Are These Entry Level Health Care Careers Right For You?
If you want to enter a multi-trillion dollar industry, it’s time to take a look at health care. The growth rate for the field is faster than average against other occupations and is expected to be strong into the future. Healthcare facilities like hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers employ specially trained support staff to help them provide patient services. They look for hardworking, passionate people who care about helping others. Does that sound like you? Check out some of these entry-level health care careers today:
Medical Assistant
As a medical assistant you could work directly with patients, serving as a medical receptionist or medical office assistant, or you could work in billing and coding. At Charter College, our Medical Assistant Training program stresses the importance of great patient care, but also teaches you about office software and computer applications, administrative procedures, scheduling, and billing. It even includes a 180-hour externship at a local clinic, office, hospital, or healthcare facility so you can learn directly from people in the profession what it takes to handle patients, perform clerical tasks, and assist doctors, technicians, and aides.
Dental Assistant
Smile if you think a job as a dental assistant might be the right one for you. As a dental assistant you will help make sure patients are comfortable and that the practice runs well. Charter’s Certificate in Dental Assisting program will teach you how to support a dental office. You will learn to sterilize dental instruments, process x-rays, and organize patient records. Charter has hands-on lab and clinical learning opportunities to show you up close that a dental assistant career is both challenging and rewarding.
Pharmacy Technician
If you want to assist patients but prefer settings that aren’t hospital rooms or dental offices, consider a career as a pharmacy technician. This field needs people who value precision and attention to detail. You’ll help fill prescriptions, measure dosages, label packages, and make sure supplies are properly stocked. Good communication skills are important. You’ll need to talk with patients about their medical histories, insurance companies about coverage and billing, and pharmacists and other professionals who will come to depend on your skills. Charter College’s Pharmacy Technician Program will teach you all about drug distribution systems, pharmacy operations, customer service, and medical laws and ethics.
Nurse
Healthcare providers need nurses who are ready to contribute once they enter the workforce. Charter College Anchorage offers an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing program that trains you to work directly with patients, assess their conditions, record their symptoms, consult with the healthcare team on their treatment, and explain their medical information. The program is also an opportunity to get hands-on experience with a provider, a front row seat to the latest needs, treatments, and trends in patient care delivery. Charter will even help prepare you for the NCLEX-RN required to get a nursing job in Alaska.
Health Care Administration
A background in health care administration prepares you to supervise administrative responsibilities. Through Charter College’s degree completion Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration program, you will learn to become an office leader, build managerial skills, and apply solutions by using healthcare software systems effectively. This path will guide you toward a career where you might be a part of large scale health projects. That means you’ll need the ability to collaborate, communicate, and juggle multiple tasks. You may already possess some of those skills, but we’ll teach you how to hone them. We’ll also show you how to professionally interact with patients, medical professionals, and other healthcare staff, while you learn about healthcare records, budgets, and typical clerical tasks. You will need an Associate Degree in an allied health field to get accepted to Charter College’s program.
Charter College’s health care degrees and certificate programs combine technical training, along with medical knowledge and positive patient service. Request more information from Charter College today to find out which health care career might be best for you.