Recommendations for Employment in Healthcare?

[Dillon]

For those in the healthcare field I wanted to know what are some good part time jobs I can possibly do in the healthcare sector; full time would be difficult since I am going back to school.
I don’t have any practical experience in the healthcare sector nor any certifications; the only relevant experience I have is taking organic chemistry back in undergrad but that was in 2018.
I thought about part time as a healthcare receptionist just for experience and to get me by as I’m still trying to get another job months later but would I be considered overqualified given I have a bachelors and a masters?
Any work environments you enjoy working in that aren’t physically draining to a point?

I like to hear your thoughts!

 

[Judge]

Perhaps one other thing to contemplate Dillon. Ironically the first thing I think of in terms of healthcare isn't that which is physically draining, but rather what can be emotionally draining as well.

But then my sister-in-law was a registered nurse now retired. A rewarding job I suppose, but it has its share of heartbreak, particularly when a nurse is the closest contact of any patient when it comes to inpatient care. I can see how she preferred working in the OR assisting surgeons, not having to deal socially and emotionally primarily with patients.

All enough for me to have concluded that most nurses are extraordinary, giving people.

Yet also profession where it's best to study the issue of "burnout" and contemplate how well one may or may not deal with the day-to-day rigors of such employment. Though there are plenty of other jobs within the category of healthcare to consider as well.

What Is Nurse Burnout? | Nursejournal.org

 

[Neonatal RRT]

For those in the healthcare field I wanted to know what are some good part time jobs I can possibly do in the healthcare sector; full time would be difficult since I am going back to school.
I don’t have any practical experience in the healthcare sector nor any certifications; the only relevant experience I have is taking organic chemistry back in undergrad but that was in 2018.
I thought about part time as a healthcare receptionist just for experience and to get me by as I’m still trying to get another job months later but would I be considered overqualified given I have a bachelors and a masters?
Any work environments you enjoy working in that aren’t physically draining to a point?

I like to hear your thoughts!

Several of our employees have gotten their "foot in the door" and received entry-level healthcare positions as phlebotomists (myself included), unit secretaries, but a medical assistant (MA) is a great one and always in high demand (inpatient as well as outpatient clinics). I know there are certifications you can receive as an MA, but right now, post CoVID, many of the MA programs have folded. Most of these positions are now under the category of "on-the-job training" and your responsibilities will vary depending upon the unit or clinic you are working in.

 

[FayetheAspie]

I've never worked in the medical field, but if I do it will be in the lab seeing as how I am studying to be a lab tech (I don't know what types of biology and/ or chemistry lab I'll end up employed at yet). In a med lab you just work with samples (blood, urine, ect.) not the actual patient. I am hoping to get on at something more like an environmental testing lab myself though.

 

[Dillon]

Perhaps one other thing to contemplate Dillon. Ironically the first thing I think of in terms of healthcare isn't that which is physically draining, but rather what can be emotionally draining as well.

But then my sister-in-law was a registered nurse now retired. A rewarding job I suppose, but it has its share of heartbreak, particularly when a nurse is the closest contact of any patient when it comes to inpatient care. I can see how she preferred working in the OR assisting surgeons, not having to deal socially and emotionally primarily with patients.

All enough for me to have concluded that most nurses are extraordinary, giving people.

Yet also profession where it's best to study the issue of "burnout" and contemplate how well one may or may not deal with the day-to-day rigors of such employment. Though there are plenty of other jobs within the category of healthcare to consider as well.

What Is Nurse Burnout? | Nursejournal.org

The emotionally draining part is understandable and the one thing that will put pressure on me is possibly seeing someone close to death or terminally ill and I don’t want to have to experience the emotional toll. My grandfather a few years ago around Thanksgiving was severely sick and he put off going to the doctor for months but he decided to go when March had hit. It turned out he developed colon rectal cancer at age of 67. He’s in remission for 3-4 years thankfully after 3 rounds of chemo and 2 rounds of radiation. Still not in the greatest of health can’t afford to retire at 71 and he’s still a contractor lifting and installing kitchen cabinets. I do help him out on the job and will will be doing so this month.
My point is to experience a family member go through health problems just holds some personal grief.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

For those in the healthcare field I wanted to know what are some good part time jobs I can possibly do in the healthcare sector; full time would be difficult since I am going back to school.
I don’t have any practical experience in the healthcare sector nor any certifications; the only relevant experience I have is taking organic chemistry back in undergrad but that was in 2018.
I thought about part time as a healthcare receptionist just for experience and to get me by as I’m still trying to get another job months later but would I be considered overqualified given I have a bachelors and a masters?
Any work environments you enjoy working in that aren’t physically draining to a point?

