Booming Healthcare Jobs
Healthcare has become a booming field, simply because of the
number of baby boomers who are set to retire in few years to come. By 2020,
many baby boomers will have retired creating many healthcare job positions to
be filled. Some of these positions include physician assistants, nutritionists,
registered nurses and medical record technicians. There are a number of reasons
for growth in each healthcare field/job and each position requires a different
level of education.
Who are Baby Boomers?
Baby boomers are individuals who were born post WWII
(between 1946 and 1964). There were about 79 million babies born in these
years. By 2011 January, the very first baby boomers turned 65 years old. The
most common names for baby boomers include Mary and James.
According to statistics, there are over 9.8 million baby
boomers currently in California alone. This is the largest grouping in any one
state of the United States.
Baby boomers represent the America’s largest population of
elderly people. Almost all baby boomers are turning 65 years and old age
meaning the healthcare sector needs to prepare to deal with medical needs by
adding more healthcare staff. Thousands of healthcare jobs have been opened up
every year as a result of need for care. About 71 million baby boomers are
turning 65 and have two or more decades ahead of them.
Healthcare concerns
of boomers
Some of the health concerns for boomers include:
- Diabetes
- Widespread obesity which is more than double their parents when they were at that age
- High blood pressure
- Osteoporosis
- Arthritis
- Memory loss or dementia
- Chronic health conditions that are 700% more likely than other generations
- Heart disease
- Drug abuse
Baby boomers were also the first weekend warriors and this is all they had to show for it:
·
- Back injuries- This is a common problem for older people which can lead to chronic back pain.
- Shoulder or elbow injuries- This is as a result of lifting weights, playing squash, tennis or badminton.
- Ankle or knee injury- Has been caused by simple exercises such as jogging running and general elderly activity.
Healthcare Jobs to be filled by 2020
As more than 71 million baby boomers in the U.S continue to
retire, they affect job growth in healthcare industry in two ways:
- The aged individuals will need more care and assistance
- They leave more than 24.3% of hospital jobs open after retiring. These job positions need to be filled.
With these two points in your mind, we will go through 7
healthcare jobs that need to be filled by 2020 due to the expected job growth
percentage:
Physical Therapists
The major reason for growth in physical therapists’ jobs is
because boomers are staying active later in life compared to the previous
generations. With the job growth expected to increase by 39% from 2010 – 2020,
there is an expectation of employing more than 276,000 physical therapists by
2020.
Education requirement for this job is a professional or
doctoral degree with a median pay of about $76,310.
Registered Nurses
The main reason for increase in registered nurses jobs is
because boomers are aging and there is a growing need for outpatient care in healthcare
facilities and care at homes. Job growth for registered nurses is expected to
have grown by 26% from 2010 to 2020 which means the U.S government will be able
to employ about 3,449,300 registered nurses by 2020.
Education requirement for this job is an associate’s degree
with a median pay expected to be $64,690.
Physician Assistants (PAs)
Physician assistant jobs will have grown by 30% from 2010 to
2020 with the U.S government expected to employ approximately 108,300 workers in
the profession. The main reason for this growth is due to the demand of those
working directly with the increased number of patients.
Education requirement for this job is a master’s degree with
a median pay expected to be $86,410.
Lab Technologists
Job growth in this area is expected to have grown by 13% in
a period of 10 years (2010-2020) with the U.S government expected to employ
373,500 lab technologists by 2020.
The reason for this growth is due to the increase in
laboratory tests as a result of technological advancements in developing the
tests and increase in patient population.
Education requirement for this type of job is a bachelor’s
degree in life or medical sciences. Median pay is expected to be $46,680.
Pharmacists
Job growth for pharmacists is expected to have risen by 25%
in a period of 10 years (2010-2020) with the U.S government expected to employ
about 344,600 pharmacists by 2020.
The reason for this growth is due to an increase in number
of seniors, meaning more people take multiple medications. More pharmacists are
therefore needed to give medicine and provide counsel on medicinal safety.
.
Nutritionists
Nutritionists
Job growth in this department of healthcare is expected to
be 20% from 2010 to 2020 with the U.S government expected to hire more than
77,100 nutritionists or dietitians by 2020.
The job growth is as a result of increase in health
conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease in baby boomers
compared to other generations. Education requirement is a bachelor’s degree in
food and nutrition or any other related course.
Median pay per year is expected to be $53, 250
7 Medical Record Technicians
The U.S government is expected to employ about 217,300
medical record technicians as the job growth is expected to reach 21% in a
period of 10 years (2010-2020).
Reasons for this growth are due to hospital developments
such as upgrade from paper charts to electronic records.
Education requirement for this position is a postsecondary
non-degree award. Median pay is expected to be $32,350.
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