This is the kind of article which has been written many times before – and too often by simply recycling the well-known cliches about working in healthcare. Perhaps we can blame the many ER television shows out there, which show handsome actors engaging in life-saving work, though not without some stress. On the one hand, working in healthcare is certainly life-saving work – and, yes, it is also challenging.
However, the real reasons to take up a career in healthcare are not a fixed set. There are various problems with the healthcare system as it currently stands. Sometimes, it is easy to forget that there are still attractive reasons for taking up a healthcare job.
These are also changing all the time. Healthcare is not what it was even five years ago, and so it is always worth setting out the reasons why taking up this life-saving work is still an attractive prospect. Before getting on to these however, we will need to look at the healthcare talent market as it stands – simply to understand why many of us might well need four more reasons to work in healthcare.
The Situation as It Stands
From a completely neutral perspective – simply judging by how well the healthcare system serves the public – the situation in the U.S. right now is not good. However, this is not to say that there aren’t silver linings.
The problem is that the U.S. healthcare system is currently suffering a talent shortage and, accordingly, is a jobseeker’s market. Health Jobs Nationwide, an online healthcare recruitment service offering registered nurse jobs among others, say that many healthcare institutions are even lowering their standards to attract what employees they can. This is not good for patients, but it does mean that it is now easier for a candidate to land a position.
So, this might be considered a reason to get in on healthcare. Before celebrating too prematurely though, it is worth noting the effect that this has on the healthcare workplace. For many institutions (though by no means all) the talent shortage has led to overstretched teams and a high turnover of staff. Given that camaraderie is vital, and that it takes a while for a team to gel, this could be a reason not to work in healthcare.
Four More Reasons to Work in Healthcare
So, the situation as it stands perhaps calls for even more reasons why healthcare is still a rewarding and satisfying profession. Here follows four of them:
Solid Roles that Matter
The ultimate goal of helping patients is common to all healthcare positions, but they all contribute to that in different ways – from receptionists to surgeons and registered nurses to physicians, it’s very difficult to find a job in healthcare that feels like it doesn’t matter. You can be sure, in other words, that you will always be needed.
Job Security
Closely related to that point is that healthcare jobs are typically the beginning of a career, one which proceeds generally unbroken. There is always job security in healthcare.
Something for Everyone
The reason why many of the aforementioned ER TV shows give a distorted view of healthcare is that it doesn’t much show the diversity of roles. Truly, there is something for anyone of any qualifications.
Flexible Hours
In the jobs with the most responsibilities, you can expect to work long hours. However, when you work them is something that is always up for discussion. Flexible or rotating hours are the name of the game in healthcare.
There are still many good reasons for working in healthcare. The main one, however, remains the same: saving lives.
