6 Benefits of Getting a Healthcare Degree
Healthcare is a multi-trillion-dollar industry with a wide range of career options. And a healthcare degree can be your pathway to opportunities in the field. Your education and training can prepare you for a career that allows you to make a positive impact on others, while providing yourself with solid prospects for the future. Here are six reasons to consider a healthcare degree:
1. Learn Relevant and Marketable Skills from a Healthcare Degree
A healthcare degree can provide you with the technical and soft skills you need to succeed in careers such nursing, medical assisting, and billing and coding. You learn about healthcare delivery systems, the basics of anatomy and physiology, patient confidentiality rules, and how to use industry software for medical records and insurance billing and coding. If your degree focus is direct patient care, you learn how to conduct intake, take vital signs, do lab work, work closely with the healthcare team, and be a calming presence for your patients. Along the way, you also build important, versatile skills such as teamwork, communication, and patient care.
2. Gain In-Demand Skills with a Healthcare Degree
The skills you hone and the knowledge you gain in a healthcare degree program are needed by employers now and into the future. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of healthcare workers will grow much faster than the average through the decade. Some of the fastest growing occupations include health information technologists, medical and health service managers, and medical assistants.
3. Prepare for a Healthcare Career That Helps Others
If you want to make a difference in your community, there’s no better field to work in than healthcare. Even if you don’t directly care for patients, your work can affect their quality of care and their overall experience. For example, if you choose a career in healthcare administration, you aim to improve the performance of your organization by solving problems, streamlining processes, and analyzing operations. The ideas and strategies that you implement can ultimately improve the quality of patient care.
4. Choose from a Variety of Healthcare Career Paths
A healthcare degree opens up several options of where you can work and what you might do. Work with patients, in a lab, on the administration side, or even with an insurance company. Want to have a direct impact on patients’ health? Get a degree in Nursing or Medical Assisting. Want to be in the field without treating patients? Get a degree in healthcare administration or health technology management. The more you learn and know about health care, the more career opportunities will be open to you.
5. Take Your Healthcare Degree Wherever You Go
No matter what career path you choose, the skills you develop during your degree can be used in any setting. For example, you may start your career as a Medical Assistant for a county hospital. But after some time, you may want to switch to a doctor’s office or a local clinic. Your education gives you the flexibility and freedom to move from setting to setting. You can also move to a new city. You can look for work in a new location, even a new state with the proper licensure.
6. Advance Your Career with a Healthcare Degree
Build on an existing certificate with a degree. Transfer credits to turn that associate degree into a bachelor’s degree. As you advance your credentials, you may advance your career. Many healthcare job openings require a degree. What are you waiting for?
Charter College offers associate and bachelor’s degrees in health care, including Nursing, Allied Health, Health Care Administration, Health Technology Management, and Medical Billing and Coding. Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more.