Last Updated on August 24, 2020 by Guest
There are few fields that consistently show growth and prove to be in-demand year after year. Let’s face the economy changes, markets and trends dictate where the money is being spent and invested, and even people’s wants and needs change. But the field that always proves to be in demand and accessed by all, is the healthcare industry. These are some of the country’s most crucial front-line workers, and without them, people would suffer grave consequences.
It seems as though 2020 has made this fact even clearer, showing just how important the country, and in fact, the world’s healthcare workers truly are. They are the people who are getting the world through the COVID-19 pandemic and they are in more demand than ever before.
A Wide Array of Jobs Available in the Industry
What is really striking about the pandemic and its effects on the healthcare industry is that it has put a strain on the entire system in terms of workers. It’s not just doctors or nurses that are in demand; it is almost all aspects of the healthcare industry. This includes people such as virologists, epidemiologists, call-center staff, registered nurses, front-desk workers, lab technicians, and more.
You can basically take a look at any position and pretty much assume it is understaffed at the moment.
What that means for people looking to enter into the healthcare industry is that you’ve got the luxury of choice. You don’t have to follow a particular career path that you’re not truly interested in or feel passionate about simply because that’s where the jobs are.
Temporary Job Postings Also on the Rise
This increase in demand has now sparked another trend, which is clinics, doctors’ offices, and hospitals placing temporary job postings. There is that push to find people fast and they are contacting staffing agencies hoping to fill the gap. Some of the most common positions that are recruited from these staffing agencies are nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Cleaning and Sanitization Staff are Essential During this Time
One of the most important things to do during the pandemic is to ensure that surfaces, tools, hospital rooms, and offices are kept clean and sanitized so as not to spread the illness. This has thrown cleaning and sanitization staff into the spotlight as well. Because there is such a shortage of these employees, temporary and emergency staff are being brought in whenever possible.
Retired Professionals Being Called Back into the Field
There was also the time period back in March when New York was hit incredibly hard by the virus, in which the Governor, Andrew Cuomo, was calling on retired professionals to enter back into the field. The demand for qualified staff was so great that retired nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals were asked to come back and work again. Many of them ended up answering that call and coming back to work to help the state get through the massive caseload that took over. It was an all-hands on deck approach that actually helped the state manage the virus, bring down infection rates, and get it much better under control.
A Great Time to Advance Your Career in the Field
And while there are plenty of people who are eyeing the healthcare industry for the first time and considering entering into it, those who have already been working in the field are seeing this demand in a different light. It presents a great opportunity to advance in the field, work your way up the career ladder, and challenge yourself even more.
A great example of this is the Baylor University DNP leadership programs online that provide nurses with the highest level of nursing degree. The Doctor of Nursing Practice Executive Nurse Leadership program gives students the knowledge they need to become leaders in the industry, forming the various care models and business strategies. You can make a massive impact in the quality and type of care that patients are getting thanks to your leadership skills.
Some of the careers this can propel you into include a chief nursing executive, chief nursing officer, or vice president of nursing. This advancement of training, knowledge, and credentials will also result in a hefty pay increase, as a nurse executive’s annual average salary is $123,876 (payscale.com).
What Happens Once the Disease Has Been “Controlled”?
While this boom is creating all kinds of healthcare-related jobs across the country, it is only natural to wonder what will happen once the disease has been controlled. Will there be mass layoffs? Here’s where there is a lot of unknowns. Factors such as how long it takes to get under control, what does “under control” look like, how many doctors and nurses will retire as a result of the pandemic and the stress it put on them, and what does the healthcare industry look like after fighting a pandemic – is it depleted and does it need rebuilding with staff and resources?
It would be safe to assume that things will remain at this heightened level of demand for at least the next year, possibly longer. Even if a vaccine is developed and ready for distribution early 2021, the United States has more than 330 million people. Vaccinating everyone who wants to be vaccinated won’t take weeks, or months, or possibly even a year, it could very well be a multi-year project. What that means is that the healthcare industry will continue to be stretched during that time.
With that said, it’s safe to assume the healthcare industry will continue to be in a position of hiring staff and growing at exponential rates, at least for the next little while.
One of the Rare Industries Not Negatively Impacted by the Pandemic
So, as more and more industries continue to suffer the negative consequences of the worldwide pandemic, the healthcare industry continues to grow and become more in-demand. Just how high that demand will get, and whether it will eventually level out still remains to be seen, as so much is dependent on if and when a vaccine is developed and how effective it is.