Healthcare is the fastest-growing field in the US. Ever since the pandemic, more people have been turning to healthcare providers. Technology has revolutionized healthcare and made it more accessible to everyone. People are taking care of their nutrition and mental health more than ever. This has increased the demand for competent healthcare personnel in every field.
As a healthcare provider, you probably come across many chances to upscale your career. Want that promotion? A vacancy in another department you want to qualify for? You can pursue an advanced degree online along with your current job to better your chances of moving forward.
Let’s have a look at different healthcare degrees that can help you become the best in your field.
1.Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Nursing is one of the toughest fields in healthcare. It requires an ironclad skill set, countless hours of school, and a rigorous training period. Registered nurses (RN) work long hours at hospitals and clinics and provide care to patients of all age groups.
Due to awareness about preventive care and the increased number of aged population, employment is predicted to grow by 50% in the next ten years. This will increase the demand for competent nurse practitioners in the near future. You can enroll in an online master’s in nursing while working full-time as an RN to upscale your nursing career.
An advanced nursing degree can also increase your chances for better salaries. According to BLS, the median pay for nurse practitioners in the US is $111,680.
2.Master of Science in Healthcare Administration
Contrary to popular belief, a job in healthcare does not always require you to deal with patients. If you enjoy leadership roles and organizing schedules, healthcare administration is the career for you.
As there is an increase in demand for healthcare services, hospitals and other facilities are looking for competent administrators to coordinate their staff schedules and lead individual departments. A master’s degree in healthcare administration will allow you to qualify for administrator positions in your healthcare facility. This will increase your rank and salary package considerably.
3.MBA in Healthcare Management
As with healthcare administration, a career in healthcare management is increasing in demand as well. Although these two terms are often used interchangeably, there is a difference in the job description of an administrator and a manager. While administrators deal with healthcare staff and coordinate their schedules, managers are entrusted with the business and finance department of the healthcare facility.
To ensure the smooth running of the healthcare facility, The stakeholders prefer an individual who has an advanced degree in healthcare management. An advanced degree makes you well-versed in fields such as finance, accounting, and human resources and helps you apply these skills in healthcare. BLS predicts the employment growth in healthcare management by 14% in the next ten years.
4.Master of Healthcare Informatics
With everything becoming digitized, there is a growing need for IT managers to analyze and store medical data. A master’s in healthcare informatics allows you to develop software to collect and interpret data from various sources and make it easily accessible to competent authorities. It also allows you to upgrade cybersecurity to ensure the privacy of medical records.
The prospects of healthcare informatics are predicted to increase by 32% by 2030. IT professionals work in hospitals, medical centers, or even private data storage offices. The annual median salary of a health information manager is$104,280.
5.Master of Science in Genetic Counselling
Genetic diseases like diabetes and Alport’s syndrome are gaining popularity, thanks to the advances in health sciences. Genetic counselors work with couples who wish to have children and assess the dangers of their child inheriting a genetic disability. A master’s degree in genetic counseling allows you to communicate complex genetic conditions to parents in an easily understandable way. It also prepares you to provide counseling to parents and discuss options in case of a genetic defect in their child.
Genetic counselors work in laboratories and private clinics. They usually coordinate with the OB/GYN of the parents where patients with genetic medical histories are concerned. The job opportunities for genetic counselors are predicted to increase by 26% in the coming decade.
6.Master of Science in Public Health and Nutrition
As preventive medicine is gaining popularity, people are more concerned about their diet and lifestyle. The main idea is to prevent the disease rather than treat it. For this purpose, they turn to nutritionists and dieticians to make a diet plan according to their body type and nutritional deficiencies.
A degree in public health and nutrition allows you to understand how the lifestyle of a particular community is affecting their health as a whole. The annual median salary of a nutritionist and dietician in the US is $63,090.
7.Master’s in Mental Health Counseling
Ever since the pandemic, people have been isolated from their loved ones. Many lost their jobs due to redundancy in their organizations. This created a surge in mental illnesses, leading to increased demand for mental health counseling.
Mental health counselors are in high demand. A degree in mental health counseling gives you an overview of various mental illnesses and equips you to make an accurate diagnosis. According to BLS, the job outlook for mental health counselors is expected to increase by 23% in the coming decade.
Conclusion
No matter where you are in your career, there is always some room for improvement. Whether you want to become better at your job or you want to switch career paths, the easiest way is to go for an advanced degree. Due to covid, many reputable institutes are offering online degree programs to facilitate you. You can earn an advanced healthcare degree while working a full-time job. It is up to you to take advantage of this facility and work on upscaling your healthcare career.
