A Nurses Guide To Nursing

X-Ray Techs

Pam Arnoldy with Sacramento Radiology Medical Group Inc, reports the diagnostic imaging field is fertile and her company is hiring. Typical services include dental implants, body scans, bone density tests, mammograms and routine diagnostic X-rays.

Training requires completing a minimum two-year junior college or hospital-based course and passing a state licensing examination.
Read the rest of this entry »

For a fast track into the lucrative medical profession, respiratory therapy’s many job openings offer a breath of fresh air.

“A two-year respiratory training degree from a junior college could get you on the way,” declares Asa Hawkins, owner of Veterans Purple Heart Staffing in Yuba City. “And just like the nursing profession, there is a shortage of respiratory therapists, so any hospital will grab you right out of school.”

Respiratory therapists operate life support machines. This specialty used to be called cardiopulmonary therapy because it deals with the heart and lungs.
Read the rest of this entry »

Are you a good listener? Do you understand medical terminology? If you do both well, you might consider a job as a medical stenographer. The field is projected to grow faster than the average profession due to the increasing demand for detailed records.

The work can be arduous, requiring a long attention span as you listen to tapes from doctors providing their diagnosis of a patient. Documents produced include discharge summaries, histories, physical-exam and operating-room reports, consultations, autopsies, diagnostic imaging studies and referral letters.

All documents are reviewed by a specialist before becoming a part of the patient’s permanent record. By spotting errors or inconsistencies, experienced stenographers can play a key role in helping patients receive proper care.

Technology is transforming the profession. Stenographers can often download files from the Internet, enabling many to work from home. And voice recognition software is making inroads in more simple applications. This, predicts the BLS, will not substantially reduce demand for stenographers since all records still require editing, clarification and verification.

It’s hard to find a healthcare career that won’t be in demand in the years ahead. Thanks to the increasing medical needs of America’s aging baby-boom generation, hospitals, clinics and home healthcare agencies will be strapped to find adequate staffing.

But what if you can’t cash in on this opportunity because the sight of blood and syringes leaves you squeamish? No problem. Opportunities abound in the “front office” of healthcare operations, where the messiest things you deal with are coffee spills, tangled telephone cords, and the doctors’ handwriting.

Here you will handle a myriad of tasks, like admissions, patient and insurance billing, maintaining and coding records, and transcribing medical data. Hospitals also require custodial help as well as food services personnel.
Read the rest of this entry »