I like to hear your thoughts!

Have you considered getting into the more technical side, such as laboratory testing. If you like Chemistry, especially analytical testing, and understand; standardization, accuracy, precision, repeatability and reproducibility, that will be a good fit. There may be opportunities for work during part time training. It will take good attention to detail and record keeping.

I have used people with Chemistry training to sort through massive amounts of data during paid summer internships. I was looking to confirm the expiration dating of medical devices for materials engineering and had the intern look at stability data of many devices to see if any component created a time limitation regardless of other components in the assembly. That allowed me to identify components subject to degradation and fine tune device expiration dating to protect patients. If there are drug and device manufacturers where you live, you can see if there are paid internships available.

Good luck in your career pursuit.

 

[Dillon]

Have you considered getting into the more technical side, such as laboratory testing. If you like Chemistry, especially analytical testing, and understand; standardization, accuracy, precision, repeatability and reproducibility, that will be a good fit. There may be opportunities for work during part time training. It will take good attention to detail and record keeping.

I have used people with Chemistry training to sort through massive amounts of data during paid summer internships. I was looking to confirm the expiration dating of medical devices for materials engineering and had the intern look at stability data of many devices to see if any component created a time limitation regardless of other components in the assembly. That allowed me to identify components subject to degradation and fine tune device expiration dating to protect patients. If there are drug and device manufacturers where you live, you can see if there are paid internships available.

Good luck in your career pursuit.

I have thought about the technical lab side of things as an alternative in case nursing doesn’t work out. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve messed with anything chemistry related though. Most of my experience came from my undergrad of 2017-2020. I could use my experience as a lab instructor during grad school from 2021-2023 as I taught freshmen students mostly biological and chemistry based lab material.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Hi Dillon, I'm not from the U.S., and from you using the word "freshmen students", I assume that you are? So I can't contribute much about the U.S. specific system.

However, I don't know many healthcare jobs for which you need no (basic) training at all.

In hospitals and with direct contact to patients, there might be something like "assisting nurse". We have something called service workers on the wards who do tasks such as handing out food to the patients, filling up material dispensers, things like that. But I believe that they still need to take a course of several weeks/months (at least where I live).

In hospitals with no direct patient care an option might be administrative desk work, probably not the main receptionist but someone working more behind the lines.

Hospitals have labs, where technical assistant might be needed, but that might also need some qualification. It really depends on your studies and work experiences whether you qualify for that.

Then there are things like public health departments who might need someone to do assistant work.

As suggested, a phlebotomist might be an option, but I don't know what qualification you need for that. I don't expect it to be a completely no-qualifications-needed kind of job.

Then, of course, there's also the cleaning crew which could absolutely be something to try. You'd be surprised at how much contact to patients they have. You can see a lot there.

Another option might be something more social, if you're up for that. Where I live, hospitals might employ people who visit long-term patients who get lonely, or who entertain children on pediatric wards. Often, those things are done by volunteers, though, and not reimbursed.

What you could do is look up local hospital's and public health departments' websites and look through current job offers. You'll see what qualifications they want.

Are you studying something healthcare-related? That might give you an advantage. Where I live, medical students often get offers to work in medical cabinets, hospitals, or at the university as a research or medical assistant.

 

[Dillon]

Hi Dillon, I'm not from the U.S., and from you using the word "freshmen students", I assume that you are? So I can't contribute much about the U.S. specific system.

However, I don't know many healthcare jobs for which you need no (basic) training at all.

In hospitals and with direct contact to patients, there might be something like "assisting nurse". We have something called service workers on the wards who do tasks such as handing out food to the patients, filling up material dispensers, things like that. But I believe that they still need to take a course of several weeks/months (at least where I live).

In hospitals with no direct patient care an option might be administrative desk work, probably not the main receptionist but someone working more behind the lines.

Hospitals have labs, where technical assistant might be needed, but that might also need some qualification. It really depends on your studies and work experiences whether you qualify for that.

Then there are things like public health departments who might need someone to do assistant work.

As suggested, a phlebotomist might be an option, but I don't know what qualification you need for that. I don't expect it to be a completely no-qualifications-needed kind of job.

Then, of course, there's also the cleaning crew which could absolutely be something to try. You'd be surprised at how much contact to patients they have. You can see a lot there.

Another option might be something more social, if you're up for that. Where I live, hospitals might employ people who visit long-term patients who get lonely, or who entertain children on pediatric wards. Often, those things are done by volunteers, though, and not reimbursed.

