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Healthcare Careers

Many people mistakenly assume that you must be willing to commit to thousands of dollars in student loan debt and years of postsecondary education in order to be successful in the healthcare field. While it's true many healthcare careers do require a lot of education, not all jobs require you to spend all of your time in the classroom. Search for great healthcare school study tips here.

Certified nursing assistants (CNAs), also known as patient care technicians, orderlies, or home health aides, are healthcare workers who assist with basic medical tasks such as monitoring vital signs and provide assistance to patients who need help with feeding, bathing, grooming, and other essential elements of basic care. CNA courses usually take three months to complete. Since there is a shortage of CNAs in the United States, many healthcare facilities will pay for the training course if you commit to working for a specified time period after you are finished.

Nurses are being given more responsibility for patient care each year as pressure to keep costs down has led to a reduction in the number of physicians available at many hospitals and clinics. You can be a licensed practical nurse (LPN) if you earn a practical nursing diploma at a community college. To be a registered nurse (RN), you must have either an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree.

Physicians must earn a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree and become licensed in their state. This is a graduate degree and requires four years of study in addition to your bachelor's degree. Physicians who wish to specialize in a specific area of medicine may complete a fellowship after medical school, which requires an additional one to four years of study.

As you can see, the healthcare field offers a diverse array of job opportunities at hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. Having more education will earn you a higher salary, but there are still many great healthcare careers that you can enjoy even if you don't see graduate school in your future.