing with the lives of other people. Having competent trained healthcare professionals will aid in the delivery of high quality patient-centered care to all clients.

Healthcare professionals work with collaboration with each other and having a common goal of meeting the best demands for care intended for all the clients. One of the healthcare professionals who play a very important role in the medical field are the nursing assistant. These professionals are otherwise known as nursing assistants. They function in different settings including nursing homes, hospice, hospitals, community-based long-term care, and correctional institutions.

Nursing aides give assistance to all clients at various ages in the performance of basic daily activities. They work under the supervision of the nurse. They have a great impact in the lives of their clients because they have an extensive daily contact with them. Among the different kinds of assistance that nursing aides provide include the following:

• dressing
• feeding
• bed-making
• hair and oral care
• toileting
• bladder and bowel care
• walking
• ROM’s
• taking vital signs including temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood
pressure
• turning and positioning
• post-mortem care

There has been staffing shortages in the recent years and most of the nursing aides have found themselves to be in a challenging position in the attempt of providing quality care for a lot of clients. The turnover rate is high for nursing aides because of the heavy workload as well as physical demands of the job. Visit this website to read more about the typical nursing assistant skills needed on the job.

Healthcare professionals require the skills and qualities in meeting the physical, mental, and psychological needs of the clients. It is vital that they are able to have therapeutic communication with the members of the multidisciplinary health team. Furthermore, physical health is important in order for them to have the strength in delivering physical care to so many clients in the medical field.

Click this page for to see the popular medical career list.

Medical transcription refers to the allied health profession dealing with the process of transcription. The medical transcriptionists are the ones responsible for converting the voice-recorded reports into text format for which have been dictated by the physicians or other members of the healthcare team. They are responsible to edit whatever grammatical errors that can be heard over the recordings that they are listening.

There is no mandatory requirement for post-secondary education in order to become medical transcriptionists however majority of the employers have the preference that one has it. There are community colleges, vocational schools, and online schools that offer the training for medical transcription. It is important that one must be able to complete the one-year certificate program or the associate’s degree program.

To be able to understand and transcribe the recordings with accuracy, the medical transcriptionists need to familiarize the medical terminologies. The students taking the medical transcription programs may need to take classes in medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, legal issues which are related to the documentation pertaining to healthcare, and English. The students will also have to undergo on-the-job training under the supervision of the experienced medical transcriptionists.

It is essential that the medical transcriptionists have the following criteria:

– good listening skills
– strong skills in writing and grammar
– hearing ability is normal
– typing speed is advanced
– proficient with the use of computers

Below are the steps on how to become a medical transcriptionist:

– Have an understanding as to what is anticipated of you as a medical transcriptionist. Be sure that you possess the tools and knowledge in order to succeed.

– To better get prepared and skilled for the profession, you need to complete the formal medical transcriptionist training program which is accredited by the ACCP or the Approval Committee for Certificate Programs. This is not required however this will increase your chances of getting hired because of your credibility. The training involves the learning of medical terms and other aspects.

– Get certified but this again is not a requirement but only increase your opportunities of getting hired. You can obtain this from the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity which is awarding two certification options namely the RMT-Registered Medical Transcriptionist and CMT-Certified Medical Transcriptionist.

– If you have plans working at home, set-up a home office that is composed of a computer, transcribing machine, and headset that has a foot pedal. Be certain that your system is up-to-date with fast speed internet because you will also be sending the transcribed documents as part of your work.

– Have an updated resume like including the completion of tasks on time with efficiency from your previous work experience. You may also mention that are independent and organized.

– Following the completion of the training and obtaining the certification, you can apply for positions as medical transcriptionist. You have the option so search the websites or contact the offices of the physicians.

– While waiting for the clients to come in, you can enhance your skills as medical transcriptionist by gaining additional learning on the medical terminologies, English language, and grammar.

Occupational therapy assistants work directly with patients of various ages in helping them for the growth and development of positive skills, rehabilitation following an injury, management of multitude of chronic illnesses or conditions, and improvement of quality of life. They work under the supervision of an occupational therapist

With the collaboration of the occupational therapists, the occupational therapy assistants develop the treatment plans for the patients that include the activities as well as exercises for rehabilitation. The occupational therapist does the diagnosing while the assistants are the ones responsible to work directly with the patients for the achievement of the goals for treatment.

