Even nurses are having difficulty finding jobs

In this economy, new nurses are having difficulty finding jobs. But don't we have a nursing shortage? Yes, but we also have many older nurses who are delaying retirement because they need to support their families. As a result, jobs are not opening up for nursing school graduates. Plus, we have retired nurses who are re-entering the workforce and since they have more work experience, they're getting the jobs. Plus, we have more part-time nurses who are choosing to work full-time so that they can help support the family.

Will medical school graduates face a similar problem when they complete residency? Will older physicians delay retirement? I think that many physicians may actually be planning an earlier retirement given all these recent changes surrounding health care reform and the health information technology requirements. 

During a recession, we may tend to gravitate towards careers in health care because we feel that there is a level of stability when it comes to the world of health care. However, we have to remember all the other components that impact employment and we can't

Read the USA Today article titled, "New RNs find job market tight" by clicking here. Maybe some of these new nurses will have an easier time finding a non-clinical job instead of a clinical job.

Best Schools for Top Careers in Healthcare

What are the "top careers in healthcare?" If someone asked you, would you say "being a physician," or would you say "nursing" or "physical therapy?" 

U.S. News has listed top graduate schools for the following healthcare careers:

• Veterinarian
• Physical Therapist
• Registered Nurse

Here's a snippet from the article:

Though the economy has been dismal in recent years and unemployment has soared, not every industry has suffered equally. Some sectors continue to need an influx of young, new talent to meet the increasing demand. Nowhere else has demand been more prevalent than in the healthcare field. Below are three jobs that made U.S. News's list of America's Best Careers in 2010 and information on the top graduate programs to prepare you for a successful career.

Click here to read that U.S. News article.

Going back to school to pursue a non-clinical career

It's rather ironic, but there are non-clinical people going back to school to find clinical jobs (such as nursing, nursing assistant, pharmacy, pharmacy technician, radiology technician, etc.) and there are clinical people going back to school to find non-clinical jobs (such as consulting, health care business, administration, medical management, etc.). Wow, that was quite a full sentence, wasn't it?

Let's try it again: I know clinical people who are going back to school to pursue non-clinical jobs, and I also know many non-clinicians who are going back to school to pursue health care careers.

Maybe you've thought about going back to school. Maybe you're thinking about it right now. Are you looking at full-time programs? Part-time? Online? I know business executives who are applying to part-time nursing schools. I also know other executives interested in various part-time and full-time health care programs. Are you willing to work full-time and take courses part-time? That's one way of going back to school while maintaining your income.

However, maybe the big question to ask is: do you really need to go back to school? Are you a health care professional? Maybe you're thinking about business school to get an MBA. I've also recently spoken with physicians interested in public health and medical informatics and they are exploring graduate programs in those fields (MPH and MS in medical or biomedical informatics). So, how about you? Do you plan to go back to school to pursue a different career?

Thinking about going back to school?

Do you miss college? In so many ways, I wish I could go back in time and relive my four years at MIT. Those were some of the best years of my life. I've met many professionals who are seriously considering the option of going back to school to pursue a healthcare career. This might mean full-time or part-time education for the next few years to become a physician, pharmacist, nurse, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, pharmacy technician, etc. (the list could really go on). This could mean some post-bac programs, additional courses, and then four or more years in graduate school. Other people want to find a way to get into Technical Schools. Some hate the idea of taking another standardized exam like the GRE or MCAT. For those who find themselves struggling with standardized tests, I encourage them to find personal tutors to help them with their problem areas.

I've also run into high school students who are looking for career advice in the healthcare arena. Some high school graduates may be thinking about Career Colleges. Others have no idea what they plan to do with their lives. When I give advice to high school students, I refer them to something like the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) College Navigator. It's hard to keep up with all the changes and the latest trends across different colleges and universities in the United States, let alone the rest of the world. As a member of the MIT Educational Council, I'm very familiar with the trends at MIT. However, that doesn't reflect what's going on in other schools.

So how about you? Here I am writing about non-clinical jobs for healthcare professionals who wish to leave the clinical setting to work in the business side of healthcare. Are you thinking about getting some education so that you can work on the clinical side?