Ancient Chinese wisdom says that at the heart of every crisis, there lies a powerful opportunity. The proverb seems especially apt in viewing the deepening crisis in healthcare as an opportunity for young adults to build secure, profitable careers. Signs are everywhere that as the American "baby boomer" population ages, the shortage of qualified graduates from specialized healthcare school programs will reach epidemic proportions. It is not a fluke that, over the next decade, the single fastest-growing employment sector in the country will be in gerontology and senior healthcare.

Projections are startling. The shortage of healthcare professionals will impact the entire world in the next decade. The World Health Organization recently reported that there is a "chronic shortage" of 4 million college-trained healthcare workers in 57 countries. In the U.S., the American baby boom generation is typically regarded as those individuals born from 1946 to 1964, and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the baby boomers requiring healthcare will rise by 10 million persons over the next decade. Additionally, over the next ten years, the boomers will increase the population of the 55- to 64-year-old age category by 36 percent while the population of college-aged young adults--those most likely to fill healthcare jobs--will only rise by 2.9 percent.

Finding the Fastest-Growing Healthcare Careers

According to the BLS, graduates from college and healthcare school programs will be in great demand over the next decade and beyond. Healthcare occupations as a group will rise 27% by 2014. The fastest-rising group belongs to program-trained home health aides, which is predicted to grow by as much as 56% in the next ten years.

College or specialty school grads from medical assisting programs will find a 52% rise in employment opportunities. Physician assistants with dedicated schooling will benefit from a job increase projected at 50%, and college-trained physical therapist assistants will see their career prospects rise by 44%.

The BLS maintains that prime openings for the top-growing careers for home health aides are in nursing care and geriatric hospitals, convalescent facilities, and in-home healthcare positions. In the same facilities, physician assistants will also witness a dramatic upturn in job openings.

Healthcare: Calling All Nurses

If you're really looking for long-term job security in the healthcare industry, consider going into nursing. Three out of five new RNs will take jobs in hospitals with others going into specialized care. Many people begin careers by serving the geriatric population as school-trained nurse's aides, physician assistants, and orderlies while they return to college part-time or through online programs to pursue nursing degrees.

Nursing schools and other healthcare college programs are scrambling to meet the demands of training qualified professionals. According to The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 44 states will face a severe shortage of nurses by 2020 because, currently, the population of registered nurses is growing at the lowest level in 20 years. Further, the AACN reports, "the ratio of potential caregivers to the people most likely to need care, the elderly population, will decrease by 40% between 2010 and 2030."

No wonder, the BLS identifies registered nursing as the second fastest-growing of all occupations for job growth through 2012. If you're considering entering a college nursing program, consider that the aging population of nurses approaching retirement is growing faster than the number of newly minted recruits to assume those jobs. Working nurses are rapidly joining the population of boomers requiring healthcare. The American Hospital Association reports that RN openings go unfilled, and 75% of hospitals today are finding it more difficult to recruit nurses than in the past. Some facilities are offering $30,000 sign-on bonuses to entice experienced nurses away from other employers.

College Healthcare Programs Face the Boomers

Many healthcare career paths to success run directly through nursing schools and college programs offering associate's, bachelor's, and graduate degrees. For a physician assistant (PA) position, you can expect to attend campus-based school or online college programs that lead to national exams and licensure. Many PA programs take two years and have entry requirements of some college prerequisites along with healthcare experience. Physician assistants are needed to help with diagnostic, laboratory, and treatment care for the boomer population. Home health aides and geriatric healthcare professionals can attend campus-based or online school programs to prepare for their careers.

Perhaps the best news of all is that you can enter a secure profession now and continue advanced or graduate school programs in healthcare to raise your earning power in a field that promises sustained, dramatic growth.

Sources
The World Health Organization
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing
http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/Ageism_Exists.htm


By: Gabby Hyman
World Wide Learn Columnist