Article
A Step-by-Step Approach to Planning Your Health Career
Career Ladders provide a clear path to learning new skills and earning higher pay
According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, the health care industry needs to fill 3.5 million job vacancies in the next five years. In many parts of the country, there is already a serious shortage of nurses and other “frontline” patient care workers.
At the present time, there are not enough workers in the “pipeline” – students training to become nurses or physical therapists or x-ray technicians – to fill all these jobs.
To meet the increasing demand for qualified health workers, many health care institutions are creating “career ladder” programs.
“Healthcare organizations desperately need skilled workers,” says Marian Osterweis, EHC Board Chair. “Training workers internally is a proven way to create a constant pool of qualified health workers.”
A path to advancement for underrepresented minorities
Many health care career ladder programs are specifically designed to help underrepresented minorities and lower-income workers qualify for higher-paying jobs.
For these programs, a nursing career ladder may begin with a first rung in maintenance or food service. Workers are encouraged to join the program even if they had poor grades in school or lack health care work experience.
Many health care institutions are actively seeking to increase the diversity within their health care teams, because diversity enhances the quality of patient care.
“A key goal of career ladder programs is to increase the number of skilled health care workers from diverse backgrounds,” says Henryne Tobias, Project Director, ExploreHealthCareers.org, American Dental Education Association. “Many patients feel more comfortable talking to someone who is culturally competent, demonstrates genuine interest in the patient as a human being and has a commitment to providing equitable and quality care."
Many ways to reach the top
Career ladders in health care provide a range of different pathways to interesting and rewarding careers. Workers can start at any level of the ladder, and move up or step over onto a new career ladder that better matches their interests.
Once you start up the ladder, you can always change course and explore new career directions. For example, a home health aide can train to become a surgical technologist. Once he reaches that rung on the ladder, he can choose to continue training as a physician assistant, or make a “lateral” move onto the nursing ladder.
A study by the Business and Economic Research Center for Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) charted ten different, interconnected health career ladders.
Ten interconnected health career ladders 27 Sep 2007 [doc, 131 KB]
Dr. Murat Arik, author of the MTSU study, concluded that with career ladder programs, “It’s possible to start anywhere with proper training and education.”
Career Ladder Case Study: Maria
Maria is 19 years old. She graduated from high school with average grades. She works in the Environmental Services department at the local hospital. She earns $10 per hour cleaning patient rooms.
Maria likes working at the hospital. She dreams of becoming a nurse, but she cannot afford to go to college. Through the hospital’s career ladder program, Maria can train to become a nurse’s aide in less than a year.
Maria will complete three months of classroom training in order to qualify for a position as a nursing assistant. While she works as a nursing assistant, she will learn new skills to help her qualify as a nurse extender. Her work will be closely monitored by a nursing supervisor, and she can get extra tutoring if she needs it.
As a nurse extender, Maria can earn up to $14 per hour. She will work directly with patients, helping the nurses provide care.
If Maria wants to continue her studies to become a registered nurse, the hospital will provide tuition assistance and a flexible work schedule to enable her to attend classes at the local college.
Moving toward a health career
In the next part of this series, ExploreHealthCareers.org will chart career ladders for five high-demand health careers:
Nurse
Physical Therapist/Occupational Therapist
Radiologic Technologist
Pharmacist
Health Information Manager
Learn more:
Home Care Assistant/Aide
Nurse Practitioner
Nurses Aide/Nursing Assistant
Occupational Therapist
Occupational Therapy Aide
Occupational Therapy Assistant
Pharmacist
Pharmacy Aide
Pharmacy Technician
Physical Therapist
Physical Therapist Assistant
Physician Assistant
Radiologic Technologist
Registered Nurse (RN)
Respiratory Therapist
Vocational/Licensed Practical Nurse