The ongoing covid-19 pandemic continues to be exceedingly difficult for everyone; however, one upside is that it has demonstrated just how hardworking those in healthcare are and how essential the sector is. This may in fact have led you to seriously consider changing your career to one in healthcare, for a fulfilling career that you know will make a real difference to your community. If this is the case, here are some things to consider when embarking on a career in healthcare:
Education and training
Healthcare professionals require rigorous and continuous training and education to ensure they provide patients with the best standards of care. If you would like to become a nurse, you will have to pass the state licensure to become a registered nurse and most healthcare providers prefer applicants who have a Bachelor’s degree in nursing or a related subject. If you decide to specialize in a specific area of medicine, this is likely to require an additional Master’s degree. However, you might want to work in healthcare in an administrative rather than clinical capacity, and if this is the case might be deciding on whether to study an MHA vs MBA. A Master’s in Health Administration will be more useful to you than a Master’s in Business Administration as the MHA is specifically designed to provide you with the depth and breadth of knowledge required to work in the healthcare industry.
What kind of care would you like to specialize in?
From
postnatal to geriatric and psychiatric to cardiac care, the healthcare sector
is very wide-ranging and offers care and assistance to every person with every
sort of health issue. As such, you have many career progression opportunities
to specialize in a certain area of healthcare. When making this decision, ask
yourself some questions such as are you able to empathize and communicate
effectively with older people? If so, you might find fulfilment working in geriatric care. Are you able to remain
calm and retain compassion in high stress situations? If so, you may thrive in
mental health. You might need to spend several years working in general
healthcare caring for a range of patients before discovering where your
specialization lies, or you might even conclude that you are happy with the
challenges of general healthcare.
Make sure you look out
for your own health and wellbeing
Working
in the healthcare industry provides you with a very rewarding and fulfilling
career; however, it can also undeniably be fast-paced and stressful. You will deal
with people in a lot of pain and at their most emotional, and this can take a
toll on your own health and mental wellbeing. Therefore, it is important that
you implement a strong self-care routine when you work in
healthcare to ensure that you don’t suffer from burnout. For instance, although
it might be difficult at first, maintain a professional distance between
yourself and patients to prevent you from becoming too emotionally involved.