A drop of blood is enough to make some people queasy and for many like this the idea of a health care career is not even an option. So the caring among us who need to be on the front lines of patient care with warm hearts and empathetic natures are nowhere to be found. The fact is there are a number of health care related careers that have nothing to do with what’s traditionally thought of as health care and Hospital Dream Jobs is your source to find them.

An article on Schools.com outlines four health care related fields that don’t require a smock, cap and surgical gloves. In fact, experts suggest if you are thinking of a medical career that you do a trial run with some established health care organizations, like volunteering with your local ambulance contractors to see how you handle the stress and trauma. If you’re running for the hills after an hour in an ambulance you don’t necessarily have to scratch a career in health care, but you may want to look at these professions:

Personal or Home Health Care Aide

Certified home aids visit clients’ homes and help the elderly, sick and even those injured on the job. Health care aides provide company, do housework and shopping, drive clients to appointments and even help with personal care. A two-week course to earn national certification from the National Association for Home Care and Hospice is all that’s needed to get started. Projected job growth by 2018 is 51 percent.

Pharmacist

Pharmacists are considered an active part of a patient’s health care team especially now with new medications being developed every day. Pharmacists work at hospitals, clinics, commercial drug stores and even your local grocery store that has a pharmacy.  The primary job of a pharmacist is to dispense prescribed medication, create compounds as directed by physicians and monitor their patients’ prescriptions for possible negative interactions.  This position requires a Doctor of Pharmacy degree which takes a minimum of six years to complete. Projected job growth by 2018 is 22 percent.

Medical and Health Services Manager

This supporting role rarely deals with patients and are never involved with their health concerns. Instead, medical and health services managers, also called health care executives or health care administrators, supervise the delivery of medical care. These positions can cover specializations by department or even a whole organization. A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is essential but a master’s in public administration, health sciences, public health, etc. is preferred. Projected job growth by 2018 is 16 percent.

Physical Therapist

This position is much more patient-centered but does not involve the gut-wrenching trauma you’d typically see inside a hospital. Physical therapists help rehabilitate people from injuries, surgery and even strokes which have affected their ability to move and perform everyday tasks. There are more than 200 physical-therapist training programs nationwide which are typically 24 to 30 month programs. Projected job growth by 2018 is 30 percent.

“Sit. Stay. Sniff.”

Doctor’s may soon be adding dog training to their repertoire which could provide an almost foolproof method to detecting some cancers. And for the patient, their annual exams could include something as easy as blowing their breath towards a dog. Ok, it may not happen exactly like that but our canine friends may one day be used as part of regular screenings for some cancers.

In a study published in the research journal Integrative Cancer Therapies, scientists found that dogs were able to distinguish between people with early and late stage lung and breast cancers from healthy people. And in a recent French study, dogs were highly successful in detecting prostate cancer.

It is a widely known and undisputed fact that dogs have a keen sense of smell. Some researchers indicate a dog’s sense of smell may be as much as 100,000 times greater than humans. Dogs are able to detect trace chemicals in the range of parts per trillion thanks to about 220 million olfactory receptors in a dog’s nose. (Humans have about 5 million.)

Dogs are able to sniff out cancer because tumors release a specific chemical that is expelled in the breath of the patient. Therefore, lung and breast cancer patients exhibit certain chemicals when they breathe which a dog can detect, even if the cancer is in the early stages. The results of the study showed dogs were able to detect breast and lung cancers between 88 and 97 percent of the time.

Dogs are even able to sniff out skin-cancer melanomas simply by smelling the lesion. And a 2004 study showed success in dogs detecting bladder cancer by smelling a patient’s urine. Last year, another study, also using urine samples, showed promising results in regards to prostate cancer. In this French study, dogs detected prostate cancer in 63 out of 66 cancer samples showing fewer false positives than with the traditional PSA test.

The excitement brewing around man’s best friend could result in some interesting jobs and new career paths for researchers, scientists and dog trainers with some medical background. Of course, in all likelihood, an electronic nose will be developed to identify the cancer chemicals released in breath and urine. But really, what better way to help someone relax at the doctor’s office than to have a wagging and wiggling pooch enter the exam room?

As you’re all aware by now, job hunting today is a much more complex endeavor than ever before. Let’s review what we’ve learned about job hunting over the past several months. Here are some of the things you need to be doing to be competitive in today’s job marketplace:

1. Join both real world and virtual groups for networking and support.

2. Enlist the help of a mentor or career counselor.

3. Stay on top of current and emerging trends by reading industry-specific magazines and blogs regularly.

4. Attend classes and workshops whenever possible.

5. Keep your resume up-to-date.

6. Be intentional about improving your personal character.

And finally, Google yourself to see what comes up! That’s right. I “googled” myself several years ago and was only listed 3 times in very obscure articles and websites. Totally harmless. Now my name is all over the place and some of the information is outdated and incorrect. Fortunately, there is nothing embarrassing or incriminating. More and more companies are requiring their HR people to research job candidates online, and though it may seem a violation of our privacy and our rights, the things they’re finding could affect your ability to get or keep a job.