What you could do is look up local hospital's and public health departments' websites and look through current job offers. You'll see what qualifications they want.

Are you studying something healthcare-related? That might give you an advantage. Where I live, medical students often get offers to work in medical cabinets, hospitals, or at the university as a research or medical assistant.

I’m sorry, should’ve been more clearer of my term “freshmen students”. So in the U.S college and Universities use that term for students who are entering college for the first time. Second year you are a sophomore, third year a junior then fourth year of school a senior. It’s kind of the same way high school does it.
I hope that explanation help a bit?

Most of the positions you just explained is pretty much similar over in the U.S. with people going into nursing you have to enroll in a program where you get your prerequisites done such as biology, English, math, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology 1 and 2. Once all the classes are completed and you have a certain number of credit hours at a minimum say 60 then you are eligible to apply for a nursing program most commonly a bachelors of science in nursing path where you take more classes basically doing in person training and clinicals. That’s actually all I know on the nursing program part.

For the question over what I want to do or study well to to put it this way I am currently in the marine biology field where I had wanted to do marine and wildlife conservation as a full time career and was interested in preserving coastal wetlands. I could not for the sake of me break into the industry for a while after graduation as that field these days is so saturated with competition. If you’re not going into research or have some personal connections in the field then you’re going to have a difficult time getting in a long term stable career. I took up just any job close to my degree which my first one was at an aquarium working as a zoologist but it was only part time and paid $15 an hour. I finally after 5-6 months later got a full time job as a environmental educator for a non profit but I only lasted 7-8 months before I got fired due to medical reasons. I applied to around the past 4-5 months between 150-200 marine bio and environmental jobs a had a handful of interviews and I get no bites. The marine biology field is not even financially feasible given most positions only average around $35 thousand to $50 thousand U.S dollars. So yeah I’ve been stuck for quite a while in what my career path should be that I decided it’s time for a career switch and I’m going back to study applied health sciences as the opportunities in the healthcare field se more more broader and diverse.

I realize that was a long rant but that’s been the story of my life so far.

 

[Stardust Parade]

What do you want to do in healthcare?

 

[Dillon]

What do you want to do in healthcare?

I am more interested in going into radiography as a primary goal and it’s a shorter path to get into. Another technical side of things would be clinical laboratory science that I would want to do as I enjoy analyzing data and being in a lab.
My third option would be nursing working my way up as and this would be something else I could do as a back up if the other two for some reason don’t work out.
I’m keeping my options open as I don’t want to be so close minded in what I want to do before I get further ahead.

 

[daniegirl6224]

Unit secretary could be challenging as it requires multitasking, getting pulled in multiple directions, and switching tasks frequently. I get overwhelmed when I fill in as secretary. I’ve known several unit secretaries who have worked on school stuff during slow times at work, so it could be a good option through school. Additionally, as unit secretary, the bright lights & sounds may be overstimulating.

As @Judge said, healthcare can be very emotionally draining & burnout is common. I had switched jobs multiple times, primarily due to burnout working the floor (which was as a result of the role not being a good fit for my autism).

Phlebotomy could be a good option but would require special training. With phlebotomy you simply draw blood on patients- it is very task-focused. And the interactions with patients are relatively short so I would think communication would be easier.

I agree that working in the lab could be a good option too. And as you mentioned, radiography could be a good fit too.

 

[Stardust Parade]

If you are looking to apply to the nursing program, you might want to take a short class to become a nurse’s aide. It will give you experience working with patients and you can see if you like the profession.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Here we have a designation, called Personal Support Worker, basically a practical nurse requires a certificate. You may already have many of the qualifications for this. few extra courses Most of the nurses I interacted with in the hospital
as a patient had this designation. Thier is also positions called orderlies.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I am more interested in going into radiography as a primary goal and it’s a shorter path to get into. Another technical side of things would be clinical laboratory science that I would want to do as I enjoy analyzing data and being in a lab.
My third option would be nursing working my way up as and this would be something else I could do as a back up if the other two for some reason don’t work out.
I’m keeping my options open as I don’t want to be so close minded in what I want to do before I get further ahead.

Though in radiography one is sometimes called to assure and calm patients. If you have the empathy for that, go for it.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I have thought about the technical lab side of things as an alternative in case nursing doesn’t work out. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve messed with anything chemistry related though. Most of my experience came from my undergrad of 2017-2020. I could use my experience as a lab instructor during grad school from 2021-2023 as I taught freshmen students mostly biological and chemistry based lab material.

Two years ago my niece got her nursing degree. I was helping her with medical microbiology because I once taught a lab for medical students. She is finding cardiology a good fit.