Unit 2 Careers in Health Care pgs 19 - 49

Unit 2

Careers in Health Care

pgs 19 - 49

2

2:1 Introduction to Health Careers Over 200 health care careers Education

– Requirements vary by program and state– High school (Secondary) preparation– Health Occupations Education (HOE)

• Secondary vocational programs

– Post-secondary education• Training at a Vo-Tech, community college or university

– Types of degrees• Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate

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Certification, Registration, and Licensure

Purpose Certification Process and Examples Registration Process and Examples Licensure Process and Examples

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Certification, Registration, and Licensure

Purpose– Ensure the skill & competency of health care personnel – Protect the consumer/patient– Need to graduate from an accredited program first

Certification – Person has fulfilled requirements of education– Meets standards established by prof. Agency– Examples: dental assistant, lab technician, medical

assistant

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Registration process– Required in some health occupations– Performed by association that administers exams

and maintains a current list of qualified personnel– Examples: dietician, respiratory therapist, animal

health technician

Licensure

Certification, Registration, and Licensure

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Licensure– Process where a gov’t agency authorizes

individuals to work in a certain occupation– Differs from state to state– Usually have to complete a certain program,

pass a state test, maintain standards– Examples: physician, dentist, physical

therapist, registered nurse

Certification, Registration, and Licensure

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Accrediting Agencies

Purpose– Ensures that program of study meets quality

competency standards– Preparation for employment

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)

Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES)

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Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Purpose– Required to renew license or maintain

certification or registration– Ensures health care workers are informed on

latest standards and technology

Requirements vary between careers & state

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Training Levels Professional

– 4+ years of college, master’s or doctorate

Technologist or Therapist– 3 – 4 years of college plus work experience, usually

bachelor’s

Technician– 2 year associate’s, 3 – 4 years on the job training

Assistant or aide– 1+ years of training

• Combines classroom & job training

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Multicompetent or Multiskilled Workers

New trend in health occupations Workers perform a variety of occupations Eliminates need for employing specialist for

every aspect of care Examples: same technician for EKG and EEG Education done on-the-job or through

educational programs

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Entrepreneur

Individual who organizes, manages and assumes the risk of a business

Work conditions– Independent business, but still work under direction

of doctors

Examples: dental lab technician, PT, dentist, optometrist

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National Health Care Skill Standards (NHCSS)

Purpose Health Care Core Standards Therapeutic/Diagnostic Core Standards Therapeutic Cluster Standards Diagnostic Cluster Standards Information Services Cluster Standards Environmental Services Cluster Standards

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NHCSS Purpose

– Indicate the knowledge and skills expected of heath care workers at entry and technical levels

– 6 groups of standards

– Examples of careers includes in the NHCSS clusters are shown on table 2-2 (pg 24)

Health Care Core Standards– Specify skills heath care workers should have

– Discusses academic foundation, communication skills, employability, legal stuff, ethics, safety, knowledge about heath care systems

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NHCSS

Therapeutic/Diagnostic Core Standards– Specify skills required to focus on direct client

care in BOTH therapeutic and diagnostic occupations

• Therapeutic – treatment of disease• Diagnostic – identification of disease

– Includes health maintenance, client interaction, monitoring client, client movement

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NHCSS Therapeutic Cluster Standards

– Specify skills required of workers in occupations involved in changing the health status of a client

– Includes data collection, treatment planning, client evaluation

Diagnostic Cluster Standards– Specify skills required in of workers in occupations

involving identification of health status of client

– Includes planning, prep, procedure, eval and reporting

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NHCSS Information Services Cluster Standards

– Specify skills required of workers in occupations involved with documentation of client care

– Includes analysis, coding, info systems, documentation, info maintenance and retrieval

Environmental Services Cluster Standards– Specify skills required of workers in occupations

involved with creating a therapeutic enviro

– Includes enviro. operations, aseptic procedure, resource management, aesthetics

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Summary

Different health occupations require different levels of education

Some careers require certification, registration, or licensure

Requirements vary from state to state Student must obtain information pertinent

to an individual state

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2:2 Dental Careers Basic job duties

– Health of teeth and soft tissues of mouth– Preventing dental disease– Repairing or replacing diseased or damaged teeth– Treating gingiva (gums) and other supporting

structures of the teeth

Places of employment– Private dental office, lab, clinics, hospital, school,

gov’t agency

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Dental Careers (continued)

Specialty areas– Endontics, Orthodontics, Oral Surgery,

Pedodontics, Periodontics, Prosthodontics

Dental Careers– Dentist (DMS, DDS), Dental hygienist, Dental

laboratory technician, Dental assistant (DA)

Table 2-3, pg 25

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2:3 Diagnostic Services

Basic job duties– Perform tests or evaluations– Aid in detection, diagnosis, and treatment of

disease, injury, or other physical conditions

Places of employment– Lab, doctor’s office, clinic, pharmaceutical

firm, research

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Diagnostic Careers

Some examples of possible careers:– Electrocardiograph (ECG) technician,

Electroencephalographic (EEG) technologist, Electroneurodiagnostic technologist, Cardiocascular technologist, Medical (clinical) laboratory technologist, Phlembotomist, Biomedical equipment technician

Table 2-4, pg 27

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2:4 Emergency Medical Services