The work environment of occupational therapy assistants includes the offices of the occupational therapies, hospitals, or nursing care facilities. They work for about forty hours or more each week and this may include working on weekends, early morning, or early evening.

The work has physical demands because occupational therapy assistants will be helping the clients in the performance of their exercises all throughout the day and this may include giving support to patient weight, bending, lifting, and stooping.

The job duties of occupational therapy assistants include the following:

• Verification of the information of the client by doing an interview, recording the medical history, and confirming the treatment purpose
• Helping the clients for the improvement of quality life by means of helping them in the compensation of limitations like helping the injured individuals with the improvement of motor skills as well as teaching the clients with learning disabilities in the preparation of meals or usage of public transportation
• Following the plan of treatment which is developed collaboratively with the occupational therapist and this can be done by teaching the methods of transfer from bed into the wheelchair, stretching the muscles, monitoring the activities that need to be done in the correct way, and providing encouragement
• Maintaining records and recording the progress of the clients
• Maintaining a secure and healthy work environment
• Keeping the supplies ready
• Keeping the equipment ready for use by troubleshooting breakdowns and calling for repairs

The requirements for becoming an occupational therapy assistant include the following:

– Education – the minimum requirement for education is two years for the associate degree. It is important that the degree program is accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association. The courses differ according to the school however they generally will include psychology, biology, kinesiology, and a wide array of occupational therapy courses.
– Training – usually, the school granting the associate degrees provide a formal practicum with the supervision of the licensed occupational therapist. In cases wherein it is not part of the curriculum, the students can do arrangements to have separate supervised training. The minimum length of time for field work is about eight weeks.
– Licensing or Certification – the individuals need to take and pass the Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant examination.
– Skills and qualities – they must have good physical fitness. They too must be patient and compassionate. A good communication skill is essential for the interaction with their clients.

Personal care aides serve an important role giving assistance to the daily tasks of the elderly, people with chronic illness, individuals with mental disability, physically challenged clients, and hospice patients who are in different stages of recovery or rehabilitation. They take care of the clients who independently are not able to maintain proper nutrition, good hygiene, and have a clean living area.

These individuals are otherwise regarded as caregivers, homemakers, companions, or personal attendants. Personal care aides provide help in the homes of the clients, hospitals, hospice facilities, residential care facilities, senior centers, or adult day care centers. Working shifts of the aides differ however majority of the personal care aides are anticipated to work during weekends, nights, and holidays.

It is expected from the personal care aide to perform the following tasks:

– Doing home management tasks like laundry, housekeeping, shopping, and other home errands
– Preparing and serving simple diets which are modified in accordance to the instruction
– Assisting the clients with feeding
– Providing assistance with bathing, grooming, and dressing
– Giving assistance with toileting like using the bedpan, toilet, or commode
– Assisting with both transfers and ambulation like using the cane, wheelchair, or walker
– Providing skin care routinely or giving assistance with the application of non-prescription topical medications to the surface of the skin
– Doing the collection of routine specimens
– Taking the weight of the clients
– Giving reminders to the patients regarding the home maintenance exercise programs
– Assisting to empty the indwelling catheter bag
– Providing assistance with reminders about the change of tubing or tank refill of the oxygen equipment

The personal care aides should have a current and valid PCA certificate or should go through the PCA training program. The required minimum age requirement is 18 years old. They may be required of some other things which are set by the state or employer. The aides may be required to learn the basics of the emergency and safety techniques. He or she might be required to cook based on the specified dietary restrictions.

The physical requirements as well as the working conditions for the personal care aides are as follows:

o Mental demands – the performance of the tasks is under the supervision of the registered nurse. The work will require the individual to adhere to the precise procedures having a high degree of accuracy for observing, recording, and reporting of data.
o Physical demands – the person must be able to work without restrictions as the job may require moderately heavy activities like lifting, constant stooping, and walking.
o Working environment – the individual should be able to adjust into the work settings for he or she may be exposed to different disagreeable physical conditions.
o Contacts – he or she must possess good communication skills.

The personal care aides do various tasks which are the same with the home health aides. But, they are not able to provide whatever type of medical service which can be done by the home health aides.