Remember:

• If you are on social sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, make sure your profile pictures and biographical information are correct and current. If you have questionable photos, posts or friends, remove them. If your pages contain things you wouldn’t want your kids or your mom to see, you definitely don’t want it there for employers to see!
• Ask current or former co-workers and supervisors to provide recommendations on LinkedIn.
• If you find your online reputation to be seriously troubling you may want to enroll the help of a reputation management company like ReputationDefender.

Still think all of this stuff is just a passing fad that will go away with time and have no real impact on the way we do business/ Consider this: The Library of Congress will be acquiring and permanently storing the entire archive of public Twitter posts since 2006. It’s not going away!

Why do you work in healthcare? You can’t deny that our chosen field makes a huge impact on people, how they live and even the outcome of their lives. When we chose healthcare for a living, it usually has something to do with making an impact and being able to positively affect lives.

But every job has its challenges, and whether yours are conflict with co-workers/superiors, low pay for long hours, patient “unappreciation” or just plain-ole office politics-jobs can get discouraging. How can you prevent those discouragements from affecting your job performance and burning you out?

Here are some suggestions for you:

1. Never doubt the impact that you can make. You won’t always hear it and sometimes, you might hear it in an odd fashion (such as a twisted compliment or overhearing family members talking about you), but know that your impact is great. Consider jotting down each compliment that your receive. Then you will have a list to refer to when you have a tough day.

2. Know when you need a break. If you are overly tired, feel discouraged or dread going to work, it’s time for a break. There is a reason why your employer allows vacation time. Breaks will keep you refreshed and thinking clearly. Take the breaks that you are allotted.

3. Encourage and use humor while on the job. Humor is an essential stress reliever and having some appropriate fun with your coworkers can do wonders to relax everyone who is there. Feeling stressed? Keep a joke book at the desk and pull it out when everyone is as tense as a stretched rubber band.

4. Don’t forget to eat! I’m not kidding. In the healthcare field we are incredibly busy and at times will go hours without the food needed that fuels our body and minds. Don’t let yourself move into low blood sugar, irritability and stress. Make sure everyone has scheduled breaks to eat and take those breaks. If you can’t, stash some higher protein snacks in your work area that you can grab on the go.

5. Communicate with your patients, co-workers and superiors. Communication is incredibly vital to keeping the work environment running smoothly. If you are uncomfortable with someone, there is a reason. Try and talk it out. Make it a priority to verbally de-clutter the workspace as needed. This will help everyone’s stress level, even those not directly involved with the issue.

Discouragement happens to all of us, whether job searching or not. But it’s my belief that the discouragement directly related to not being able to find a job is one of the worst discouragements possible. There is a lot at stake when one is unemployed or underemployed and it usually means that bills are going unpaid. Often there is an inability to pay rent (therefore forcing the unemployed to rely on family or friends) and often there is a family dependent on that job to live.

Ever notice how discouragement can pull you down even further? It is tough to “go find a job” when you are sad. In fact, it can be tough to do much of anything. Although some of us are able to pull back up after a few hours or a day of discouragement and still other people somehow are able to turn it around as a challenge to get something done, some people just can’t.

Here are some steps that you can take to stay productive, even with the discouragement monster threatens:

1. Find some understanding friends or family who have “been there” and ask to bend their ear. Vent to a friend, post on Facebook and just be honest. You will often be surprised and encouraged at the responses. Many will understand your plight and although it doesn’t fix the problem (although you never know!), you will feel better for getting it off your chest.

2. Stay busy. There are many, many cheap or free activities available in your community. Take advantage of those. Make new friends. Find a community group and become involved.

3. Help other people. There is great satisfaction in helping other people who are worse off than you. When you concentrate on other people, you have a very hard time concentrating on your own problems. So volunteer at a retirement home, help the homeless or handicapped or be a mentor to children in your community. Often a few hours is all it will take to bump your spirits back up-but we hope that you continue to volunteer even after you are feeling better.

4. Take short breaks. Sometimes a small break from job searching is needed. However, it is far too easy to let that break become a week, then two weeks and so on. Before you take a break from the job search, set a pre-determined time period for that break. Commit to get back to the grind in two or three days and let someone know this who can hold you to it.

5. Look for a temporary or contract job. Consider taking temporary jobs in the meantime, even if the job duties are different than your usual or ones that you feel would be a “step down”. It will help pay the bills and may even open opportunities for full time employment somewhere. And don’t discount contract jobs. It’s easier than you think to temporarily work as a contractor for a good organization.

6. Consider professional help if the discouragement lingers. Never be afraid to seek help if you need assistance. You will feel a lot better with counseling even if it just ends up being a venting session on a regular basis.

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