Basic job duties– Provide emergency prehospital care– Provide care to victims of accidents, injuries,

and sudden illness

Places of employment– Fire, police departments, rescue squad,

ambulance service, hospital, urgent care, military, emergency helicopter services

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Emergency Services Careers

Examples of possible EMS careers– Emergency medical technician basic (EMT-B)– Emergency medical technician intermediate (EMT-I)– Emergency medical technician paramedic (EMT–P)

Table 2-5, pg 30

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2:5 Health Information and Communication Services

Job duties– Maintain complete, accurate patient records– Medical illustrators, photographer, writer, librarian– Distribute health information– Research and maintain information– Use computers

Places of employment– Hospital, clinic, research center, long-term care,

colleges, law firm, insurance company

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Health Information and Communication Careers

Some possible careers– Medical records administrator (RA), Medical

records technician (RT), Medical transcriptionist, Unit secretary/ward clerk/unit coordinator, Medical illustrator, Medical/health sciences librarian

Table 2-6, pg 31

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2:6 Hospital/Health Care Facility Services

Basic description– Operate support departments– Includes administration, business office,

admitting office, central/sterile supply, and housekeeping

– Each department has workers at all levels with varying amounts of education

Places of employment– Hospital, clinic, long-term care, HMO, public

health, gov’t agency

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Hospital/Health Care Facility Careers

Some possible careers– Health care administrator, Admitting officer/clerk,

Central/sterile supply worker, Housekeeping worker/sanitary manager/environmental service worker

Table 2-7, pg 33

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2:7 Medical Careers

Basic description– Includes physicians and those who work under

their supervision– Involved with diagnosis, treatment, or

prevention of diseases and disorders of the human body

Places of employment– Private practice, clinic, hospital, research,

HMO, gov’t agency, colleges

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Medical Careers (continued)

Some examples of possible careers– Physician (doctor), Physician assistant,

Medical assistant

Physicians can be specialized in a wide variety of fields

Table 2-8, pg 35; table 2-9, pg 35

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2:8 Mental and Social Services Basic job duties

– Mental or emotional disorders or mental retardation

– Social workers assist others to deal with illness, employment, or community problems

– Focus: help individuals function to their maximum capacity

Places of employment– Hospitals, home health care, counseling, colleges,

rehabilitation, prison, long-term care, gov’t agency

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Mental and Social Services Careers

Some examples of possible careers– Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Psychiatric/mental

health technician, Social worker (sociologist, caseworker, counselor)

Table 2-10, pg 36

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2:9 Mortuary Careers Basic job duties

– Preparation of the body– Perform ceremony that honors the deceased and

meets the spiritual needs of the living– Cremation or burial of the remains– Practices and rites vary due to cultural and

religious preferences

Places of employment– Funeral home, mortuary, crematorium, cemetery

association

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Mortuary Careers (continued)

Some examples of possible careers– Funeral director, Embalmer, Mortuary

assistant

Table 2-11, pg 38

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2:10 Nursing Careers

Basic job duties– Provide care under direction of a physician– Direct care given to meet mental, emotional,

and physical needs of the patient

Places of employment– Hospitals, long-term care, rehabilitation,

physician’s offices, clinics, home health care, HMO, schools, industry

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Nursing Careers (continued)

Some examples of possible careers– Registered nurse (RN), Licensed

practical/vocational nurse (LPN/LVN), Nurse assistant, Patient Care technician (PCT), Surgical technician/technologist (CST)

Table 2-12, pg 39

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2:11 Nutrition and Dietary Services

Basic job duties– Recognize importance of good nutrition– Promote wellness & optimum health – Provide dietary guidelines to treat diseases– Teach proper nutrition– Prepare food for health care facilities

Places of employment– Hospital, long-term care, day care, wellness

center, school, clinics

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Nutrition and Dietary Careers

Some examples of possible careers– Dietitian (RD), Nutritionist, Dietetic technician,

Dietetic assistant

Table 2-13, pg 41

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2:12 Therapeutic Services Basic job description

– Use variety of treatments to help patients who are injured, physically or mentally disabled, or emotionally disturbed

– Direct treatment toward allowing the patient to function at maximum capacity

Places of employment– Rehabilitation, hospital, clinic, mental health, long-

term care, home health care, school, gov’t agency

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Therapeutic Careers

Some examples of possible careers– Physical therapist assistant, Occupational

therapist (OT), Pharmacist, Pharmacy technician, Athletic trainer, Audiologist, Art therapist, Dialysis technician, Perfusionists

Table 2-14, pgs 43 – 44

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2:13 Veterinary Careers Basic description

– Work with all types of animals– Range from house pets to livestock to wildlife

Places of employment– Animal hospital, lab, zoo, farms, drug or animal food

companies, fish and wildlife services

Some examples of possible careers– Veterinarian (DVM or VMD), Animal Health

technician, Veterinary assistant

Table 2-15, pg 47

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2:14 Vision Services

Basic job duties– Provide care to prevent vision disorders– Treat vision disorders

Places of employment– Hospital, offices, optical shop, department

store, school, HMO, clinic, gov’t agency

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Vision Careers

Some examples of possible careers– Ophthalmologist (MD), Optometrist (OD),

Ophthalmic technician (OT), Ophthalmic assistant (OA), Optician, Ophthalmic laboratory technician

Table 2-16, pg 49